[Jeremy]

Some time has passed, the dust has now settled... what is your favorite feature or update for the 2.1 firmware. No matter how small it may be, some cool things have been added. [Please keep bugs out of this thread - use this one to report bugs here.]


*There have been a few people complaining that there really were no new features with this firmware, that is just not true. While some of the features added may have been small, they are still features and they may be more significant to others. Please stay on topic or your post will be deleted so the thread does not get bogged down. Thanks for your cooperation.

[taroliw]

I have to say that my two favorite changes are 3G reception and battery life.

But my /favorite/ feature of 2.1 is really QuickPwn and Pwnage. ;-)

[cardfan]

It's hard to say since 2.1 didn't really release any new features. Genius? But that's more itunes related. I suppose the extra sms beeps qualifies however minor it is.

Improved battery life, reception, less crashes, etc are not new features..

[Jeremy]

It's hard to say since 2.1 didn't really release any new features. Genius? But that's more itunes related. I suppose the extra sms beeps qualifies however minor it is.

Improved battery life, reception, less crashes, etc are not new features..

I think you are looking at it a little too deep... You know what I mean I'm sure. Features of the firmware. Which would be the better battery life etc. Maybe I did not make it clear enough.

[eArTh]

mine is the fact that my contacts don't take minutes to load. It was so annoying having to wait every time I wanted to phone someone.

[taroliw]

I think you are looking at it a little too deep... Maybe I did not make it clear enough.

Well, to be fair, those were all necessary bug fixes, though. By the strictest definition they weren't really /new/ features... just making /existing/ features work properly/better.

[Jeremy]

Well, to be fair, those were all necessary bug fixes, though. By the strictest definition they weren't really /new/ features... just making /existing/ features work properly/better.

To be fair, improving battery life is not a bug fix either... neither was adding alerts to sms messages awaiting to be read, etc... But like I said, you should be able to figure out what I am shooting for. Not something to dwell on any longer. Please keep the thread on topic now.

[taroliw]

To be fair, improving battery life is not a bug fix either... neither was adding alerts to sms messages awaiting to be read, etc... but like I said, you should be able to figure out what I am shooting for.

Technically, that is too... how did they achieve it? Oh, yeah, they fixed the 3G radio firmware so it stopped requesting so much radio bandwidth that people couldn't get 3G signal... which also resulted in a lot of devices flipping between EDGE and 3G constantly.

I would have probably asked the feature question as "what features did you anticipate that /weren't/ in 2.1?" My biggie would have been notifications, with a close second of SDK improvements so AppStore apps can do more useful things. As of now, most of my truly important apps require jailbreaking...

What we got in 2.1 probably should have been 2.0.3 (or some would argue 2.0... heh). But as we know, features were dropped out of the beta releases along the way. This kind of very late scope decrease is usually done to accomodate more fixes. Happens a lot in the software industry.

[Jeremy]

Technically, that is too... how did they achieve it? Oh, yeah, they fixed the 3G radio firmware so it stopped requesting so much radio bandwidth that people couldn't get 3G signal... which also resulted in a lot of devices flipping between EDGE and 3G constantly.

I would have probably asked the feature question as "what features did you anticipate that /weren't/ in 2.1?" My biggie would have been notifications, with a close second of SDK improvements so AppStore apps can do more useful things. As of now, most of my truly important apps require jailbreaking...

What we got in 2.1 probably should have been 2.0.3 (or some would argue 2.0... heh). But as we know, features were dropped out of the beta releases along the way. This kind of very late scope decrease is usually done to accomodate more fixes. Happens a lot in the software industry.

All the critics coming out of the woodwork all of a sudden.
Let me help those of you who are confused a bit.
Here are some features:
~You can pause the installation of apps by simply clicking on the icon.

~While listening to music via your headphones you can click the mic 3 times to go back a track.

~You can now take away the camera in the parental settings.

~You are now able to see APPS in iTunes to see how much space they are
taking up.

~2 more audible alerts for SMS messages

~for more visit this thread here.

Ah, back on topic finally...

[nolongercurvin]

Is this feature automatic??? We are supposed to get 3 tones now, but I have not noticed this. How long between alerts?? Is this something we have to access and turn on??

[Jeremy]

Is this feature automatic??? We are supposed to get 3 tones now, but I have not noticed this. How long between alerts?? Is this something we have to access and turn on??

It is set on automatically. It will only occur if you do not touch the phone, you will get the first alert and then 10 minutes later you will get a audible alert only. Then another 10 minutes later another...
(I've never timed it but it's close to 10 minutes apart.)

[dannyrodri]

Mine is definitely faster backups. That's the main reason I upgraded. I just went from night long backups, that sometimes weren't even finished in the morning to a 1 minute or less backup which is amazing! I love 2.1 I also thought there was shake to shuffle but oh well I have lived without it LOL

[BreakingKayfabe]

Interesting how a few different posts aren't on this thread anymore....