I downloaded the 2.1 firmware on Friday morning and have been putting it through my daily usage and then some. The new update resolve many of the crash issues, but it doesn’t fix them all. I still have some random app crashes once in a while, but much less than before and much less rebooting. Another thing I noticed is that the scrolling of the main menu seems much faster and smoother. The two main fixes I was looking forward to was the Contacts list and SMS lag. The lag issues were just as annoying as the app crashes. With this update the lag issue is not completely resolved. Instead the lag times have reduced to about 50%-75%. So instead of being frozen for 6 seconds its frozen for 3. Other improvements include faster app installation and a slight improvement on backup times. The update was suppose to increase battery efficiency, but I haven’t notice any differences yet.
Overall, the update provide some relief for those who were having serious app crash problems. But for me it doesn’t cut it. The iPhone seriouly lacking in necessary features. The ability to have cut and paste is a given in every smartphone yet Apple fails to deliver. Also, being unable to run third-party apps in the background makes communication software like IMs useless. I was never impressed with Apple products. They’re are over-priced and their closed-platform limitations are just plain annoying. I thought the iPhone 3G was going to be different and change my mind, but appearently it’s still the same as any other Apple product; over-priced and tailored for the lowest common technophile.