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Although the iPhone OS 2.1 update is not yet available, the iPod touch update was available shortly after Steve Jobs left the stage at the Let’s Rock event. While the iPhone update will supposedly fix major problems like dropped calls and application crashes, the update for iPod touch does not have such clearly defined goals. Here are thoughts after a couple days with the new OS (all performance measures are, obviously, subjective, so your mileage may vary):

• Speed: Overall, the entire OS feels snappier.  Launching applications and syncing with iTunes are the major improvements, but Contacts and Maps have also gotten appreciable speed boosts.
• Backups: This relates to speed (see above), but backups are significantly faster.  Maybe Apple has switched to incremental backups, rather than the full data copy, but whatever they’ve done, the speed is obvious (and much appreciated)!
• Stability: Safari, previously destined to crash at least once per session, has not crashed once since the update.  Reading boingboing.net was guaranteed to crash Safari under 2.0.2; not so anymore!
• Configurable iPod Shortcuts: The list of iPod navigation shortcuts is now more configurable, thanks to the “Edit” button available in the “More” window (not so for Videos, however, which lack the shortcut bar).

• Genius: An exciting new way to generate playlists!  Genius functions only as a way to auto-generate playlists, rather than as a link to the iTunes Store like it does on the desktop.  It’s still a great way to make a playlist, and it beats the cumbersome on-the-go process to which previous iPods were limited.

• Battery Life: Much better.  Two days of mixed application use and music listening, with Wi-Fi turned on, and there is still half a charge on the battery.  Life, unplugged, seems much more attainable.

Even though Steve Jobs introduced brand new iPod Touches, the OS 2.1 update delivers a new iPod for current Touch owners (without the price tag).  If you have not yet updated your iPod Touch to OS 2, it’s a $9.95 download from the iTunes store. For users who have already made the upgrade, 2.1 is a free download, and definitely a must-have.

Product [OS 2.1 Upgrade]