iPad 2 Jailbreak Using JailbreakMe 3.0 Will Be Very Fast

The yet to be released JailbreakMe 3.0 jailbreak solution for iPad 2 will jailbreak iPad 2 very fast, the developer Comex has confirmed via a tweet. Comex explains how he has made some changes that will greatly decrease the time it will take to jailbreak iPad 2.

Comex tweeted:

If you don't know, the stashing approach jailbreaks have been using for years-- Cydia's "Reorganizing Filesystem"-- involves moving some large directories from the small / partition into the large /var partition, then creating symlinks from the original to the new location. This both ensures that any additional stuff put in those directories by packages will end up in the /var partition, and frees up space on the / partition for files created outside of those directories. However, the process has some issues, like taking forever to do when you jailbreak (I am a bit fanatical about speed), pretty much requiring the jailbreak to reboot the system to ensure there aren't any running applications pointing to the old files (ditto about speed, I want a jailbreak to not even require a respring, as in star, but since star used stashing, some obscure things could cause issues before a reboot), and seriously confusing the sandbox code in the kernel (because each application has a sandbox with a list of allowed filenames, but after the symlink has moved files, the filenames no longer match), requiring that code to be patched (it needs to be patched anyway these days because tweaks have to run under the sandboxes of the applications they're hooking, but depend on accessing various directories; but it still feels good to get rid of a kludge).
With unionfs (which was saurik's idea originally), new files are created in the /var partition, and merged with files in the corresponding directories in the / partition, so no files need to be moved, no descriptors are invalidated, and I think the sandbox code won't notice what happened. It also opens the door for upgrading the base operating system without destroying the jailbreak files (although maybe iOS 5 delta updates will already allow this? I haven't looked at them yet).
I've wanted to do this since literally a year ago (that's the date of the nullfs checkin, since I was dumb and thought I wanted that instead of unionfs), but I never got around to making it work properly.
So, I just hope that I can get rid of the crashes my meddling with unionfs's code have introduced, and fix it for the iPad 2 (my dumped copies of iPad 2 kernels do not include symbols; I wrote a small BinDiff-like tool to copy over symbols from a kernel for another device, but it's not perfect) and that there aren't any performance issues.

Previously, the Chronic Dev Team has given an update on their iPad 2 jailbreak, which is due to be released in the coming weeks.

We'll update you as soon as JailbreakMe 3.0 goes live to jailbreak iPad 2.

JailbreakMe 3.0 Won't Jailbreak iOS 5 On iPad 2

Here's a bit of bad news for those who love iOS 5 on iPad 2. Comex has confirmed via Twitter that JailbreakMe 3.0 will not jailbreak iOS 5 on iPad 2, rather it will only jailbreak iOS 4.2.1 till 4.3.3 on iPad 2.

Previously, we have reported that Comex has been working on making the iPad 2 jailbreak process faster through JailbreakMe 3.0. This new procedure will drastically reduce the time it takes for the jailbreak. Reportedly, JailbreakMe 3.0 will also work on iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPod touch 3G, 4G, iPad 1 and of course, the iPad 2.

Comex tweeted in reply to a question that JailbreakMe 3.0 will not be jailbreaking iOS 5, which is in beta 1 right now, on iPad 2. So those who are willing to jailbreak iPad 2 and have upgraded to iOS 5 beta 1, it is recommended that you downgrade iPad 2 to iOS 4.3.3, in order to be able to run Cydia on iPad 2.

Right now, iOS 5 beta 1 can be jailbroken on iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad 1 and iPod touch 3G, 4G and you can follow our guide posted here to do that.

We'll be sure to let you know as soon as JailbreakMe 3.0 goes live. Keep checking back!

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Motorola unveils Milestone 3 (DROID 3) in China

This increasing number of leaks over the past few weeks were a dead giveaway that Motorola had a new flagship Android phone ready to be outed, and today the company took the wraps off its third-generation headlining act: the Milestone 3. Here in the U.S., we know the Milestones better as “DROIDs,” and we’re very confident that Motorola’s latest superphone will get Verizon Wireless CMO Marni Warden’s DROID stamp of approval soon enough. In the meantime, we get to sit half way around the world and admire this sleek smartphone from afar. Beneath the phone’s familiar facade lies a dual-core processor, a 4-inch qHD display, Android 2.3 Gingerbread, an 8-megapixel camera with 1080p HD video capture support, 16GB of internal storage and, of course, a slide-out QWERTY keypad. The Milestone 3 will launch in the third quarter in China, and availability elsewhere has not yet been announced. Motorola’s full press release follows below.

JOYSTICK-IT: A Physical Joystick For Your iPad Or Android Tablet

ThinkGeek, maker of several other geek toys of varied usefulness, has released a new attachable joystick for the iPad or Android tablets. By attaching to the glass, it will work with any game with any graphical control pad (such as many of the iOS versions of Pac-Man that are out there).

We all know how pesky pressing small controls on a touch screen can be, when games don’t support the iPad’s built-in accelerometer and is too elaborate to work with other touch controls. With JOYSTICK-IT, you’ll have a familiar interface that will do the pressing for you. Installing the add-on is as simple as pressing it down on your device’s screen on top of the game’s controls. You can then move it around or remove it when you wish by simply pulling it out, without causing any damage to your device. Indeed, this patent-pending device will make gaming a lot easier:

Bring your tablet-based gaming to the next level with the JOYSTICK-IT Tablet Arcade Stick. The JOYSTICK-IT gives you a real physical joystick for increased precision with touchscreen based games.

Although this accessory is marketed specifically at iPads and Android tablets, it can work on any reasonably sized capacitive touch-screen device, including smartphones, although their size could affect playability. As detailed by this product’s product page, it will work on any game with a basic virtual control pad of some kind, but not on games with advanced controls:

The JOYSTICK-IT will work with any game that features a virtual on-screen control pad of some kind. Games that use swiping, swipe-style joypads, joypads with variable on-screen locations, or complex finger based gestures will not work properly with the JOYSTICK-IT.

ThinkGeek is a nerd sanctuary for cool things. It sells basic geek-themed goods like shirts, hoodies and Android plush robots; as well as more elaborate ones such as an add-on flip-out keyboard for the iPhone and an iPod speaker that looks like a lego brick.

This add-on is available for $24.99, and for $39.99 you’ll get two joysticks instead of one, which is useful for some games that have controls on both sides of the screen:

This Translucent ‘Frosty’ Conversion Kit For iPhone 4 Shows Off Your iPhone’s Innards

When Apple launched the iPhone 4 handset, we all marveled at its sleek lines and glass and metal construction. A whole 12 months down the line and we’re still hard pushed to think of a better looking smartphone, and in a world which includes the likes of Samsung Galaxy S II, that’s saying something.

The iPhone 4 has some rather spiffy innards too. Its A4 CPU and 512MB of RAM help the fourth generation iPhone to power through the weird and wonderful apps in the App Store – it’s one powerful little phone.

The problem is though, with all that power under the hood it’s a shame that nobody ever really gets to see it. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to look at your iPhone 4 and think ‘yep, that there A4′s earning its money today’ right in the middle of a spot of Real Racing 2? Well it turns out you can, thanks to a translucent conversion kit.

Coming to us from MICGadget, said conversion kit comes complete with front and rear panels as well as more accessories and tools than we’d every have a hope of knowing what they are for:

Tools which are required to disassemble your iPhone are also included, so you do not need to spend more money on the tools. All kinds of tools are included, such as a SIM Card eject tool, a Phillips-head screwdriver, a 5-point Pentalobe screwdriver, two pry-opening tools, metal tweezers and a vacuum suction cup (you need this for first time disassemble). A translucent Bumper is also included. If you are not a fan of translucent gadgets, we also offer transparent front and rear panels for the same price.

The fitting is apparently a breeze – that is until it’s time to install the front panel. According to MICGadget, it’s actually so complicated that they recommend getting a professional to fit it for you, though we can’t help but think your local friendly Apple Store Genius perhaps isn’t the way to go.

One thing that would concern us slightly is the affect the new rear plate could have on the quality of photos taken with the iPhone’s camera. Other third-party rear plates are known for causing poor photographs, with the flash especially susceptible to being affected by inferior quality components places in front of it.

Thankfully, at least according to MICGadget, this kit suffers no such problems.

The translucent (or ‘frosty’) kit is available to buy now for $79. If you’re on the fence then hang tight – we have on winging its way to us right now and we’ll report back on just how easy, or how difficult, the conversion actually is.