iPhone 4 Proof of Concept Jailbreak Finalized, Public Release Imminent

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Ever since the PDA era where Palm Pilots ran rampant, users have been able to install third party applications onto their devices, much like you would a normal computer. Well, as the times progressed and PDAs died out only to be replaced with smartphones, things began to change a bit. While mobile operating systems like Windows Mobile until this day allows you to install third party applications, more dominant mobile operating systems like Apple’s iOS did not allow such a thing until the iPhone 3G was released with the App Store in tow.

Despite allowing third party applications to be downloaded and installed through the App Store, all of the applications that make thier way onto the App Store have to be approved by Apple. Now this may not seem too terrible but many users have complained that this is a form of censorship as Apple denies a wide array of mobile applications when they are submitted for App Store approval.

Well, seeing how the iPhone 3G was the first to offer the App Store, iPhone users went an entire device’s lifespan without any way to install third party applications. Lucky for them, the hacking community has stepped in to fill the gaps left behind by Apple with their work on jailbreaking the phone.

Now, while jailbreaking the phon eis much more commonly used to unlock the device to use beyond whatever carrier the phone is locked to, being able to install third party applications that would otherwise be rejected by Apple also makes an appearance. This can largely be attributed to rogue App Store clones like Cydia which offers the ability to download all sorts of different applications along with allowing developers to sell their applications that were rejected by Apple.

With the recent release of the iPhone 4 it’s just a matter of time until the device is fully jailbroken. While there’s no expected release date, said release date has grown closer thanks to an iPhone DevTeam member tweeting the above screenshot.

While the screenshot does feature a jailbroken iPhone 4, the DevTeam lets us know that this method is one that Apple can easily fix which is why they are holding back on a public release. Luckily, they have assured us that a more usable release is just over the horizon and will soon be available to consumers everywhere.