As announced on Tuesday, the iPhone 2.1 firmware is out now, downloadable via iTunes.

According to Apple's website, updates include:
To get the update, connect your iPhone to your computer, load up iTunes 8 and click "Check for Update."

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

In its "Let's Rock" event today, Apple introduced three new iPod touch models, all of which are available today.

$229 will get you 8GB of storage, $299 will buy 16GB, and $399 scores 32GB. That's knocking $70 to $100 off the price of each.

The form factor is very slightly thinner, and has a similar tapered back as the iPhone 3G, as rumors suggested. It will also include an exterior volume control and a built-in speaker for "casual listening." There is no microphone built in, but the touch will work with new Apple headphones that include a microphone on the cord. The new headphones are sold separately for $79.

The new models all come with version 2.1 of the iPod touch firmware, which includes the Genius recommendation service mentioned earlier in the presentation. The software also comes with Nike+ built-in, so all you have to buy is the shoe sensor/transmitter. No more dongle.

For those with a current-model iPod touch, the software update is free for those updating from 2.x, and $10 for those upgrading from 1.x.

The new iPod touch models also are more environmentally-friendly, and are constructed with arsenic-free glass and BFR-free, mercury-free, PVC-free, and highly-recyclable components just like the new nano.

[Photo via Engadget.]

Last night, Apple offered up the iPod touch 2.1 firmware early for iPod touch owners (iPhone owners will have to wait until Friday). Not much has changed since the 2.0 firmware, but Apple did add some features to the Music section of the iPod touch -- most notably, Genius.

Unlike Genius in iTunes on your Mac/PC, Genius on the iPod touch doesn't connect to Apple's servers and exchange information (however, it may download an indexing file of sorts from iTunes on your computer). You can create a Genius playlist on the iPod touch using 2 methods:

• While playing a song, tap once on the artwork, then tap on the genius button (in the middle of the pop-up toolbar)
• Tap on "Playlists" on the bottom toolbar and select "Genius"
  

When you use the Playlists > Genius button, you will need to specify a song for Genius to analyze. Once your Genius playlist is created, you will be presented with a screen with 3 new buttons along the top:

• Save - this button allows you to save your current Genius playlist
• New - tapping this button will create a new Genius playlist (you must specify a new song to analyze)
• Refresh - tapping on this button will refresh the current playlist, replacing any old songs with new ones

The Genius logo will appear next to the songs that you've chosen to analyze. That is all of the new features in 2.1: just Genius. Be sure to take a look at our gallery of Genius screenshots.

If you've heard (as we had) that the journey to the beta 2.1 firmware for the iPhone is one-way only, TUAW reader Brian D. has some good news for you. He writes in to say that the journey back is not as impossible as once thought. "Users can downgrade merely by putting the iPhone into DFU mode, and restoring per usual in iTunes. Works like a charm. 2.1 stinks. Back to 2.0 and business as usual."

Brian's downgrade was done using an iPhone 3G. I haven't had a chance to test out the 2.1 firmware, but it's nice to know that upgrading is not a permanent decision.

Written by Erica Sadun

If you use Xsan, then you might want to take note of the new update that Apple dropped yesterday. Apple updated Xsan Admin, Xsan Filesystem and the Xsan Uninstaller to version 2.1. According to the update note, the Xsan Filesystem update fixes:

• Metadata controller reliability
• Using and validating file system Access Control Lists
• Upgrading from Xsan 1.4

The Xsan Admin update provides fixes for:

• Using SAN Setup Assistant to configure volumes, LUNs and affinities
• Changing a computer between client and metadata controller roles
• Listing computers connected to the SAN
• Visually displaying when LUNs have been truncated

You can download these updates by opening Software Update on the Mac running Xsan or by downloading the installer packages from Apple's Support Downloads website. For detailed information about this Xsan update, refer to the support note on Xsan 2.1.

After all the beta releases, the testing and the blood sweat and tears, NetNewsWire 2.1 has gone official. In case you've been living under a rock the past few months, this long-anticipated release of the most.popular.newsreader.evar includes major new features like syncing with NewsGator, posting to del.icio.us, emailing articles, printing and an interesting new sorting paradigm: by attention (has anyone heard anything about how well that one's actually working?).

With this release, NNW is also now a Universal Binary and has received some major performance boosts on both Intel and PowerPC-based Macs. This is a free upgrade for owners of NNW 2.0, so what are you waiting for? Go get a copy.

Ranchero notes that NetNewsWire Lite 2.1 is still in beta. Also, from what I remember, now that NetNewsWire 2.1 has gone official, I'm pretty sure that sale they had running is over.