Jailbreakme 2.0 works on all iPhones and iPod touches running iOS4, its developers say.

However, there are reports that iPhone owners are losing FaceTime and multimedia messaging services, as well as problems for iPad users.

The utility was launched a week after US regulators announced it was lawful to hack or jailbreak an iPhone.

Unlike previous Jailbreak applications, which required the user to be connected to an external computer before they could install it, this latest version can be accessed and installed using the iPhone’s own web browser, Safari.

In a posting on Twitter, one of the developers behind Jailbreakme – who uses the handle “comex” – described the new tool as “exciting” but warned that the server was struggling to cope with demand.

“Please don’t e-mail me if the site doesn’t load, because I know that,” he wrote.

The concept of unlocking an iPhone and using unofficial applications ended up in a legal case in the United States, with the country’s Copyright Office ruling that “the practice of removing restrictions on third-party applications fell under fair use guidelines”.

The case looked specifically at Apple’s iPhone, which has had a number of jailbreaking and cracking applications developed for it.

Apple had argued that the use of these utilities broke American copyright law.

“The user is not engaging in any commercial exploitation of the firmware,” the US Copyright Office decision read, “at least not when the jailbreaking is done for the user’s own private use of the device.”

Officially approved iPhone applications, available from Apple’s online store, make the firm 30% of all sales. Unofficial applications, downloaded and installed “below the radar” make Apple nothing in revenue.

Warranty warning

Last week, Apple released a statement warning users against using jailbreaking utilities.

“Apple’s goal has always been to ensure that our customers have a great experience with their iPhone and we know that jailbreaking can severely degrade the experience,” the statement read.

“As we’ve said before, the vast majority of customers do not jailbreak their iPhones as this can violate the warranty and can cause the iPhone to become unstable and not work reliably.”

There are a number of non-approved applications on the market, many of which are accessible through Cydia – the jailbreak interface that works in a similar way to Apple’s Apps Store. However, unlike official products, they are not limited by digital rights management (DRM) software.

Apple has yet to make an official comment on the release of the new Jailbreak application.

CPM, which stands for “cost per mille” (“mille” = “thousand” in Latin), is a commonly-used metric in advertising used to benchmark the relative cost of ads per thousand “impressions”, or times the ad is loaded. While some web-based advertising is sold simply on a CPM basis, the term “Effective CPM” (eCPM) is a modified metric which takes into account the usage of tiered ad rates that include certain rates for simply showing the ad and then additional payments for users engaging the ads in some way, from simply clicking on ads to learn more to filling out personal requests for more information to actually making purchases. In essence, eCPM is simply the total revenue obtained from an advertising campaign through its various payment schemes per 1000 ad impressions.

While eCPM is highly variable based on platforms, site demographics, ad implementations and services used, an eCPM of $150 is in the neighborhood of an order of magnitude or even much more above typical solid ad performance. The strong performance comes from a premium initial base CPM of $10 for the iAd platform, with an additional $2 charged per click-through by users and 60% of the total revenue is passed along to developers. Consequently, it appears that an extremely high click-through rate of nearly 12% is the primary driver of the high eCPM for this developer’s iAd implementation.

A fill rate of only about 35% also suggests that there is plenty of room for expansion of the iAd platform. It is unclear, however, exactly what the reason is for the relatively low fill rate, and it is possible that there simply aren’t enough advertisers in the program at the moment to deliver the volume of ads being requested based on application usage.

Despite the strong initial performance, it is somewhat doubtful that developers will be able to sustain Ting’s level of performance, as he is benefitting not only from the high-profile launch of the initial wave of iPhone 4 flashlight applications but also from the novelty of the iAd program. While the interactive experience of the iAd platform is certainly likely to result in higher click-through activity from users over the long-term, the novelty of the program, which just launched last week, is likely driving more users than might otherwise be expected to test out the ads.

Though lines for the iPhone 4 at Apple Stores around the world are as long as ever, with some stores already selling out, a group of early owners are reporting problems with the phone’s screen and antenna.

When powered up, some phones experience yellow screen discoloration or a constellation of white spots. Meanwhile, others are experiencing reduced call reception when holding the phone a certain way.

Then there’s the thing with the volume control. “Although it isn’t going to change your life, it looks like a few iPhone 4s are coming off the assembly line with reversed volume buttons,” Apple news blog 9to5Mac reported Friday morning. One reader reported that the button with the “—” icon increased volume, while the button with the ‘+’ icon reduced it.

The gadget blog Gizmodo has received more than 50 reports from new owners, many including photographs of the screen issues, most frequently a distinct yellow bar across one side of the screen, or in some cases yellow blotches.

This yellow discoloration is thought to be related to an adhesive used in affixing components underneath the screen. There is some hope that the off-color will fade as the bonding material cures. One MacRumors forum member wrote that his “major yellow spots” had faded by the second day. “Keep an eye on it over the next day or so if you have the issue,” he suggested. 

The other screen issue seen in photos is a constellation of bright white spots, appearing in different patterns that persist regardless of the picture on the screen.

While these problems do exist, it is not clear how widespread the issue is. Owners of the iPhone 4 are reporting that Apple customer service representatives are acknowledging screen discoloration as a known issue, and in some cases attributing it to “residue from the manufacturing process.”

Some Apple Care reps have offered replacement iPhone 4s — either on the spot or in a week — to owners who complained. Now, however, Gizmodo reports that in other cases, service reps are telling new iPhone 4 owners to wait to see if the screen issues fade over time.

Despite buyers discussions with customer service reps, Apple has not yet made a formal statement regarding the blotchy-screen troubles.

At the same time, many new users are citing issues of poor reception, but this appears to be related to the iPhone 4′s design, rather than any manufacturing flaw. According to videos demonstrating the problem, holding the phone a certain way apparently interferes with the antenna.

The issue, which initially surfaced on MacRumors, is that when a hand or finger is placed over a small gap in the iPhone 4′s metal band, a gap identified by Apple as a key to the new external antenna construction, the phone noticeably loses reception bars, and at times drops calls or suffers data speed declines.

Due to the placement of the gap, on the lower lefthand side of the phone’s band, this alleged problem would be more likely to affect people who hold their phones in their left hands as they talk. Gizmodo has rounded up over 20 user-submitted videos of this phenomenon, all confirming the same issue.

Fortunately, as quickly as reports of the flaw have come in, so have suggestions on how to fix it. Sticking Apple’s $29 rubber “bumper” around the phone covers the antenna contact, and therefore apparently prevents the problem, as

demonstrated in a video on Gizmodo

 We just received a pitch via email for a $30 protective film called Wrapsol, which covers the front, back and sides of the phone, and “may also help with reception issues.” Others have gone more low-tech, suggesting that a piece of Scotch tape would do the trick as well.

Most likely, the solution that will gain the most popularity will be simpler — learning how to hold the phone without touching the antenna gap.

Late Thursday, Apple did respond to the antenna problem, saying just that. “Gripping any phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance, with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas,” said the written statement.

“This is a fact of life for every wireless phone. If you ever experience this on your iPhone 4, avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases.”

The higher resolution of the screen, five megapixel camera, and 720p video recording are among the main features that distinguish the new iPhone 4 with the 3GS. Although these slightly upgraded features are nice, they are hardly groundbreaking for existing 3GS owners and are not essential.

The addition on the gyroscope will add an extra dimension to the iPhone’s ability to detect movement. This feature may be used in games, but not much beyond that.

The improved battery life, which provides a few more hours of talk and music, and the slightly smaller dimensions aren’t significant enough to warrant an upgrade.

iPhone Users Are Still Stuck With their contract
iPhone users love their iPhones. According to the CFI group, 92% of iPhone users say that they own “their ideal smartphone.” however most of them are stuck with their contract.

FaceTime Has A Couple of Limiting Features
Without a doubt, FaceTime is the iPhone 4′s most exciting new feature, and Apple is pushing this as video calling finally becoming a reality.

However, there are many limitations to this “perfectly seamless” method of video calling. For instance, the feature only works from one iPhone 4 user to another. If the person you’re calling has anything other than an iPhone 4, then forget it.

Also, the feature doesn’t work using 3G. It is currently crippled through WiFi only, which makes the feature feel a bit unfinished. Are they planning on saving a 3G-ready FaceTime for the next iPhone? This makes the “perfectly seamless” statement sound slightly less than perfect. If you want to have video chat using wi-fi Access, there are numerous ways that are more convenient and affordable to do so, like through Skype.

Another iPhone Will Come Out Next Summer

Let’s take a look at the release dates of the past iterations of the iPhone:

• The original iPhone was released on June 29, 2007.
• The 3G was released on July 11, 2008.
• The 3GS was released on June 19, 2009.
• The iPhone 4 will be released on June 24, 2010.

Just like all electronic devices, there will always be an upgraded model available after a short period of time, and it’s foolish to constantly try to keep up with the latest technology. According to the past history of the iPhone’s release dates, Apple releases a newer, “better” iteration of their platform every year during the summer. Jealous of your friends who are getting the iPhone 4 this year? They’ll be feeling the same way when you purchase the iPhone 4S (or whatever it’ll be called) next year.

Your iPhone 3GS is fine for now, if you have one.

So save your money–at least for another year?