iPod nano hacked, may open door to future jailbreak

The latest generation iPod nano has been hacked, a preliminary step that may lead to an eventual jailbreak. The sixth generation iPod nano became available in September of this year and featured an operating system that superficially resembled iOS. Under the hood, the mini MP3 player runs an alternative operating system that has been poked and prodded by devs since its launch.

Developer James Wheaton is the first to crack open the nano and install a Springboard hack that let him remove an app and create a black space. To achieve this hack, Wheaton first figured out how to bypass the cache comparison on the device. The cache comparison scans the Springboard file and reverts it if modifications are discovered. Wheaton was able to bypass this step and boot the device using a modified Springboard plist file. This opens the door for other devs to take this work one step further and possibly jailbreak the device.

Wheaton also discovered some hidden features on the device including support for Apps, vCards, Calendar events and more. Some of these hidden features, such as movie and TV support, were originally spotted when the device first landed on retail shelves. With a little bit of time and effort, Wheaton hopes to enable some of these hidden features on the iPod nano. For those interested in the Springboard hack, Wheaton promised to post additional details later this week. While you wait, check out his proof of concept video after the break.

[Via MacStories]