Jon Holato

Today Apple released new iPhone software, which updates the firmware to version 1.1.1. An iPhone update was announced earlier in the week, but the exact day was unknown in advance. iPhone firmware 1.1.1 brings a host of new features and includes numerous bug fixes. The new features include the highly anticipated iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, which Steve Jobs announced a few weeks ago, and the following:

Louder speakerphone and receiver volume
Home Button double-click shortcut to phone favorites or music controls
pace bar double-tap shortcut to intelligently insert period and space
Mail attachments are viewable in portrait and landscape
Stocks and cities in Stocks and Weather can be re-ordered
Apple Bluetooth Headset battery status in the Status Bar
Support for TV Out
Preference to turn off EDGE/GPRS when roaming internationally
New Passcode lock time intervals
Adjustable alert volume

Apart from the new features and unspecified bug fixes, the iPhone update also includes a number of security updates and will essentially disable any third-party installed software applications.

The file is a massive 152MB, so make sure you’re on broadband or go watch some TV for a while during the download. I experienced some weird behavior during the install, my iPhone somehow lost sync with iTunes and had to be re-connected, restored, re-activated. It was anticipated that this could happen to those with unlocked iPhones and/or iPhones with third-party software, but my iPhone is stock and doesn’t qualify for either of those criteria. Let that be a heads up and make sure you have all of your information backed up before proceeding with the update.

In the end everything came back up fine and I have the new firmware 1.1.1. Here are some screen shots of the iPhone upgrade process:

1) New iPhone firmware is available.