iOS 4.2.1 jailbroken, available now

With Apple's recent release of the latest version of its mobile operating system, iOS 4.2.1, still warm on everyone's plate, the iPhone Dev Team has successfully jailbroken the update.

Thanks to a combination of past hacks (pwnage2, arm7_go, 24kpwn, and limera1n), the iPhone Dev Team was able to crack through the iOS 4.2.1 update, bringing people the capability to use jailbroken apps, games, and utilities on their iOS devices.

For those of you with an iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, or second-generation iPod Touch, the jailbreak method will remain just as simple. New iPod Touch models, iPads, and the iPhone 4 required tethering your device to a computer each time a reboot is desired (or required) until just recently, when redsn0w version 0.9.6b4 was released.

Many may view this as a minor inconvenience though, so long as the hack gains them access to the thousands of jailbroken add-ons available for iOS devices.

While the jailbreak has been steadily successful for the iPhone Dev Team and other hackers, producing a carrier unlock hack has been much more challenging. The current project, ultrasn0w, is still too far from completion to estimate when it may be available.

To learn more about jailbreaking your device, read the iPhone Dev Team Blog.

Are you jailbreaking your iOS device? Let me know in the comments!