If you've got yourself and iPhone or an iPod touch, you can now get your hands on the latest 2.1 firmware, which is meant to fix a variety of little bugs, according to the Jobs himself.
Unveiled at the 'Let's Rock' event on Tuesday by the Apple-Meister himself, this was billed as an update for the iPod Touch, but also fixes a few bits and pieces on the iPhone 3G.
Let's not be cynical and say it was Apple's way of shielding the fact the iPhone 3G has had far too many problems and this is its attempt at fixing it, shall we?
But for the iPhone, the new software will include:
- Improved accuracy of the 3G signal strength display
- Fixed bugs causing hangs and crashes for users with lots of third party applications
- Faster installation of 3rd party applications
- Improved performance in text messaging
- Decrease in call set-up failures and dropped calls
- Significantly better battery life for most users
- Improved email reliability, notably fetching email from POP and Exchange accounts
- Faster loading and searching of contacts
- Dramatically reduced time to backup to iTunes
- Genius playlist creation (this is probably one of the few more centred on the Touch)
Downplaying?
So, is it true Apple really doesn't think there's a problem with the 3G signal, hence the 'improved accuracy'? Or is it just the Cupertino lot downplaying the rather large problem of the new iPhone dropping calls and generally having rubbish reception?
Well, the good news for all those iPod Touch owners: the new firmware won't cost you a bean if you've already bought the 2.0 update...$9.95 if you haven't.
And of course, free as the wind for those iPhone users who will be praying the update stops calls just randomly cutting out just at the vital juncture in a sentence.
