Needless to say this is a huge problem that in come cases make this update more harmful than helpful. A number of users are downgrading back to firmware 2.1 in order to resolve the issues. We ourselves have experienced a drop in signal strength. The most reports we have been getting is loss of Wi-Fi connectivity. Users are unable to get a Wi-Fi connection even without network encryption.

Here are some of the reports that users are making:

• “When I upgraded, all my apps non-original apps disappears, except for google! When I tried to re-download and then resync them onto my iphone, only some of them would appear. After talking to support, we tried starting my computer (she said this was happening to some people) and then syncing. This added a couple more, but about 10 were still sitting in my itunes and refusing to sync.”

• “After the os 2.2 update. Safari suddenly disappeared. Syncing etc didn’t work or resolve the issue. I had to do a restore to get things back to normal.”

• “After upgrading to 2.2 the iphone camera app disappeared, and every program that uses the camera stopped working also. Restoring the phone brought it back but then the next Sync made it go away again. Very annoying. How much QA did they do before they released this upgrade? I can understand third party apps breaking but not the base applications.”

• “I also have had a problem with a missing application. My camera application has disappeared and I tried restoring it, and it appeared for about five minutes, let me take one picture, then was suddenly gone again.”

[Via iPhoneAtlas]

When entering the iPhone’s emergency call feature, you can call 911 in case of an emergency. However, you can also call any other number you’d like. Basically, going to the emergency screen lets you make a phone call to anyone. And while I could see the advantages of this in an emergency, it’s not exactly a good way to lock down your minutes, either.

It would only be a problem if your iPhone was stolen and someone was able to use a bunch of minutes before you could cancel the service. Even so, it’s a bit of an inconvenience, don’t you think?

[via MacRumors]

Shortly thereafter, the iPhone 2.0.2 update was released with hopes to provide numerous bug fixes and clear up some of those reception problems. We also posted a side-by-side comparison video of the iPhone 2.0.1 and 2.0.2 software, of which it would seem the update really produced a speed boost. Jobs also admitted to the numerous third-party app crashes users are experiencing and promised a fix for those as well.

On the business side of things, Apple seems to be geared up to produce 40 million iPhones next year. Plus, the iPhone is set to release in Turkey from Turkcell and in Russia in October. It was also determined that if you have a jailbroken iPhone, you can “kill” the kill switch fairly easily.

We had several fun things of note this week as well, including two reviews of free apps like PapiJump and Tris. We got a look at the Nike+ app, however it seems the screenshots may have been fakes.

A video demo showed up online of Real Racing, which is a networked multiplayer game for the iPhone. An app that simulates a hologram is also supposedly in the works. You can get your hands on a Mobile Phone Telescope for your iPhone as well, though it seems to be intended for paparazzi looking to get off a couple of quick photos.

The email reads as follows:

“This is a known iPhone bug that is being fixed in the next software update in September.”

In his typical brief form, Jobs is giving us a time to expect this bug fix. Specifically, many users are reporting the iPhone 2.0′s firmware sudden failure to load third-party apps. The apps will often load briefly then crash back to the home screen.

And while it’s good to know a fix is on the way, many users are still not satisfied with the 3G situation. Are these merely temporary fixes until the real thing comes along? I guess we’ll have to wait until September to find out.

[via AppleInsider]

What we do know, however, is that the update comes in two distinct builds, 5B101 for the first gen iPhone and 5B103 for the 3G iPhones. 

No doubt, the update will target several of the bugs that people seem to be experiencing with the update, including camera shutter lag and acceleromater jerkiness and freezing. Let’s hope the cause of frequent application crashes are addressed as well. 

[via World of Apple]