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Firmware update 2.2.1 (5H11a) for iPhone and iPod Touch is now available from Apple via iTunes. Besides some bug fixes, 2.2.1 also includes a baseband update, which brings the modem firmware to version 02.30.03. The iPhone Dev-Team immediately suggested that users with jailbroken and/or unlocked devices wait for further instructions while they continue to inspect the update.

Two new Apple patent filings have recently been published that could possibly be incorporated into the next generation iPhone. The first is an audio jack cleaning adaptor for portable electronic devices. Two different methods of cleaning would both essentially force compressed air through a conduit and hollow channels in the plug to displace lint and debris that have accumulated in the jack.

According to Apple, "A consumer could place the adaptor plug in the jack, couple the conduit to the plug, and then apply compressed air through the conduit to clean the jack." Although this sounds perfectly functional, the second patent may actually be more useful on a day-to-day basis.

iPhone owners using iGoogle as of late will find that the site has changed its look. In fact, the iGoogle address formerly devoted to the iPhone now redirects to a standard Google mobile website. Why did Google opt to remove what was arguably the superior interface, and replace it with a site that is more difficult to use and has less features?

Much speculation has surrounded the prospect of a smaller, simpler version of the iPhone dubbed the "nano" in recent months. Lately reports have centered on the possibility of an iPhone Nano in development for China, and the existence on some case maker's sites of "nano" size iPhone products.

These rumors were tamped down in October during Apple's quarterly conference call with Steve Jobs, when he laid out Apple's strategy in the mobile phone market. Jobs was quoted saying, "I think that the traditional game in the phone market has been to produce a voice phone in a hundred different varieties, but as software starts to become the differentiating technology of this product category, I think that people are going to find that a hundred variations presented to a software developer is not very enticing."

The rumors have really flown this time. The iPhone 3G did not make it to Wal-Mart by the November 15th date previously reported here. However, it is now confirmed the product will be hitting shelves by the end of December. Some say the store is aiming for a pre-Christmas launch, others expect the iPhone to start selling there on December 28th.

Training materials distributed to Wal-Mart employees have pricing of the 8GB iPhone set at $197. However, employees have described a $99 4GB model to reporters at the New York Post and the San Jose Mercury News. Could it be a total fabrication?