As always, jailbreaking comes with a number of caveats. Besides the obvious precautions -- jailbreaking your device may void your warranty and is against Apple's policies -- the latest jailbreak is tethered, meaning you’ll need a Windows or Mac computer that runs Redsn0w if you plan to reboot.
While the jailbreak works with the iPod touch 3G and 4G, original iPad, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4, it doesn't work on the iPhone 4S or the iPad 2.
If you install the jailbreak, a lot of iOS features will break, including some of Apple's official apps and third party apps.
So, there you have it: iOS 5 can be jailbroken, but only the very adventurous users and developers of jailbroken apps should find it beneficial.
If you haven't been dissuaded yet, check out the video below for an explanation of how to apply the jailbreak.
BONUS: Hands On With iOS 5
[nggallery id=2673]