As most of us already know, HTC has announced just a short time ago, that they will no longer be locking the bootloaders on their devices. Well this evening, HTC informed the world via Facebook, on what devices will be first to receive the official unlock treatment and also provided us somewhat of a timeline. This should come as good news for those users who happen to have a Sensation or Evo 3D device.

Here’s the full scoop as posted on HTC’s Facebook page:

We wanted to provide an update on HTC’s progress with bringing bootloader unlocking to our newest phones. We know how excited some of you are for this capability, and we’ve put significant resources behind making this change as soon as possible. While we wish we could flip a simple switch and unlock all bootloaders across our device portfolio, this is actually a complex challenge that requires a new software build and extensive testing to deliver the best possible customer experience.

We’re thrilled to announce today that software updates to support bootloader unlocking will begin rolling out in August for the global HTC Sensation, followed by the HTC Sensation 4G on T-Mobile USA and the HTC EVO 3D on Sprint. We’re in the testing phase for the unlocking capability now, and we expect it to be fully operational by early September for devices that have received the software updates. We’ll continue rolling out the unlocking capability over time to other devices as part of maintenance releases and new shipments.

HTC continues its commitment to unlocking bootloaders and supporting the developer community. Because of the importance of this community to us, please expect an update on this about every few weeks as we make progress toward launch. Thank you for your patience and continued support!

So maybe this isn’t the immediate unlock some users were expecting or even demanding, but from our perspective, this at least gives us an idea of when to expect the updates to start happening. It seems we all should be grateful that they are unlocking their bootloaders at all and for them to give us a timeline of when to expect it is even more generous of them. Thanks for the hard work on this HTC!

We will continue to bring you the latest as more updates from HTC rollout regarding unlocked bootloaders.
Are you a Sensation or Evo 3D user who is waiting for this official unlock method?
Will their new policy help you make your next phone purchase decision?

source: HTC via Facebook

Comex has just released the highly anticipated JailbreakMe 3.0 for iOS 4.3.3. After it having leaked out about a week ago, it’s now been officially released. The ultimate iDevice unlocking tool is finally here.

JailbreakMe 3.0 makes use of a PDF exploit just like JailbreakMe 2.0. JailbreakMe was originally used to jailbreak the iPhone and iPod touch running the 1.1.1 version of iPhone OS. Using a TIFF exploit in Safari, this installed the Installer.app. This exploit was patched by Apple Inc. in the 1.1.2 firmware. The more recent JailbreakMe 2.0 released by comex uses an exploit in the FreeType library used while rendering PDF files. The exploit used by JailbreakMe 2.0 was patched by Apple Inc. in iOS 4.0.2. JailbreakMe 3.0 can jailbreak all iDevices (including iPad 2) on iOS 4.3.3 only, with additional firmware update support to come later. Comex’s solution is the ultimate jailbreaking solution as you can jailbreak your iOS device by simply using mobile Safari.

It’s been confirmed to work on all iOS devices such as iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 1, iPad 2, iPod Touch 3G and iPod Touch 4G.

Here’s a few things that you should be aware of before you proceed:

• It is always a good idea to take a backup of your iOS device before you hack it.
• JailbreakMe 3.0 supports iOS 4.3.3, so you need to first update your iOS device to iOS 4.3.3 before using JailbreakMe.
• Please note that JailbreakMe does not activate your iPhone, so your iPhone should be activated via iTunes first.
• JailbreakMe does not unlock your iPhone. So iPhone unlockers are advised to use tools like PwnageTool or Sn0wbreeze to jailbreak their iPhone.

The process is as simple as visiting JailbreakMe.com on your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad’s Mobile Safari browser and tap on the Free button under Cydia and then tap on the Install button, this should jailbreak your iOS device and install Cydia just like installing an iOS app from the App Store. It is as easy as that.

Here’s a short clip of the install process on an iPhone or iPod Touch:

Another short clip, this time of the process on an iPad or iPad 2:

Anyone wanna share their experience using this latest unlock tool for their iDevice?
Can these jailbreak teams keep up with the enhanced security coming in iOS 5?
I guess time will tell, but we tend to think the devs will always be right there to win us back the freedom of our own devices, every time the big guy tries to lock them down.
Share your thoughts on this subject below.
Last but not least, much respect and appreciation goes out to Comex for this great development.

source: jailbreakme, mobilesyrup

By now I’m sure you have read many times, that before you attempt to jailbreak or unlock your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, you should first save your SHSH blobs. Well, the iPhone Dev team has just revealed in a blog post titled “Blob Monster”, that Apple is making things much more difficult to downgrade to an older firmware using SHSH blobs in the coming iOS 5.

Why save your SHSH blobs and WHAT are they, you ask? In a nutshell SHSH blobs are configuration files from your iPhone / iPad / iTouch corresponding to the specific version of the iOS you’re running as well as your particular device’s exact configuration. You should save them before you do upgrades to new versions of iOS or if you’re installing a jailbreak/unlock tool, since they will help you keep your specific hack intact. This which is not possible by default, as Apple stops signing older iOS firmware files after it releases a new iOS software update (usually used to downgrade to an older version of iOS). If you do not save them, the next iOS upgrade can ruin your jailbreak / unlock or hack… forever.

The easiest way to save your SHSH Blob is by using the TinyUmbrella tool because it can take blobs saved from any iDevice, even if it’s not jailbreaked. Another option is using Cydia to save your configuration, although not all Cydia versions support this option, so TinyUmbrella is the popular choice.

Quoted from the Dev Team’s Blog:

“Starting with iOS5 beta, the role of ‘APTicket’ is changing — it’s being used much like the ‘BBTicket’ has always been used. The LLB and iBoot stages of the boot sequence are being refined to depend on the authenticity of the APTicket, which is uniquely generated at each and every restore. This APTicket authentication will happen at every boot, not just at restore time.”

What’s all that mean exactly? Well, for one, you’ll no longer be able to downgrade your firmware because Apple now holds the keys to the kingdom on your device. You will be able to jailbreak still, but you will not be able to downgrade your devices as easily.

It looks like Apple’s starting to get real about fighting back with Jailbreakers. Although honestly this could be an even bigger nuisance for non-jailbreakers. As many of you may still be sporting an iPhone 3G and the latest updates really take a toll on your iPhone’s resources and overall performance. In these cases you could just revert back to an older firmware to get things back to stable, but now it’s going to be more difficult to even downgrade for legitimate reasons.

In light of this new move from Apple, this means that you have to be even more careful when Apple releases a new iOS software update post iOS 5, until the Dev team comes up with a solution since as of now there is no way to revert back if you end up accidentally upgrading to it.

In an industry where Android phones are going to start to come unlocked by default, Apple continues to ramp up their efforts in its’ game of tag with iPhone jailbreakers and unlockers, as they have also just reportedly blocked the iPhone 4 hardware unlocking solution using Gevey SIM in iOS 5 beta 2.

How do you feel about this move from Apple?
Will you still be eyeballing that iPhone 5 when it gets here?
Do you think Apple’s efforts are futile and could be better spent on other things?
Or do you feel the security they implement is warranted and necessary and adds to the stability of the Apple product market? (you know, since nobody runs a hacked iPhone, right?)
Let me know your feelings about this latest move from Apple below.

source: DevTeam Blog

There’s a bit of good news coming from the ChevronWP7 team, it seems it’s been a while since we have heard much from them. That is besides them actively coding, running Aussie DDD WP7 Mango presentations, releasing fixes for the “Walshie” WP7 forced Nodo tool and twittering away… Well, now they have made a pretty big Windows Phone announcement, completely backed by Microsoft.

This announcement was based on the initial vision which brought the ChevronWP7 team together in the first place. This vision was for a lower-cost alternative method to Developer-unlock your Windows Phone handset, along with the side-loading of Apps, homebrews and other community based initiatives. Unlike the iPhone Dev Team, this service won’t be free. Customers will have to pay a minimal fee via PayPal and then they will have the ability to jailbreak and load homebrew apps on their handsets.

The ChevronWP7 team at their core, came about out of the shared vision of Home-brew and the enthusiast community creating, developing and pushing this new OS platform to its fullest potential, even if not supported by Microsoft. Well, Microsoft has taken the high road with all of this and has embraced their creativity and invited them to a meeting. That is when things got quiet until now.

The announcement on their Blog (pictured below), confirmed a forthcoming initiative from the newly created CHEVRONWP7 LABS team. It would appear that this is going to be the name under which any further WP7 software, tools or general releases from the ChveronWP7 team will be made under. The specific Blog post on their site confirmed a forthcoming low-cost alternative to Developer Unlocking your Windows Phone handset, in-line with their objectives to promote and support the home-brew, developer and enthusiast WP7 communities.

Important enough to mention again, is that this initiative will be fully endorsed up-front by Microsoft.
I have to give a huge amount of credit to the Chevron team (Chris, Long and Rafael), for standing strong behind their initial goal of supporting the WP7 enthusiast community and developers.

Will you pay a fee to jailbreak, knowing you have Microsoft’s permission to do so?
Is Microsoft starting to also see the value of the developer and enthusiast community?
What are your thoughts on all of this? Let us know in the comments below.

source: chevronwp7