2.0 Firmware

Even before the iPhone 2.0 software was released to the masses, rumors were circulating that 2.0.1 was already in the works. It looks like they have a little more in store than just a routine update, as they have seeded a beta version of iPhone 2.1 Firmware (Beta 1, Build 5F90) to developers.

Those of you who chose to run the new iPhone and iPod touch 2.0 software will have the luxury of knowing your iPhone is just a little bit more secure than it was before. Not only does the update contain awesome new features like the App Store, but it also contains security updates to help protect your information. Apple has posted a KB article detailing all of the security improvements made in the new software. Interestingly, most of the updates deal with flaws in WebKit explioted by maliciously coded web pages.

Well ladies and gentleman, MobileMe's push mail is now active and running. Gizmodo's Jesus Diaz has the service working with his iPhone running the iPhone 2.0 software, and is running perfectly. He is now able to get email pushed to his iPhone in real time, both over Wi-Fi and the cell network. He was even able to get it to work perfectly while using a SIM from an unsupported carrier (Vodafone Spain) while in roaming and it worked just fine. With all of this in place, it will likely be very difficult for RIM and the Blackberry to keep up, given that Push email has been one of their main selling points for quite some time.

Apple has posted a guide for setting up MobileMe on your Mac or PC and your iPhone. As well as being a useful guide, the page also finally reveals the official launch date for the iPhone 2.0 software update; July 11th. You can find the page on Apple's website at apple.com/mobileme/setup.

Gizmodo said earlier that they have managed to get the new iPhone 2.0 software working for the iPhone 3G using the unreleased modified version of iTunes, but as of yet all of the over-the-air push syncing capabilities will not work until later tomorrow. That's still true, but they were able to show us a short video of the simple MobileMe set-up process in the iPhone 2.0 software. You can check out the video at Gizmodo.

There was a rumor going around last week that Apple was finishing up version 2.0 of the iPhone software, and that a special version of iTunes 7.7 would be needed to install it. Jesus Diaz over at Gizmodo has managed to get his hands on it, and has taken a few screenshots to confirm some rumors.

According to MacRumors, Apple has released the pre-release version of iTunes 7.7 to developers earlier tonight, and the Read Me in the installer hints that they may be offering a free iPhone/iPod touch application for using the device as a remote control for iTunes. As of yet, no such application had been officially announced.

TokyoMango has posted a video demonstrating the new Japanese language input system for the upcoming 2.0 software that Steve mentioned at the keynote. It appears from the video that it's running in the iPhone SDK simulator. Video after the break.

Despite earlier reports that the iPhone 2.0 firmware would be releasing early, it was recently found in Apple's iPhone 3G press release that July 11th is the official date of the 2.0 software launch. This date corresponds with what many suspected, as well as the date that was found earlier this month in the code of Apple's tool for submitting applications to the App Store.

Sources using the latest beta build of the unreleased iPhone 2.0 firmware say that it was recently updated with additional security features. While both versions of the iPhone currently have an "Erase All Contents and Settings" option, it is now known that firmware v1.x (the public software) only does a regular deletion of the information stored on the device. In the 2.0 firmware, sources say that this option will mimic the "Secure Empty Trash" deletion in Mac OS X.