Apple iPod Touch 2.0 firmware

The 2.0 firmware for the Apple iPod Touch is now installed on my device - this is the same firmware that is installed on the new Iphone 3G. After initial problems with downloading through the first 24 hours of release (Apple didn't seem to have the infrastructure to keep up with the load from the new release of the iPhone 3G) I finally managed to get it installed.

The installation required the device to be completely wiped, i.e. music/videos and all. The update process took care of doing a full backup and starting the restore of all my data afterwards. Given that I had around 16Gbytes of data, the whole process took close to an hour.

So now that I've been playing with the new firmware a bit, this is how I feel about it:

• The ability to install applications is a killer feature, there are some great applications out there, but many of the free games are quite ordinary & many of the really good applications will require at least a data connection - but this can be taken care of if you're in a wifi area or have some other method of getting your iPod Internet connected (I use JoikuSpot).
• So apparently the iPod touch has had an external speaker all along - previously the only out-loud message it would make is the 'click' when you typed, but now it plays a little tune when you receive new email - I wonder what else this little speaker can do.
• (Not really a 2.0 firmware update but actually an iTunes 7.7 update) I can now synchronise by GMail contacts with the device rather than just Outlook contacts.
• On the downside, the method of fast-forwarding through videos has changed. The old method was better whereby the first 10 seconds of fast forwarding were just sped-up audio, but now they skip through the audio meaning that you can't even fast forward for short pieces without missing out on what is being said. Also, the fast-forwarding now takes much longer to kick into a higher-speed fast forward. Maybe I'll get used to this but for now its just an annoyance.
• My Wifi connection now seems to be much more stable - I have always had problems with my iPod connecting to my home wifi, particularly since I juiced up the output power of my wireless access point for another purpose - my use of the iPod since the 2.0 update has shown a much faster & more reliable wifi connection.
• Lastly, the email application on the device is a little bit more usable with only a slight change to the interface.

Overall I love the update, but will be looking forward to being able to jailbreak it again as there are some apps for the device that aren't in the iTunes store that I'd really like to use again.