iPhone 2.0.1 software update seems to focus on speed

While Apple's release notes only mention "bug fixes," early updaters are noting improvements to the second major release of the iPhone software.

Many have complained that the new iPhone software overall has been slow, in some cases taking five seconds or more for applications to load. Early indications are that some of this has been addressed.

With the new update, the contacts application is reportedly more responsive, and the keypad loads much faster as well. Typing also seems less laggy, and screen rotation in Safari is reported to be smoother.

One non-iPhone software speedup may delight users: the period of time the phone takes to back up when connected to iTunes. After installing the first 2.0 update, backups became a time-consuming process, possibly taking up to several minutes to complete if the user has many applications installed.

Apple has tweaked this process, which should make subsequent backups faster. This may be due to the fact that it is no longer backing up complete apps (which are already stored on iTunes anyway), though it is not known whether this is the case.

Icon dragging across multiple pages is also easier, and it is suspected a change may have been made to the 3G reception bar indicator to reflect a stronger signal than before, according to AppleInsider.

The overall update is 249 MB, which is rather large compared to past updates. It can also be applied to unlocked first generation iPhones that used the iPhone Dev Team's PwnageTool to unlock.

The Dev Team does warn however that all non-sanctioned third-party applications would be lost as well as Cydia, 2.0's version of Installer. BetaNews tests using a device unlocked with the group's method showed the phone remained functional as before without any noticeable problems. (The group said a future update to PwnageTool would allow for updates to 2.0.1 using a custom version.)

Version 2.0.1 is not without its problems however. According to a thread on Apple's support forums, some Vodafone customers who paid to have their phones unlocked are experiencing problems with the iPhone 3G. An error "0xE8000001" appears, and users are unable to connect to update their carrier settings according to the thread.