The firmware update 2.2.1 addresses two issues: (1) improved general stability of Safari; and (2) fixed issue where some images saved from Mail do not display correctly in the Camera Roll.

Unfortunately, there are still no any new “native” fuctionalities like a cut and paste or Bluetooth file transfer to other devices.

Okay, maybe next time…

If you have an unlocked iPhone and have not yet upgraded to the iPhone firmware 2.2 we suggest holding off just in case this ends up being true. You don’t want all that hard earned cash going for nothing. If you simply can’t wait for the update, try getting your hands on the update from the country your iPhone came from.

[Via AppleSupportForums]

There is no real indication as to if this is even real or not. Creating a false picture of the iPhone interface to generate hype and traffic is extremely easy to do these days. It seems a bit early for such a firmware version to leak. We believe this to be false.

Hopefully the update contains these push notifications as well as a fix for the huge loss in service. Multiple times a day we are experiencing zero bars and/or complete loss of data service in areas where we have previously seen nothing short of full service. Even this morning as we watched the iPhone completely drop service and regain it again only to not offer any data services.

*Updated*

It appears these rumors have been smashed along with RussianiPhone.ru’s credibility. Here’s to wishful thinking.

[Via RussianiPhone]

Telia is the latest to report that they will bring MMS to iPhone users.  Many other countries are getting MMS on the iPhone which begs the question, when is the US going to get a piece of the action? Scandinavian iPhone owners will be able to download the homegrown iPhone application in just a few months.

Google’s voice search feature was added the Google mobile app this week allowing anyone to search even without his or her full attention. Contrary to initial thoughts, the voice search works very well. The application surprisingly can tell the difference between words such as “bear” and “bare” depending on the context used. In other applications you can now purchase the Lie Detector application if you need to tell if someone is lying on the fly. We have found this application to be noting more than a novelty. There is no rhyme or reason to the results; the application was unable to figure out the truth most of the time.

As the days go by it seems that more and more carriers are getting their hands on the iPhone. The latest to get the coveted handsets is Mobiles.co.uk.  They will now be selling the iPhone 3G in the UK. Google has admitted to using API files that are undocumented. This opens up the ability to use built-in proximity sensors in the iPhone for verbal searches. This goes against the iPhone SDK, Apple only allows APIs that are published within the SDK.

The new iPhone firmware 2.2 is reported to have several bugs that affect the overall performance of the iPhone. One problem that we have been experiencing a lot lately is the substantial drop in both Edge and 3G-network service reception. Another devastating bug is the disappearance of applications from the iPhone, both native and third party. Applications such as Safari and the Camera app have suddenly disappeared on users.

It appears that the new iPhone SDK 2.2 has a few built-in surprises that we are still stumbling upon. MPTVOutWindow class has the ability of sending live video to your TV. Apparently the acidometer controls this, as the touchscreen does not register anything while video is being sent out.  While this is not much without further development, it certainly shows a lot of potential.

Yet another Apple commercial has been pulled in the UK because it exaggerated performance speed of the iPhone 3G. In the commercial you see the iPhone browsing web pages with great speed. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) then received complaints by 17 people that the ad was misleading. People just seem to take the commercials a bit too literally; there is a lot of information to be displayed and only 30 seconds in which to do so.

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]

Upgrading using iTunes can forever eliminate your chances of ever unlocking you iPhone 3G. The baseband has apparently been changed now so that it will be near impossible to unlock in the future. For those who still don’t quite understand the meaning of the baseband:

Baseband 101

The ‘baseband’ is the generic name given to the internal components of the iPhone that handle the phone calls and Internet access. This ‘baseband’ is a tiny and unique independent computer system that runs inside your iPhone, it is separate to the main system that handles the applications (such as email and google maps) and it talks to the main part of the phone over an internal communications network. Think of it like a cable modem or other peripheral that is attached to your home PC that needs occasional updates. When a software update is released and presented to you within iTunes the baseband is sometimes updated (to fix bugs or add new features). The 2.2 update for the iPhone 3G contains such an update, so running the vanilla updater straight away with iTunes will reprogram and update the baseband. This could be bad for certain people, depending on your ultimate aim.

The iPhone Dev Team have included a few rules when upgrading to the iPhone firmware 2.2:

• GOLDEN RULE: If you have a 3G iPhone and want potential soft unlock in the near future do NOT use QuickPwn, and do not use the official ipsw or the iTunes update process without using PwnageTool.

• Read item 1 again and again.

• Please read all parts of this post before downloading and using these tools.

• The ‘late 2008’ MacBook/air/pro line of computers have an issue with DFU mode. While it’s possible to go from Pwned 2.1 -> Pwned 2.2 (using PwnageTool), you can’t yet go from stock to pwned. If in any doubt use a different machine.

• Choosing the correct tool is crucial. Be warned!

[Via iPhoneDevTeam]

After the long 246MB download users will be booting their iPhone to new features such as Google Street View and walking directions, new Safari interface changes and fixes, the addition of emoticons, better sound quality in the visual voice mail department, and let’s not forget the over-the-air podcast downloading. You probably won’t be seeing us for a few days as we enjoy the new fruit that apple has delivered.

All in all Apple has really gone the extra mile with this update. But again we see smaller changes to things that we didn’t previously care about. What we are still itching to see is the addition of features such as copy and paste and the standard MMS. We can’t stay bitter for long though, we just have to keep our fingers crossed for next time.

AT&T has decided to expand their range of Wi-Fi hotspots by purchasing Wayport for $275 million dollars. Wayport has many Wi-Fi hotspots in locations such as, Starbucks, Barnes  and Noble bookstores and many major airports. Oakly and Surfline have teamed up to create an all-in-one surfing application for the iPhone. Surf Report gives you real time information on surf conditions, weather, safety notices and reports. You may view weather conditions up to three days in advance.

Good news is being reported, rumors state that the new iPhone firmware 2.2 is going to be released on November 21st. We have all been backing up our iPhones as we eagerly await this update. Business iPhone users who use Calliflower for PC  will find the Calliflower interactive conference calling very useful. Now you can use the same services on your iPhone without the need to download a client to your PC. This application will be available for free on January 1st, after which you will be able to purchase it for $9.99.

HangTimer by DropZone is a great application for skiers of all kinds. HangTimer utilizes both the built in accelerometer and technology used by NASA to provide you with run statistics. This application will also give you snow conditions and directions to your local resort. More details have surfaced in regards to the new iPhone tethering plans by AT&T. These plans will cost $30 a month with a 5GB data cap.

iSoft has finally created a landscape virtual keyboard for SMS on the iPhone. The big drawback is that you have to use it as an application, there is no integration in the SMS application at all. Another drawback is that you must have a jailbroken iPhone in order to buy this application. Overall this application shows that it can kind of be done. But who in their right mind would give into the circumstances for such a bad feature.

We found out this week that Microsoft’s web-based Office Suite will work with the iPhone’s mobile Safari web browser. This web-based version will include full versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote. There may be a sneak peak by the end of 2008 but we wouldn’t count on it. Google has set out to deliver the first voice search feature to the iPhone. This application will be free (no surprises there). With this application users will virtually be able to ask their iPhone any question like, “Where is the nearest Starbucks?” or “How old is the oldest man in the world?” Google will not comment on just how often this application works correctly, but they do say that they believe users will be able to get a lot of use out of it.

EA is offering 1 free level in the new Spore Origins LE released just the other day.  Think of it as a trail application since Apple has not incorporated a demo feature into the App Store enabling customers to try applications and games out before they spent their money on them.  As of right now developers have to come up with a light edition of their applications in order to sample them.

This does not seem to be working for developers as the game is rated 2 stars out of a possible 5. The light version of Spore Origins is not listed on iTunes App Store Top 10. The full version is not even on the top 100 list. It still seems the rating system is broken despite Apples best efforts. Hopefully the addition of the rate before you delete feature in 2.2 firmware will help the developers out a little bit.

MacRumor member, TUAW posted new screenshots of the firmware, this time it seems to reveal that Apple will allow an over the air Podcast download on the iPod Touch and iPhone. The iPhone seems to be getting a lot more independence with Apple realizing that mobile phones can’t always download podcasts from a computer at any moment.

Apple seeded the iPhone 2.2 beta 2 to developers last week, still with no word as to what people can expect in this version. If what we have seen so far is true it will be more than worth the wait. There is also speculation that this may be the reason Apple rejected the Podcaster application. What we want to know is, what are your opinions?

[Via MacRumors]

Recently a Greek Language website, iPhone Hellas, reported that in the new firmware version 2.2 a user is now given an application rating screen when they delete an application. After pressing the little “X” to delete an application a “Please rate before deleting” box pops up with a 5 star rating option and a “No Thanks” button.

With all the changes to the rating system to make it fair on the developers, this suggests to us that Apple is not happy with the amount of rating they are receiving at this time. We do not think that this method will accurately depict the applications worth as most people will either hit 1 star because they did not like it or just randomly select a rating just to bypass the screen. At any rate there does not seem to be any happy medium with the application rating system.

[Via iPhoneHellas]

Google street view allows you to see a location just as you would from your car, no more blindly driving to an unfamiliar part of town and searching for a location that you have not previously visited. Street View will allow you to look in all directions from the middle of the street, now you can see if there is coffee shop on the corner without actually going down there. Recently Google has released the first Android-powered handset into the wild, the one feature that is knocking people off their feet is Google Street View.

What was thought to be an Android exclusive feature will apparently be on the iPhone as well. One thing that the T-Mobile G1 will have that the iPhone does not is the compass feature that allows you to spin around in place and view the location as if you were there yourself. This experience is truly one that must be experienced by the user. We are told that Google Street View will be a full feature included in the new iPhone firmware. Photos may be found all around the internet.

More photos can be found in Gordon’s album here.

[Via MacRumors]