News

Hot on the heels of the latest iTunes update (8.0.2) the latest iPhone firmware (2.2) was released early this morning. It appears there are some pleasant surprises, as some unexpected features have been added, including a 3G baseband update. This update will not affect first generation iPhones but promises to reduce dropped calls and call setup failures on 3G models.

Other unexpected improvements include improved sound quality of Visual Voicemail messages, enhancements to Mail, and a new use for the Home button. Now from any Home screen pressing the Home button will display the first Home screen. This is a simple change that will cut down on tiresome swipes between screens.

Three more days until the latest iPhone software release. Ever since the September release of firmware 2.1 there has been speculation of what features might be added to 2.2. Confirmed improvements mostly revolve around the maps application, including pedestrian and Google Transit directions, Street View, and location sharing.

Firmware 2.2 also includes improvements to the MobileSafari browser, support for audio input from third-party devices, and over-the-air (OTA) podcasts. Downloads of audio or video podcasts will be limited to 10MB file sizes when using 3G or EDGE, similar to app store downloads.

The beta 2 release of iPhone firmware 2.2 is here. There are major improvements to the Maps application. Directions can now be found in three different modes, for driving, mass transit, and pedestrians. Street View has also been added, and allows the user to see street level photographs of a location just like Google Maps on the web.

When getting public transportation directions, subways and buses are both included along with scheduled times from Google Transit when available. Want to send your location to someone you're supposed to meet? Location sharing is another built-in feature that makes this easy.

Now that your iPhone running the latest firmware (2.1) has been jailbroken it's time to find some cool applications. Feel the need for some P2P filesharing? Now you can download music from the SoulSeek network using MewSeek (formerly known as iSlsk). The application is available for free on Cydia.

According to reports, Best Buy will not be the only third-party reseller of the iPhone 3G for long. Wal-Mart may be joining the ranks as early as November 15th, just in time for the holiday shopping season. Does this mean we can look forward to Rollback Savings? Don't count on it.

Currently, prices for the 8GB and 16GB iPhone 3G at Best Buy are $199 and $299 respectively, the same as they are at AT&T and Apple retail stores. The product is not available on the web, since in-store activation is required.