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Fly, be free! Jailbreak for iPhone 4S, iPad 2 released

The "corona untether" jailbreak allows A5-based devices running iOS 5 to access a wider world of apps. For now, it's only available for Mac OS X, with a Windows version supposedly showing up soon.

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Eric Mack
This iPhone 4S broke out of jail without having to crawl through the sewer. Screenshot by Eric Mack/CNET

Looks like the iPhone 4S is getting its "Shawshank Redemption" moment today. A jailbreak for the new iPhone and its A5-based cousin, the iPad 2, has been spotted.

The "corona untether" jailbreak for A4 devices running iOS5 was released in December, and since then a "dream team" of iOS hackers including the iPhone Dev Team, Chronic Dev Team and pod2G have been working to liberate iOS devices built around the more powerful A5 processor.

The site hosting the jailbreak has been very difficult to access this morning, but some people seem to be getting through, if you believe all the chatter on Twitter. For now, the jailbreak's only available for Mac OS X, with a Windows version available soon, according to a couple of the hackers.

In case you're not in the know, jailbreaking your iOS devices allows you to customize your gadget and to access Apple-unauthorized apps not found in the App Store, such as those available on Cydia.

The downside is that it's certainly not something Apple endorses and will likely void your device's warranty, and there's always a chance of the worst-case scenario happening--turning your device into a nice, shiny brick.

Check out this video from pod2G of a jailbroken iPhone 4S: