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This is what happens when you try and prank a celebrity. Nice try fellas.

These are instructions on how to jailbreak and unlock your iPhone 3G and 3GS using BlackRa1n and BlackSn0w for Windows.

These instructions will work with the latest 3.1.2 firmware, the 05.11.07 baseband, and iPhones which require hactivation.

For those with a new iPhone 3GS (updated Bootrom), BlackRa1n only supports a tethered jailbreak. This means that once jailbroken you should not let your battery die. If it does die you will need to reconnect it to the computer and use BlackRa1n to boot it.

Before continuing make sure you are on the 05.11.07 baseband. If you are not please update your firmware to 3.1.2 using iTunes before continuing.

Ok lets begin...


Step One
Open your web browser of choice and navigate to http://www.blackra1n.com. Click the Windows logo at the bottom of the screen.


Step Two
When prompted save the download to your desktop




Step Three
Then double click the blackra1n executable file from the desktop to launch the program


Step Four
Make sure your iPhone or iPod is connected to the computer then click the large make it ra1n button


Step Five
You iPhone will now be placed in recovery mode.


You will see a picture of GeoHot that replaces the regular recovery mode screen on your device.


blackra1n will run and then your device will reboot.


A popup message will appear informing you that BlackRa1n is free software and if you appreciate it you can donate to GeoHot at geohot@gmail.com.


Step Six
Once your device reboots it will be jailbroken and you will notice a blackra1n icon on the Springboard. Make sure you have an internet connection and press to launch the application.


Choose the installer application of your choice then press to select sn0w if you would like to unlock your device. Press the Install button at the top right of the screen to begin.


BlackRa1n will begin to download and install the package you selected.


If you chose to unlock device using blacksn0w you will be presented with a Post Install log for sn0w. CommCenter will be restarted and there is no need to reboot. If your carrier doesn't support 3G then disable it. Press the Close button to continue.


Step Seven
Once complete BlackRa1n will respring your iPhone and you will find the installer package of your choice on the Springboard.


Step Eight
Once you have confirmed your installer package is working correctly you may use the Uninstall blackra1n button inside the BlackRa1n app to remove it from your springboard.


***THANKS: A big thanks to Geohot for making this jailbreak possible. Also thanks to those who contributed to making it a success. You can donate to Geohot using the button below.

While the jury's still out on its US name or release date, the HTC Magic is gearing up for its European debut by way of Vodafone. The pre-order page is now live with an irresistible price of zilch, provided you agree to a monthly plan of £30 or more. The company says it plans to ship out the Cupcake-powered phone by May 5th.

[Via Phandroid]

Just in case you've been trying to worm your way into your network-connected hard drive via your phone, the folks at Pogoplug have made their iPhone application available, free of charge. After you're done Skype'ing, you can check out some family photos. C'mon -- you know you need those files.

Well hey -- it looks like Windows Mobile 6.5 will arrive a little earlier than expected. A post on the WinMo team blog says that the update to Redmond's smartphone platform will officially launch on May 11, the first day of the Tech Ed conference. We're figuring that could mean we'll see the gold build demoed for the very first time, seeing how the version showed off at the glamorous MWC launch was described as an "alpha" cut. Of course, after that it's all up to the carriers and handset manufacturers as to when we'll actually see the OS loaded onto devices, but we're sure the hacking community will find a way to satiate the impatient until then -- or until Windows Mobile 7 comes out.

[Via Electronista]

At long last, iPhone users who have grown increasingly frustrated by using Google Maps as their primary navigational tool can find relief... sort of. Available right now in the App Store, XRoad's G-Map application requires no internet connection whatsoever in order to function; rather, it packs oodles of maps into a 932MB package that covers most of western America and a few sporadic locales on the east. We're a bit baffled (and angered) by the not-at-all-comprehensive coverage, but we suppose we can expect updates to patch the gaps in the near future. It provides most of the same amenities you're used to seeing on real-deal GPS units, including POI editing, memo capabilities, location searching, etc. A word of caution, though: early reviews don't seem too stoked about it, so you may want to gloss it over good before hitting your card for $19.99

Remember that super swank number cruncher that Nokia was working up for the Symbian S60 platform back in August? Welp, she's reached the end of her road, as they say. According to an update on the Beta Labs website, the Enhanced Calculator for S60 has seen its final wave of tweaks which make it fully compatible with the N96 (among other things). Curiously, Nokia is also announcing that the project is being archived (though it's still available for download), noting that it learned that "it wasn't feasible to productize." Instead, Nokia has enlisted a proper R&D team that will eventually "result in an improved built-in calculator for future Nokia devices." Hmm, maybe they're referring to something such as this?

Quick: name a Nokia phone with a touchscreen. Added complication: it can't be running Symbian. Struggling a bit? Well, we've got at least one answer here in the form of the just-leaked 6208 classic, a candybar approved by China's spectrum peeps that does a 2.85-inch touchscreen, 3.2-megapixel cam, microSD slot, Bluetooth, and a moderately unimpressive 2,000 entry-deep address book. Normally, we'd expect a Nokia with this kind of spec to do -- and lack a physical numeric keypad, for that matter -- but things work a little differently in the Chinese market, and given Nokia's out there, we're not going to call 'em out.

You probably weren't expecting yet another luxury model of Nokia's long-lived 8800 fashionphone, right? Well, the company continues to prove its dedication to the crazily expensive slider with its newest model, the Gold Arte. This precious puppy is dipped in 18-carat gold and has white leather on the front and back -- just in case the gold wasn't enough to prove its owners are living on the edge of obnoxious ostentation. Other than its looks, you can expect the newest 8800 to be pretty much identical to its Carbon Arte predecessor, with 3G, 4GB of flash memory, an OLED display and a 3.2 megapixel camera. We don't know exactly when it's slated for release in Europe, but we expect it to carry a pretty "impressive" price tag.

[Via Phone Arena]

Oh, HTC. Why do you tease us? For the legions of phone fanatics not located in Russia, the images hosted up in the read link are about as close as you all will ever get to Yota's HTC MAX 4G. The world's first GSM + WiMAX handset has been acquired by an evidently affluent individual who reportedly threw down around $1,300 in greenbacks in exchange for this gem. Those familiar with the HTC Touch HD won't find too many dissimilarities, but we'll stop bothering you with these "words" and allow you to give the images some careful attention.

[Via wmpoweruser]

We've gotten a few decent looks at the LG Prada II in weeks past, but the Daily Mobile Forum has happened upon a veritable treasure chest of views of the device in glorious detail -- which, if you didn't already know -- is now on sale in Europe. Lucky devils. We've included a few of our favorites after the break, but hit the read link for all 17 (Yes, seventeen!).

Sort of. Pwnage Tool 2.0 can't handle 3G iPhone SIM unlocks just yet, though jailbreaking should work just fine, and we're also faced with the teensy little problem of the Dev Team's server being totally destroyed by downloads already -- mirror please? -- but the friendly little jailbreak app has finally been unleashed upon the earth. We'd never suggest trying out software like this right out of the gate, but, um, let us know how it goes, yeah?

Update: Looks like 2.0.1 is already out with a few fixes!

Paul carries 'Libby' in his hand luggage. Try explaining that to customs!

Lib-b is a hexapod Paul built and recently exhibited to demonstrate his passion for technology and what can be done with Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio. Technology is all around us but our awareness of how we can use it to make life simple, richer and more fun is very low. The purpose of Paul's wotudo blog is to shout out stuff you can do, and show you how to do it.

Hear more from Paul at http://www.ilivetocode.com/paul.

Also, don't miss out on RoboChamps, a series of 3-D simulated challenges that makes robotics available to a lot more people, http://www.robochamps.com/.