UPDATED: The hacker who made the news in 2007 for unlocking Apple's first iPhone has released a new application for jailbreaking the iPhone 3GS. The tool is currently available for Windows only.
George Hotz, the 19-year
old hacker who made headlines for unlocking Apple's original iPhone, has now
released the first-known jailbreaking tool for iPhone 3GS.
The tool, called "purplea1n,"
initially was only available for versions of the Windows operating system-excluding
Windows 7-but Hotz declared in a
blog post that
a version for the Mac is now available. The software requires that the latest
version of iTunes is installed and is for
iPhone
3GS with 3.0 firmware.
"Note the binary size of
purplera1n, it's smaller than C++ hello world," he blogged. "No 20MB thing that
needs to be torrented. And no IPSW to download. This is how jailbreak should
be!"
Jailbreaking
allows iPhone and iPod Touch users to run applications that are unavailable
through Apple's App Store. The unapproved apps can then be installed through
programs like Cydia and Icy.
Hotz made the news in 2007
for unlocking the original iPhone, allowing it to be used with any
SIM card. He later said he traded the
unlocked device for a Nissan 350Z and three locked iPhones.
Acknowledging the latest
tool is in beta, Hotz advised users to back up everything before using. Steps
for installation are described in the blog.
Editor's Note: This story has been updated with new information about "purplea1n" for the Mac.
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