Comex – that’s the name of the hacker that claims he has already “jailbroken” the iPad2. The modifications the device suffers in the “jailbreaking” process allow users to install and run applications other than the ones available on App Store/iTunes. Comex’s announcement on Twitter comes only three days after the official US release of the device: “Would’ve had it yesterday if I didn’t have to spend 1.5 days looking for a replacement exploit (which came from a most unexpected place…),” he says.

In order to support his claims, Comex posted a video which shows a white iPad2 running Cydia, which is an application used to find and download other applications for iOS. In theory a jailbroken device can run any application as long as there are no compatibility issues. The iPad2 will be released in Europe on the same day as Nintendo’s 3DS – March, 25. The Japanese company was apparently not spared by hackers and it has been reported that a variant of the R4 cartridge is already in use.

The time between the iPad2 launch in the US and the first report of a successful jailbreak is one of the longest in the iOS history and it appears that together with the release of the new iOS 4.3 the company has managed to remove some of the more obvious vulnerabilities of the operating system.

Apple’s response was firm, reported GamesIndustry.biz, the company warning that firmware updates will be released in the near future that will immobilize (brick) any device found using pirated software.