News

The Dev Team has released redSn0w version 0.9.10b8b which brings only a minor bug fix. According to the Dev Team blog, the "0.9.10b8b update to redsn0w makes the zip files more compatible with the native Windows explorer (which doesn’t like leading slashes in the filenames)." The previous version released a few weeks ago helped users take advantage of the popular SAM unlock method.

In the meantime, the jailbreak community is closer to releasing an untethered jailbreak for iOS 5.1. Currently only A4 and A5 devices on iOS 5.0.1 and lower are jailbreakable. A4 devices can upgrade to iOS 5.1 but they will have to go tethered. Hopefully there is an untethered solution for all iOS devices right around the corner.

If you're looking to save money with your GSM iPhone, Straight Talk provides a pre-paid option without unlocking or jailbreaking. Straight Talk offers iPhone owners an unlimited data, voice and text plan for just $45 per month. This is less than half the price of standard plans from AT&T.

Straight Talk is a MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator), which means the carrier operates using other networks including AT&T and T-Mobile. Once you get a micro-SIM card from Straight Talk for your AT&T iPhone, the device won't know the difference.

Some iPhone owners are nervous about jailbreaking their devices due to Apple's no jailbreaking policy. To discourage iOS hacking Apple does not offer customer support to users who jailbreak their phones, and jailbreaking also voids Apple’s warranty. Until today jailbreakers had no way to insure their iPhones, even through third-party warranty providers. That has all changed thanks to SquareTrade. The third-party provider has expanded its coverage to jailbroken iPhones. This is great news for jailbreakers who would like to protect themselves from cracked screens and other iPhone mishaps.

SquareTrade does not cover hardware mods (e.g. filed-off serial numbers) but any software modifications are fine. SquareTrade's VP of Strategy Vince Tseng told GigaOM.com, that SquareTrade does not care what Apple users do to their software. "Our general philosophy is that if a device hasn’t been played around with on the inside we don’t have a problem with that. We are here to help the Apple community, and if they want something Apple doesn’t provide we are here for them," said Tseng.

Cult of Mac has learned that a Walmart store in Edmond, Oklahoma has reduced the prices of the iPhone 4 and 4S AT&T models. The 8GB iPhone 4 on AT&T is now $34, and the white and black 16GB iPhone 4S on AT&T is now being offered for $114. The new prices only apply to AT&T upgrades and new activations. AT&T has not confirmed if this is a carrier sale or a Walmart only promotion. It's also unclear if all Walmart stores are participating. However, you may want to visit your local Walmart to see if these new prices are available in your area.

Corona developer pod2g tweeted a quick update about his iOS 5.1 jailbreaking progress. The iPhone developer wrote: "Heya! My iPhone 4 running iOS 5.1 is now untethered." In April, pod2g announced that he had acquired all the exploits required to complete a new jailbreak. This latest announcement is good news since it shows that he has made some progress since we last checked in with him.

iOS hackers have been busy working on a new exploit since the release of the iPad 3 in March. Dev Team member MuscleNerd and Chpwn both tweeted pictures of a jailbroken iPad 3 running Cydia 1.1.5 shortly after the tablet was released. However, Chpwn warned that a new jailbreak "could be months away from a public release."