If you like the idea of using your iPad as a fully functional phone, now you can. Thanks to a hack by iPhoneIslam, iPad users running the new iOS 5 update can install PhoneIt-iPad and start making calls right from their device.
The app comes with a hefty price tag of $19.99. The benefits may outweigh the cost, but that will depend on each person. Once you download the hack, you can activate it online by entering your iPad’s serial number. Keep in mind: you won’t be able to switch the serial number to a different device. Once installed, it’s a one-device per purchase.
Now before you go and buy the software there are a few things you should know.
For one, the hack only works on the original iPad with 3G, and that’s probably because there is currently no jailbreak available for iPad 2 on iOS 5. So if you have the second-generation iPad or ones with Wi-Fi only capabilities, you’re out of luck, for now at least.
Secondly, a plain ‘ole data SIM card won’t work. You’ll need to get a hold of an activated SIM card with mobile service. Basically, if you can use the SIM card in a phone and make calls, you can use it on an iPad to make calls.
Finally, your iPad must be jailbroken since the hack requires access to the Cydia Store. For jailbreaking iOS 5 tethered using Redsn0w, you can follow our complete step by step guide posted here, or here if you want to use Sn0wbreeze on Windows. Since jailbreak on iOS 5 is currently limited to tethered boot only, you can install ‘SemiTether’ patch (instructions here) from Cydia to make your jailbreak semi-tethered on iOS 5. For those of you on iOS 5.0.1 can follow our instructions posted here on how to jailbreak using Redsn0w, or here using Ac1dSn0w, or here using Sn0wbreeze.
The developers behind the hack are promising an iPad 2 version soon:
Right now we do not support iPad 2 yet because the hardware is totally different and we need to adjust PhoneIt-iPad to work on iPad 2 as smooth as it was on iPad 1. We can not expect when it will be ready but we working hard on that to finish it as soon as possible, Please check back.
Although PhoneIt-iPad gives you the perk of using your iPad as a phone, it will be missing some features you find on your iPhone for now; MMS (picture messaging) and Bluetooth are not supported. Since iTunes still sees your hacked iPad for what it is, ringtones won’t be supported either. On the upside, FaceTime might be a feature that may be brought on in a future update, although the developers are making no guarantees.
You can find PhoneIt-iPad now under the following repo in Cydia: http://apps.iphoneislam.com.
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