Apple released the latest update to it’s iPhone late last week and I now having used the phone over the weekend I want to give my initial impressions on what’s changed and what’s new.

To start with, the update seemed to double the ‘Other’ space (orange segment) taken up on my phone, whether this was because it left the remains of the update file on their remains to be seen, but file sizes suggest perhaps it did. Doing a full restore has since fixed this problem though. So onto what’s new…

• Google Street View – this is an excellent feature, I love the virtual panning and the way Apple have integrated it so seamlessly. In fact they have integrated it almost too well, it took me a while to figure out how to use it! If you want to test it out, open maps and type say, ‘Times Square New York’ in. Notice how there’s a little red icon in the name tag? Well tap that and after a nice transition you can now pan around Times Square. Google are promising to photograph the U.K soon aswell.
• Safari stabilized – Well I can say the update to Safari seems to have gone well because I haven’t had it crash on me once yet. The last version booted me out fairly often so I hope the new version can remain as stable as it seems. There is also a slight tweak to the UI which sees the Google search field next to the address bar, this seems to free up slightly more viewing area.
• Map directions can be shared – A nifty new bonus to maps is the ability to email a link of your precise location to a friend, I suppose this could be handy for meeting someone but I can’t see me ever using it to be honest. Better for me though is you can now add an address to a Contact, very handy!
• Podcasts available – You can now download Podcasts directly onto your phone. It’s about time Apple added this feature. You can download Podcasts with either a WiFi or 3G signal, because they obviously don’t come under the same license as Music. There’s a neat feature that let’s you just stream an episode instead of downloading it directly, just tap on an episode name and you’re away.
• Text Messages state sender – I don’t know if it was a bug in the 2.1 firmware but my text messages stopped showing the sender in the alert. This seems to have been fixed in 2.2, either that or Apple have put the feature back in. Maybe an on/off option would have been easier?
• Home Button – Pushing the Home button while you’re in any other Home screen now takes you back to the first screen, this is a very handy addition, especially if you’re like me and always like your phone to be on the first screen before you put it to sleep.
• Appstore Improvements - You can now view more than one screenshot of any given App, either by swiping or using the cursor buttons. Also when you delete an App, you are asked to rate it out of 5 stars, you can also choose ‘No Thanks’ though.

• Enhancements to Maps
  • Google Street View: Street View takes you on a virtual walking tour: Navigate street-level photographs of places you’ve located in Maps.
  • Public transit and walking directions: Get walking directions, find public transit schedules, check fares, and estimate your travel time.
  • Display address of dropped pins
  • Share location via email: Tap the Share Location button to send an email that includes a Google Maps URL.
• Decrease in call setup failures and dropped calls
• Enhancements to Mail
  • Resolved isolated issues with scheduled fetching of email
  • Improved formatting of wide HTML email
• Podcasts are now available for download in iTunes application (over Wi-Fi and cellular network): Get access to millions of free podcasts on the iTunes Store via Wi-Fi or your cellular network.
• Improved stability and performance of Safari: A new search-friendly user interface, better performance, and more stability make Safari even easier to use.
• Improved sound quality of Visual Voicemail messages
• Home screen shortcut: pressing Home button from any Home screen displays the first Home screen.
• Preference to turn on/off auto-correction in Keyboard Settings

AppleInsider report that there have been a few discoveries in the latest beta of the next iPhone firmware update. Apple have been quite secretive about features added to their beta updates lately. What has been unearthed so far seems positive though

• Google Maps Street View (as demoed by the new G1 Android phone)
• Groundwork for emoji icon support.
• Ability to turn auto correct off on the keyboard (hurray some say..)

No sign of the promised ‘Push notification’ system that Apple told us would be introduced mid-September then? What about turn by turn GPS? Come on Apple, surprise us!