Methods for jailbreaking the iPad 2 have been out there almost since the device’s release in the spring. Now, with the official release of JailbreakMe 3.0, jailbreaking the Apple tablet can be done in minutes from a Safari browser window via the JailbreakMe Web site. Other methods have typically required connecting the iPad to a computer, which then does the heavy lifting to gain root access to the tablet.
Once jailbroken via JailbreakMe, the Cydia app store is installed on the device and adventurous users can install a variety of apps not screened by Apple, as well as use a few other features. The whole process takes just a few minutes and can be done from the iPad 2 jailbreak–or most other iOS devices–without any other hardware.
Comex, the Apple hacker behind the jailbreak, initially broke into the iPad 2 in March, and has apparently been working to polish the JailbreakMe Web app ever since. The key is a vulnerability in iOS 4.3 tied to how the system displays PDF files. The folks at Cydia, having a healthy sense of irony and service to Apple, offer a fix for the vulnerability in their app store.
JailbreakMe’s developers swear it won’t damage your device or make it more vulnerable to intruders, but as always, jailbreak at your own risk.