iPhone 4 Users Now Have Option To Jailbreak

For all you savvy iPhone 4 users seeking apps and themes outside of the Apple-approved realm, a new jailbreak is now available through the mobile Safari browser.

The modification -- known as JailbreakMe 2.0 -- comes from the same developer, ’comex et al,’ that has previously released a jailbreak for the iPad. It is currently free, but the site accepts donations.

The Library of Congress recently included jailbreaking, specifically for phones, as a legal exemption to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. This also included ’computer programs that enable wireless telephone handsets to execute software applications, where circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of enabling interoperability of such applications, when they have been lawfully obtained, with computer programs on the telephone handset.’

Apple, meanwhile, stands by its stiff warning that any sort of hacking will void the handset warranty. Apple also claims that jailbreaking can destabilize iPhone software -- which in light of the antenna dilemmas that have plagued the handset since its release, might not be the wisest idea.

However, activating a jailbreak on one’s phone is reversible, according to jailbreakme.com, which notes that iTunes’ restore feature can be used to roll back jailbroken handsets to their original configuration.

If an iPhone user decides to jailbreak, they will have access to apps previously not approved by Apple, such as MyWi, which turns handsets into Wi-Fi hotspots. Additionally, it gives a user the choice to unlock the handset for the option to be used on other wireless networks.

According to CNN, however, even if an iPhone is unlocked, it will only work on the AT&T and T-Mobile networks. CNN reported that jailbreakme.com is struggling to keep up with the downloading demand as of Sunday night, and some users already complained that the jailbreak disables the video chat and multimedia texting.