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Fixes coming for iPhone 3G

Apple CEO Steve Jobs promises that the iPhone 2.1 software update will address issues with 3G reception, battery life, and dropped calls.

Kent German Former senior managing editor / features
Kent was a senior managing editor at CNET News. A veteran of CNET since 2003, he reviewed the first iPhone and worked in both the London and San Francisco offices. When not working, he's planning his next vacation, walking his dog or watching planes land at the airport (yes, really).
Kent German
2 min read

Fixes are coming for the iPhone 3G. Apple

Though iPod news dominated Tuesday's Apple's "Let's Rock" event in San Francisco, Apple CEO Steve Jobs did spill a bit of iPhone news. Jobs said that coming this Friday, Apple will release the anticipated 2.1 software update. What will it bring? Well...Jobs didn't really say, except that is a "big update" that would fix "lots of bugs."

The pesky bugs should be no surprise to current iPhone 3G owners as they've been widely reported since the handset launched two months ago. Specifically, the fix should bring fewer dropped calls, battery life improvements, no crashes with applications and faster backups.

If the software update does what Jobs promises, there's no question that it will be welcomed warmly. The ongoing issues have proved to be a thorn in the side of many iPhone 3G owners, but Apple was relatively slow in acknowledging the problems. On August 18, it released the 2.0.2 software update, which was supposed to bring "improved communication with 3G networks," a company spokeswoman said. Then, two days later, rumors circulated that the crashing applications problem would be fixed in a September software update.

So, this does appear to be the moment we've been waiting for. When the update is out, we'll download it to our iPhone as soon as we can and tell you how it works. I'm hopeful the issues will be solved, but I'm also wondering how a software update can address bad 3G coverage from AT&T. What's more, I'd be happier if the 2.1 update also added missing features to the iPhone like cut and paste, multimedia messaging ,and voice dialing, to name a few. I guess we'll have to continue waiting.

What do you want from the iPhone 2.1 software update? Let us know below.