iPod Touch 2.1 Firmware Features and Availability

[MacRumors]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com)

Apple's iPod Touch 2.1 firmware appears to be consistently available now. While the iPod Touch 2.1 Firmware seemed to be available shortly after yesterday's keynote (http://www.macrumors.com/2008/09/09/quicktime-stream-of-lets-rock-media-event/), many users had some difficulty in installing the update early on. The official list (http://daringfireball.net/linked/2008/09/09/iphone-os-changes) of changes include:

- Genius playlist creation
- dramatically reduced time to backup to iTunes
- improved email reliability, notable fetching email from POP and Exchange accounts
- faster installation of 3rd party applications
- fixed bugs causing hangs and crashes if you have lots of 3rd party applications
- faster loading and searching of contacts
- other bug fixes

Forum users have been compiling a list (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=559833) of other changes they have found. Some of these are said to include:

- Faster App updates and installtion
- When viewing songs it says Artist And Album underneath the Song title.
- Podcast has more descriptive information
- Can now selectively mute certain sound effects (new mail, key taps)
- More responsive
- Much faster backups

Apple also announced the 2.1 firmware will be released for the iPhone this Friday. The features are generally expected to be the same for the iPhone update. Nike+ support, however, is notably absent (http://www.macrumors.com/iphone/2008/09/09/nike-ipod-wont-work-with-iphone/) for the first generation iPod Touch and iPhone users due to the lack of proper hardware support at this time.

Article Link (http://www.macrumors.com/2008/09/10/ipod-touch-2-1-firmware-features-and-availability/)

[optophobia]

Anxiously awaiting the iPhone update, and really really hoping it will fix the call drops, 3G loss, and app crashes.

[pcorajr]

Looks good, they are fixing a lot of the little annoying things that 2.0 broke. Hopefully they will start adding new Features, like copy and paste

[whooleytoo]

Hmmm... I'll wait and see if the "much faster backups" really materialise this time. Many people said the 2.0.2 iPhone firmware really speeded things up; but that was only true for the first few backups after installing the new firmware. After that things settled back down into hour-ville.

[Scooterman1]

With iTunes 8 release, and iPod Touch updates yesterday, Apple must be holding the iPhone updates until Friday so that we don't drag down their Servers like last time.

[a1016neo]

If this is true, then we can call 2.1 the next 1.1.4! :D

[maiden16tiger]

i want to know what this hidding features are!!!

[BigD58]

So does anyone know if the iphone 2.1 software will include genius playlists as well?

[manu chao]

Hmmm... I'll wait and see if the "much faster backups" really materialise this time. Many people said the 2.0.2 iPhone firmware really speeded things up; but that was only true for the first few backups after installing the new firmware. After that things settled back down into hour-ville.
My backups still only take about 5 seconds (using 2.0.2 obviously). Couldn't you just try to restore the iPhone (yes, a few settings have to be changed afterwards) to see whether backup times get reasonable again?

[amac4me]

This week is turning out to be big for software updates. iTunes, Quicktime, Front Row, iPod touch 2.1 firmware, iPhone 2.1 firmware by the end of the week. Perhaps this weeks tops out with the 10.5.5 Mac OS X update.

Once all these software updates are out of the way I hope the next round of news from Cupertino ends up being new Macs!

[jhiner]

Push notification???

[websyndicate]

Safari is much Snappier.

[sharp65]

Push notification???

Nope, wasn't included.

[FightTheFuture]

wouldn't it be possible to build the firmware to support the receiver that comes with the Nike+ package? i don't understand why they would make software for Nike+ and only have it available on the 2nd Gen iPod Touch and nano.

[mainstreetmark]

Any second now, someone will demand Copy/Paste. Fair enough, but I haven't had a need for that one yet. I may use the phone differently.

What I would like to see is:
- Stop moving my apps around when one gets an update
- In fact, a way from iTunes to group them on iPhone's screen.
- A "clickwheel" function in the iPod.app so I can track through long songs and podcasts, like I used to be able to do
- A working MobileMe, which syncs.
- Syncing of mail messages, as well as just my mail account passwords, or whatever it's syncing now. I don't like reading mail twice on my pop accounts.
- The ability to turn off the apple default applications I'll never use like 'Stocks'

But, yes, not to sound like a complete complainer, I love the third party apps. All I could have hoped for (well, open distribution would be nice). I don't think I'll own another cellphone besides the iPhone for a decade. I'm excited to be part of the early time.

[sharp65]

wouldn't it be possible to build the firmware to support the receiver that comes with the Nike+ package? i don't understand why they would make software for Nike+ and only have it available on the 2nd Gen iPod Touch and nano.

It's a hardware change to support it.

[stofferdk]

It's a hardware change to support it.

he meant making the existing external hardware available for the iPhone with a software upgrade.

[sparklesgirl2]

wouldn't it be possible to build the firmware to support the receiver that comes with the Nike+ package? i don't understand why they would make software for Nike+ and only have it available on the 2nd Gen iPod Touch and nano.

I don't think it's even included in the Nano.

I agree, I think Jobs was a little misleading about that yesterday. I swore he said that Nike+ would be available in the update to 2.1.

[DaveTheGrey]

I'm so looking forward to iPhone 2.1 when I'm looking at the fixed bugs list!

[n8te]

Upgraded to 2.1 last night...

Has anyone noticed the wifi dropping off when the touch goes to sleep? Plus it seems my wifi is not picking up as well (in my house).

Thanks!!

[mr.steevo]

Hi,

The Genius is very good at suggesting all the music I haven't purchased from the iTunes store, and that's about it.

s.

[UnseenLlama]

If Nike+ uses a variant of bluetooth (from what I've read), why can't the iPhone be a receiver and use that frequency?

I'm glad there was some announcement for Nike+, but from a hardware perspective, Apple and Nike need to keep moving. Bring out the heart rate monitor and additional watches that not only control playback, but also show you stats while you run. Those two things are worth more to me than the inclusion of Nike+ in the iPod touch.

[BennehB]

Safari now renders SVG.

[macaron1]

Kind of sucks not to have Nike+ on the iPhone. I now have the wristband but it feels like a downgrade from my older Nano.

[chrisgeleven]

Any second now, someone will demand Copy/Paste. Fair enough, but I haven't had a need for that one yet. I may use the phone differently.

What I would like to see is:
- Stop moving my apps around when one gets an update
...
- Syncing of mail messages, as well as just my mail account passwords, or whatever it's syncing now. I don't like reading mail twice on my pop accounts.



I read somewhere on the forums that 2.1 keeps apps in the same place now.

As for syncing of e-mail messages, that is what IMAP is for. POP by design cannot be synced. Check with your e-mail provider to see if they allow IMAP access. I use IMAP with Gmail between my Macbook, iPhone, and the Gmail web site and it works very well.

[KenAllen07]

- A "clickwheel" function in the iPod.app so I can track through long songs and podcasts, like I used to be able to do


Click the album cover and the scroll comes up to move throughout the song.

[overcast]

Hi,

The Genius is very good at suggesting all the music I haven't purchased from the iTunes store, and that's about it.

s.

DUH.

[iMACTASTIC]

Hi,

The Genius is very good at suggesting all the music I haven't purchased from the iTunes store, and that's about it.

s.

I agree I think the term genius was actually tagged on by apple to describe another way to get more money from us. Not an actual description of the feature.

[TheSpaz]

I totally forgot that I have an iPod touch at home that I could've installed the update on to take it for a test drive before it comes on Friday for my iPhone. Duh! I'll have to do that tonight and tell you how it is. How about some screenshots people!?

[overcast]

- Syncing of mail messages, as well as just my mail account passwords, or whatever it's syncing now. I don't like reading mail twice on my pop accounts.
.

That's because POP doesn't do anything you're asking it to do. Learn about IMAP.

[TheSpaz]

I agree I think the term genius was actually tagged on by apple to describe another way to get more money from us. Not an actual description of the feature.

Umm... the Genius sidebar is where you'll find iTunes Store links to tracks you're missing. The Genius PLAYLIST CREATION is where GENIUS will use ONLY YOUR SONGS to create a GENIUS PLAYLIST. I just turn off the sidebar... very simple to do.

[MacTraveller]

Looks good! Took me a while to download it last night... but uh... that was no surprise since everyone in the planet was also hitting up the Apple servers since the Big Announcements etc.

Anyways this 2.1 Update looks great, no probs so far. Working smoothly on iPod Touch 1st Gen. I'm not sure if I really notice any performance improvements, but web browsing does feel a bit snappier! Email works fine.

Good work Apple! Apple redeems itself.

[TheSpaz]

Looks good! Took me a while to download it last night... but uh... that was no surprise since everyone in the planet was also hitting up the Apple servers since the Big Announcements etc.

Anyways this 2.1 Update looks great, no probs so far. Working smoothly on iPod Touch 1st Gen. I'm not sure if I really notice any performance improvements, but web browsing does feel a bit snappier! Email works fine.

Good work Apple! Apple redeems itself.

So you used it for a few minutes and suddenly "Apple redeems itself"? I'll believe it when I see it.

[iMACTASTIC]

Setting: A starkly decorated vault in the inner tombs of Apple Headquarters.

(knoc,knock)

Steve: Enter lil one.
Itunes Developer: Ummmm Steve O? I had an idea.
Steve: Thats great! I love it when my underlings come in with ideas on how i can make millions!
Itunes Developer: Well I was thinking.... why dont we add a big ass side bar that generates buying suggestions, after iTunes infiltrates the persons music list? We can disguise it as a big deal tool for iTunes?
Steve: Thats GENIUS! (kicking himself in the ass for not thinking of it first) We can get the whole world really really excited about it and we'll call it LETS ROCK! Make sure we unthaw John Mayer from the archives in time for this one. This will be a Big Deal!

[encro]

My backups still only take about 5 seconds (using 2.0.2 obviously). Couldn't you just try to restore the iPhone (yes, a few settings have to be changed afterwards) to see whether backup times get reasonable again?

I wouldn't recommend this advise to resolve slow backups.
It almost seems like previous firmware wasn't properly detecting a Port as USB 2.0 and syncing at USB 1.1 speeds with 2.02, 2.01 and 2.0. Especially on the MacBook's and MacBook Pro's.

It's a huge shame that 2.0 was released in such terrible condition but 2.1 is fantastic. I've just updated to 2.1 and it seriously has made me as happy again as I was in the 1.04 days. The User Interface is snappy, apps install properly, the whole thing is more responsive and backups have gone from 2 hours to about 15 mins on the last one. That is very impressive and the Touch is finally highly useable again. Thankyou, this one is a great update Apple!

[mr_bam]

My girlfriend has upgraded her G1 iPod Touch to FW 2.1 and I've just asked her to plug in her Nike+ adaptor and it says "This accessory is not supported by iPod".

That's a shame :(

It says the same on my iPhone G1 with FW 2.0.2.

I would have expected support for the Nike+ external hardware to be on the iPod touch G1 and all iPhones with this update. Bit stingy not including it.

Not that running with an iPhone is a pleasant experience. I'll carry on with my G1 Nano coz it's light and small.

[holo2015]

- Stop moving my apps around when one gets an update


I can confirm they did indeed fix this. It's one of the things I noticed last night when I ran updates on some apps that I had been putting off.

It will show a second copy like it did before as it's downloading and installing wherever there seems to be free space, but once it's ready to switch over, the new version takes the place of the old version.

[pax85]

I've noticed some other, maybe new features.
When I open the Musicapp and go to Podcasts, I now have small Thumbnails beside my Video-Podcasts. Additionally, there is a new indicator how much I watched from this Podcasts AND I can watch this Podcasts in Portrait Mode.
Was that possible before?
What's weird is, that I can't watch Videos in Portrait Mode while starting the Podcast from the Video.app.
Or I just haven't noticed all those things since 1.1.4 :D

[iSee]

Aren't a couple of the "other changes" listed in the official changes :confused: :
Official:

...
- dramatically reduced time to backup to iTunes
- faster installation of 3rd party applications

"Other changes":

...
- Faster App updates and installtion
- Much faster backups

[Dimwhit]

Very excellent. Faster backups and faster application installations were my two biggest wants. Can't wait to get this on my iPhone.

[parrothead]

I updated and now my touch tries to sync every 20 seconds or so. When that happens I get an error message in iTunes saying that this ipod can't be synced (code: 13213). I did a restore and the problem continues. The strange thing is that it seems like the iPod IS actually getting synced I just have to put up with the annoying messages.

I left the ipod connected overnight last night and when I woke up I had to hit ok on the error message at least 50 times in a row. VERY ANNOYING :mad:

[kingkaramel]

There's another new option for those who lock their touches:

You can have all your data deleted if someone enters the wrong code ten times in a row.

kingkaramel


EDIT:
@parrothead: Try this solution, it worked for me:
http://www.geardiary.com/2008/09/09/itunes-80-the-ipod-cannot-be-synced-an-unknown-error-occured-13213/

[lazyrighteye]

I can confirm they did indeed fix this. It's one of the things I noticed last night when I ran updates on some apps that I had been putting off.

It will show a second copy like it did before as it's downloading and installing wherever there seems to be free space, but once it's ready to switch over, the new version takes the place of the old version.

Weird. My original iPhone has been doing this (replacing the app in my predetermined location) for at least a couple weeks.
At least since 2.0.2 but I want to say as far back as 2.0!

Huh...

[TheSpaz]

Weird. My original iPhone has been doing this (replacing the app in my predetermined location) for at least a couple weeks.
At least since 2.0.2 but I want to say as far back as 2.0!

Huh...

If you install Apps via iTunes, the icons stay in place. If you installed them ON the iPhone, the icon would move.

[lazyrighteye]

If you install Apps via iTunes, the icons stay in place. If you installed them ON the iPhone, the icon would move.

Hmmm.
I can neither confirm nor deny those specifics with my scenario.
Good to know. Thanks.

[CleverTrousers]

Since the Touch 2G is "compatible" with the new headphones with built-in microphone, is Apple providing a Voice Notes Recorder application for the Touch?

[mainstreetmark]

I read somewhere on the forums that 2.1 keeps apps in the same place now.

As for syncing of e-mail messages, that is what IMAP is for. POP by design cannot be synced. Check with your e-mail provider to see if they allow IMAP access. I use IMAP with Gmail between my Macbook, iPhone, and the Gmail web site and it works very well.

I know, i don't have IMAP available, I guess because I work in the 1980's or something.

But, if the mac knows the email and the iphone knows the email, then it should know that the email has been read by one or the other, just as itunes knows a song's been played (of course, I know itunes is designed for that sort of thing)

[retroneo]

I know, i don't have IMAP available, I guess because I work in the 1980's or something.

IMAP was introduced in 1986 - ask your administrator to see if there is an update to the Mail server software.

[westernmass]

I am sure someone will not only cry why no Cut & Paste but the MMS thread will be right behind that. I think honestly, there will be some interesting things in the update. I think the goal is to promote the Ipod line and not the iPhone. The surprise could still be lurking but again the goal was to promote Itunes and Ipod for this event not the iPhone. Just my $.02

[Snips]

The 2.1 upgrade is sounding good.

It won't be complete until the keyboard / contacts lag is addressed and responsiveness is returned to its former glory.

No SMS on the Touch (that app being a very clear indicator of the lag), but are any of the other indicators that this is fixed?

[IrishMac]

Gonna install the update with iTunes 8 once I get home from work. Found it took a while to get the updates last night as the downloads were a bit slow (servers getting hammered obviously) so didn't get to install anything before bed. The list of fixes sound good though.

[roger6106]

Safari works better now. If your connection drops and you try to load a page, it will automatically try to load it again whenever your connection returns. Now there's no need to manually click the link over and over.

It also scores a 74 (I think) on the Acid 3 test now. That's up from the previous score of 40.

[Dimwhit]

Since the Touch 2G is "compatible" with the new headphones with built-in microphone, is Apple providing a Voice Notes Recorder application for the Touch?

They didn't include one on the iPhone, so I doubt it. But there are a half dozen or more on the App Store, and a couple are free. They probably figure there's no point making one when they can be had readily.

[medicstl]

When is the next event...so I can begin praying for a new MB? Providing they use their brains this time and give us one

[beeh]

Looks like Nike+ isn't even recognized as an accessory for the 1st gen Touch with the FW update...kind of stinks, got the HW, but can't use it with the Touch yet. Why? If 2nd gen has the HW included, it seems like they should at least recognize the Nike+ receiver as an accessory and support it for 1st gen.

Wonder if there will be a "step counter" app/addon for the new Nano, now that it has an accelerometer.

[twoodcc]

i finally got this installed on my touch. i have noticed the faster backups, but i haven't had a chance to test some of these other things. i'll be sure to do that

[nagromme]

The iPhone version of 2.1 will have one key feature I really like, that the Touch update lacks:

3 days of guinea pigs trying it first before I can even be tempted to install it :)

[wizard]

With iTunes 8 release, and iPod Touch updates yesterday, Apple must be holding the iPhone updates until Friday so that we don't drag down their Servers like last time.

I think you hit the nail squarely on the head. Even the updates that did come seemed to be staged as the first one I found was for QuickTime I believe.

[muthascratcha]

Hi,

The Genius is very good at suggesting all the music I haven't purchased from the iTunes store, and that's about it.

s.

I have updated to 2.1 on my 16gb touch & I don't see the genius anywhere... i myself am not one either obviously... can someone help out a weary, poor old man?

[rosh325]

Quick question, is there any reason why the "shake to shuffle" feature is not in the ipod touch 2.1 firmware? I don't see why this would be difficult to execute on a 1st gen ipod touch.

Not the end of the world by any means, just an oddity.

Otherwise a great update

[jhiner]

Push notification!?!?!

[rosh325]

I have updated to 2.1 on my 16gb touch & I don't see the genius anywhere... i myself am not one either obviously... can someone help out a weary, poor old man?

Have you turned on genius support in itunes? It takes ~2 minutes (depending on the size of your library) for it to transmit the info to apple and get going.

Once you do this, when you play a song on the ipod touch, there will now be the genius button below the time bar

[wizard]

If Nike+ uses a variant of bluetooth (from what I've read), why can't the iPhone be a receiver and use that frequency?

I'm glad there was some announcement for Nike+, but from a hardware perspective, Apple and Nike need to keep moving. Bring out the heart rate monitor and additional watches that not only control playback, but also show you stats while you run. Those two things are worth more to me than the inclusion of Nike+ in the iPod touch.

No what Apple needs to do is implement standard interfaces, such as BluTootj and it's profiles, so that all developers get a chance to run on the platform. That is also a very positive thing for users as the platform is then opened up to all sorts of I/O centric apps.

The current situation is even more shameful if what you say about the Nike hardware being BluTooth based is true. That means space was wasted for a proprietary implementation instead of a generic BluTooth hardware and software stack. Actually disgusting to even think about. Apple really has to start thinking about user needs here. If they allow themselves to be distracted by the likes of Nike when it comes to moving the line forward they will alienate a lot of customers both current and future. It is almost like Apple is holding back out of some sort of fear or odd need to stifle their own products. It would be very interesting to know what thinking at Apple lead to these boondoggles.


Dave

[rothmans]

The new Genius in iTunes 8 can't make a Genius Playlist from an artist that the iTunes store does not carry. Nor can it include a songs in such a playlist from an artist it does not carry.

Try to make a Genius playlist from a Beatles song
Make a playlist from a British Invasion song form the 60s and see if any Beatles songs are included

Updated Genius with no resulting change

[w00master]

The one thing I'm wanting know is if this update fixes the application "update" bug? Everytime I get a notice that one of my apps need updating, and then I go download the update, iTunes (when I sync my iPhone) says that there is an error and the update was not transferred to the phone.

The current only workaround that I've seen is to completely delete the app from the phone and iTunes, then re-download the app, and resync. This is a huge pain in the butt.

Anyone know if this has been fixed?

[jhiner]

The one thing I'm wanting know is if this update fixes the application "update" bug? Everytime I get a notice that one of my apps need updating, and then I go download the update, iTunes (when I sync my iPhone) says that there is an error and the update was not transferred to the phone.

The current only workaround that I've seen is to completely delete the app from the phone and iTunes, then re-download the app, and resync. This is a huge pain in the butt.

Anyone know if this has been fixed?

I hope so. I have had that same issue.

And also, where the heck is push notification.

[w00master]

I hope so. I have had that same issue.

And also, where the heck is push notification.

Considering Apple removed Push Notifications from the last SDK update, I doubt we'll see this until later.

I *really* hope this update fixes the update bug. It's literally driving me up the wall.

[jhiner]

Considering Apple removed Push Notifications from the last SDK update, I doubt we'll see this until later.

I *really* hope this update fixes the update bug. It's literally driving me up the wall.

Well they said it would be released in September, right?

[w00master]

Well they said it would be released in September, right?

Well, there are some other issues:

1. None of the apps right now have this ability
2. Apple removed push notifications from the last SDK update.

So, maybe the "hooks" are in there for push notifications (I doubt it), but we aren't going to see it right now.

[viniciusjarina]

"Shuffle By Album" ??? (like other iPods):mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

[rpaloalto]

Well I can say that the backing up of my ipod touch, as well as new app. installs. Moved along much faster than before, the itunes 8 and ipod touch 2.1 update.

Since I got my ipod touch. I never would let it do a whole back up, as it would just move along soooo slow.
Even installing a small 2MB APP. would take forever

My ipod touch is holding almost 6GB of video, music and apps.
I let it do a first time full back up and install 2 new apps. It took about about 6 minutes. :D

[FightTheFuture]

3 days of guinea pigs trying it first before I can even be tempted to install it :)i hear ya. i learned my lesson with 2.0. i'll wait till tuesday and read the feedback on the forums before updating. or perhaps apple might fix the problem where if you can't connect to the iTunes server than you'll be left with a bricked phone till you can.

[Hands Sandon]

Whilst on the phone to ATT about four days ago I was asked if I was happy with my service. I told them that the 3G didn't work 90% of time and that Edge worked about 90% of the time. I was put through to a tech rep and he pretty much blamed Apple. But since that call I've had my 3G service working in all the places where it had barely worked(often even slower than Edge) or not worked at all. Does anyone think it's possible for there to be some kind of ranking system that ATT can effectively jump you to the top of a 3G queue,giving you superior service.

[cmcconkey]

I am loving the 2.1 firmware. I have downloaded 4 applications in the time that it took to download 1 before. I have also noticed that when I send out an email it will "chirp" once it leaves the touch.

[shokk]

I still have the receiver and transmitter that I used with my Nano. If only they would add support for that to the new firmware. I suspect that with the power charging changes to the new iPhone from the older iPod models, the old receiver won't ever be able to work with the iPhone 3Gs.

Kind of sucks not to have Nike+ on the iPhone. I now have the wristband but it feels like a downgrade from my older Nano.

[Gunn003]

last night was my mom's birthday so i completely forgot after school and going out for dinner. I'm installing it now, and the backup it did before updating took FOREVER.

[Aciddan]

I'm a bit perplexed as to why nike+ can't work with the iPhone - *especially* since we current Nike+ users have the external hardware transceiver (the hardware requirement) already. Why can't they just make the nike+ applications work with the external connector if the internal transceiver is not present?

the Nike+ is the only thing *missing* from my iPhone experience: It also means that nike (or another vendor) misses out on my having to buy an armband too...

*perplexed* :S

-- Dan =(

[stone315]

Any second now, someone will demand Copy/Paste. Fair enough, but I haven't had a need for that one yet. I may use the phone differently.

What I would like to see is:
- Stop moving my apps around when one gets an update
- In fact, a way from iTunes to group them on iPhone's screen.
- A "clickwheel" function in the iPod.app so I can track through long songs and podcasts, like I used to be able to do
- A working MobileMe, which syncs.
- Syncing of mail messages, as well as just my mail account passwords, or whatever it's syncing now. I don't like reading mail twice on my pop accounts.
- The ability to turn off the apple default applications I'll never use like 'Stocks'

But, yes, not to sound like a complete complainer, I love the third party apps. All I could have hoped for (well, open distribution would be nice). I don't think I'll own another cellphone besides the iPhone for a decade. I'm excited to be part of the early time.

Copy and paste would be nice, there have been some times when I wanted to email someone a long web address (usually a product of some form or another). Definitely would like the iPhone to not move apps around after an update, that's probably the most annoying part of the phone. However, I don't really see the need for a clickwheel since you can just touch the displayed progress of the song and slide it to whatever time in the song/podcast you would like. I've had no problems with syncing mail, but then again I only use IMAP accounts. And on the topic of removing default apps, I just wish there was a way to remove that useless Contacts app.

[Pigumon]

Make sure we unthaw John Mayer from the archives in time for this one. This will be a Big Deal!

Unthaw is the opposite of Thaw. :p


I hope the mic thing works, Skype on the Touch would rock. We are supposed to be rocking after all. :apple:

[M. Poirot]

So 2.1 seems to be ok on the original iPod touch....so far.
Like the ability to turn sound notifications for various things like new mail, calendar, alarms and keyboard taps on/off.
Wifi is a lot faster to switch on and connect to a hub. It also switches off a lot faster too.
Mail now gives you a sound through the transducer when you send email
Apps load faster and have so far not crashed.
Contacts loads a lot faster and can be scrolled through immediately
Calendar is the same

I would have liked the ability to force Mail, Contacts and Calendar to rx any updates without manually opening each app and waiting for it to update. I know MobileMe should push any updates automatically, but we all know this doesn't always happen in a timely manner :D

Battery life does seem to be better. Watching videos doesn't drain the unit as fast as if did before.

Like others have posted 'Safari seems snappier':p

[Phil A.]

The 2.1 upgrade is sounding good.

It won't be complete until the keyboard / contacts lag is addressed and responsiveness is returned to its former glory.

No SMS on the Touch (that app being a very clear indicator of the lag), but are any of the other indicators that this is fixed?

The contact lag is still there on my iPod touch. Did a side-by-side test and the delay is about half as long as on my iPhone with 2.0.2 (same set of contacts) and the iPod touch became responsive in about 1/2 the time my iPhone did. Still a couple of seconds delay though...

[Robert Denby]

I have about two thousand songs on my Touch, and regardless of the song I choose, I get this message:

"This song does not have enough related songs to create a Genius Playlist."

Seems like it should try to throw something together...

[mooty]

Like the ability to turn sound notifications for various things like new mail, calendar, alarms and keyboard taps on/off.

I can do that now on 2.0 can't I? What's different?

Settings -> Sounds

Mute Mail, Sent Mail, Calendar Alerts, Keyboard clicks...

Is this new for Ipod Touch?

[rosh325]

I have about two thousand songs on my Touch, and regardless of the song I choose, I get this message:

"This song does not have enough related songs to create a Genius Playlist."

Seems like it should try to throw something together...

Did genius finish contacting apple's servers etc before you synced your touch? I got the same message and turns out it was because I had synced before Genius was done completely setting up on my computer (took ~2-5 minutes). After I let it finish and synced it worked just fine.

[pizzacake]

2.1 firmware is a fantastic update. I saw the keynote and was fairly unimpressed as there seemed to be nothing that had the wow factor. However, after using iTunes 8 and 2.1 firmware for the iPod Touch the differences in performance are incredible. Backing up could take over an hour now takes 20 seconds! Installing apps takes seconds not ten minutes as before. I've had no applications crash. It just makes for a much better experience. I know Snow Leopard was knocked for not having any fancy new features but if the core functionality is improved like this I'm all for it.

Finally, the small iTunes UI improvements do make navigating my library a lot easier. I like that they've added Google contacts sync.

[tosui]

I've noticed that album art isn't coming through consistently between cover flow, album listing, and playing an ablum view. For instance, notice the difference from photo to photo after the Pet Shop Boys (it will be Portishead, then UNKLE, in that order). Portishead is there and then gone, as is UNKLE (the black and white drawing). There one moment, gone the next! :confused:

[Robert Denby]

Did genius finish contacting apple's servers etc before you synced your touch? I got the same message and turns out it was because I had synced before Genius was done completely setting up on my computer (took ~2-5 minutes). After I let it finish and synced it worked just fine.

Maybe that's it. I honestly don't remember if iTunes was done syncing or not. Thanks.

[FightTheFuture]

the Nike+ is the only thing *missing* from my iPhone experience: It also means that nike (or another vendor) misses out on my having to buy an armband too...i agree. although it's great to run with a nano, i think most people would rather run with their phone in case of an emergency. phone & key, that's all you'll need.

[stewy]

Yes, the new firmware!

While upgrading itunes 8 threw a visual basic runtime error at me... which caused my ipod to go into recovery mode. Luckily it had backed up, I restored the backup and found that it did not backup any music at all, at least... it didn't load any back on.... Now I have to load 10 gigs back onto my touch.... yay!

[nanoakron]

Any second now, someone will demand Copy/Paste. Fair enough, but I haven't had a need for that one yet. I may use the phone differently.

What I would like to see is:
- Stop moving my apps around when one gets an update
- In fact, a way from iTunes to group them on iPhone's screen.
- A "clickwheel" function in the iPod.app so I can track through long songs and podcasts, like I used to be able to do
- A working MobileMe, which syncs.
- Syncing of mail messages, as well as just my mail account passwords, or whatever it's syncing now. I don't like reading mail twice on my pop accounts.
- The ability to turn off the apple default applications I'll never use like 'Stocks'

But, yes, not to sound like a complete complainer, I love the third party apps. All I could have hoped for (well, open distribution would be nice). I don't think I'll own another cellphone besides the iPhone for a decade. I'm excited to be part of the early time.

Agree with every point on your wishlist.

Mine has only one addition for now - the ability to store ALL of my emails on my iPhone, not just the most recent 100.

If apple wants it to be a corporate crackberry beater, and if you've ever had to search for an old email away from a desktop, this is ESSENTIAL.

[FalsetoDerka]

oh man, I wish I had enough money to buy this.. even after selling an old iPod at Venjuvo I still don't have enough... but sure looks tite.