iPad Jailbreaking: Everything you wanted to know
iPad has overshadowed every other gadget in the technology arena in the last two months, with people going bonkers about owning one. You dreamt of having that sleek tablet in the palm of your hands, and then you eventually bought it. But the excitement doesn’t end there; in-fact exploring the limits of your iPad is where all the fun begins. First step in exploring the seamless world of extended functionality on your iPad is jailbreaking, you can call it as unlocking also.
# What possibilities iPad jailbreaking opens-up?
When initially iPad was launched in the month of April, technology reviewers were skeptical about the very concept of iPad. It had some basic things missing like flash, multitasking, USB port, camera functionality or the lack of memory enhancing options. But hackers and iPhone Dev. Team came up with some very good applications to fill the void that silenced all the critics in one go. And all these functionality enhancements can only be enjoyed on a jailbroken iPad. Have a look at some of the possibilities that come with jailbreaking your iPad
• Background processing lets you multitask
• Gestures that allow you to do a lot from any screen
• A VNC server for your iPad. This lets you open and control your iPad from any computer on the same network.
• SBSettings gives you better, more accessible settings — key for extending battery life
• FullForce expands iPhone apps to use all of the iPad’s screen
real estate, instead of just doubling (2X)
• MyWi lets you tether any device to your 3G iPad
• MultiIconMover makes rearranging your desktop easier
• Access to the Cydia market for apps NOT approved by Steve Jobs
• OpenSSH lets you connect to the iPad over wifi to manage files
• vlc4iPhone plays just about any video file. Its a little unstable, but the possibilities!
• Wi-Fi Sync lets you sync your iPad with iTunes over wifi
• Rock: An alternative to Cydia, Rock offers a different interface, and more importantly, a useful framework for app trials
• Categories lets you make folders for your apps
• iFile is a file manager for the iPad that let’s you see everything in the file system and access it too
# Things to consider before venturing on jailbreaking iPad
Tampering in any way with the resident firmware of your iPad is definitely not recommended according to Apple warranty requirements. Jailbreaking is an activity that frees your Apple device from the restrictions put in place by Apple firmware. So, if you have jailbroken your iPad and during that time certain hardware or software anomaly crops-up, then definitely you’ll be in no man’s land. Apple will not take responsibility for fixing your iPad. But there is a very slim probability of your iPad encountering some problem just at the time you have jailbroken it.
# Utmost caution required at the time of jailbreaking
Jailbreaking requires you to perform changes to firmware coding, so you have to be doubly sure of following the jailbreak instructions very carefully. Any wrong inputs while jailbreaking you iPad may brick the device or take it to a point beyond repair. It is advised that you follow the instructions given in the tutorial later on to avoid any major hiccups. And worth mentioning, I’m in no way responsible for any issues propping-up due to carelessness on your part.
# Spirit jailbreak tool the iPad charmer
Now we come to the revolving point of this whole jailbreaking thing on your iPad, the Spirit jailbreak tool. Developed by Comex, this tool wasn’t taken too seriously when initially it was in the cloud; people had high hopes from [Geohot]'s iPad jailbreak that disappointed in the end. As of now, Spirit jailbreak rules the roost with so many nifty hacks depending on this single tool that magically liberates iPad from Apple’s firmware restrictions. The whole process of jailbreaking with Spirit takes about a minute, a record for any jailbreaking application. Not only that, Spirit works on all Apple devices running iPhone OS - iPhones and iPod Touches 3.1.2 or 3.1.3 , or 3.2 (iPad). It is untethered (you do not have to run the jailbreaking program when you reboot) for every device, and installs Cydia by default.
Follow the tutorial given below to jailbreak your iPad:
# Troubleshoot errors that you may encounter during jailbreak
There are certain errors that may show-up while jailbreaking with Spirit jailbreak tool. This is not a major issue, rather it is seen as a beta version like testing phase that can be taken care off by a simple troubleshoot guide.
To troubleshoot Spirit jailbreak errors checkout the following links:
• Spirit jailbreak error code fix
# Jailbreaking is reversible, so no harm in trying
After acquainting you so much on jailbreaking, even if you have some doubts on whether it’s a good bet or not, then I’ll clear this doubt also. Restoring your iPad to factory setting will remove all traces of your illegal tampering of the firmware code. This will come in handy when you have to update to a newer version of iTunes.
# Cydia apps and operating system tweaks galore
Just like the Apple app store Cydia Store provides Apple device users with software applications and operating system tweaks, the only difference is that the content ‘up for grabs’ in Cydia Store is not approved by Apple. The apps available in Cydia Store range from the paid ones to the ones that are free for download. As far as iPad jailbreaking goes, Cydia provides opportunity for budding iPad app developers to come up with innovative apps for the iPad.
