Just a quick post here. Last weekend as I was installing a 3rd party app, I managed to freeze my iPhone. I could only restart the iPhone but it would freeze at the Apple logo upon each restart. So, since it had been a while since I had Jailbroken my phone, I had to find the latest and greatest iPhone Jailbreakers and Unlockers (I only Jailbreak).
With iPhone 2.0 just around the corner, some people may not be ready to jump ship and lose all of their 3rd party apps. Or, if you are thinking about selling your iPhone on eBay or something, you would want to set it back to a “reconditioned” status. Also, Jailbroken and Unlocked iPhone seem to be fetching a higher value in sales. So, if you want to stick around in the 1.1.x realm or if you want to prep your iPhone for sale, here are some apps that I found and used. Some worked better than others.
I’m going to flip this article around a bit and talk about the one that I liked the best first. You can stop reading this article after that or keep reading for curiosity’s sake.
The winner in my mind, was Liberty+ for its simplicity and easy-of-use, AND the fact that it automatically installed App Installer on the iPhone. Download is here. The reason I liked it, it just worked and was quick. I first had to Restore my iPhone in order to bring it out from a frozen state. This was done through iTunes. Once it had the standard 1.1.4 firmware on it, I simply fired up iLiberty+ and within minutes of choosing the Jailbreak option (and there are others), I had my phone Jailbroken with the App Installer installed. I did it a couple of times for good measure. A quick tip though, unselect the synching of Music and Videos, the whole process will go a lot faster.
Other applications that I tried in the past:
- ZiPhone – may not perform the jailbreak fully from what I have read. I tried this first and it seemed to be ok but I did not have an easy way to put the App Installer on.
- iFuntastic – lots of additional features, but you have to pay for them. They also have an “Unshackle” option.
- iNdependence – couldn’t run without messing with iPhone SDK installation
One application that I didn’t try but looks very promising is iDemocracy. In fact, I almost wish that I could redo the entire jailbreak process again. They have some great features including:
- Jailbreak, Activate and Unlock
- Backup Applications and Preferences
- Manage Wallpaper, Ringtones and Applications easily
- File browser
- Fixes some things (like WiFi issues) that other apps might not (ZiPhone had some issues)
It seems to me that the iPhone Jailbreaking/Unlocking application arena is maturing. Who knows what is in store for the 2.0 Firmware. Apple is definitely tightening things down (e.g., in-store activations only – no more iTunes – and a completely rewritten security underlayer to prevent jailbreaking/unlocking). However, not everyone will want to update to 2.0. I personally will (and I’m looking for some super generous reader to “gift” me a new iPhone – grin – ) but I will keep my eye on the open-iPhone community for other developments.
HTD says: Enjoy jailbreaking while you can using these applications. Your time may be limited.
