The dev team has released PwnageTool and QuickPwn for iPhones and first generation iPod touch devices, for those who want to upgrade to firmware 2.2.

Important: If you have a 3G iPhone and you want to unlock it in the near future, you cannot use QuickPwn and must use PwnageTool (currently available for Mac users only). As the dev team explained yesterday, the 2.2 update for the 3G iPhone also upgraded the baseband. In order to achieve a jailbreak and keep future soft-unlock options available, you must use PwnageTool to create a custom .ipsw file that preserves the 2.1 baseband but provides the software functionality of a 2.2 update. Read the entire dev team posting for complete instructions.

Users with first generation iPod touches, 2G (first gen) iPhones, factory unlocked iPhone 3Gs or users who have no desire to soft-unlock their iPhone 3G can use the QuickPwn tool. Neither PwnageTool nor QuickPwn work with the second generation iPod touch. The dev team has already said that its current focus is the 3G unlock and then they will look into working on the new iPod touch.

If you just want to use Installer.app on your 2G or 3G iPhone and don't want to go through the jailbreak process, check out Pusher from RiP Dev. It works with 2.2 and doesn't open the system partition when writing information, making it a potentially safer jailbreak alternative.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in! And thanks Josh for the RiP Dev tip!

Apple also released a firmware update for iPod touch, bringing it in line with most version 2.2 updates for iPhone released a little while ago. It doesn't appear, however, that iPod touch users get the enhancements to the Maps app that iPhone users do. (Thanks, Guillermo!)

The update contains enhancements to Mail, fixes connection issues with WPA-secured wireless networks, improves Safari stability, and includes a new preference to turn off auto-correction for typing.

Also, podcasts are now available for download from within the iTunes app, and pressing the Home button from any home screen will now take you to the first home screen.

Several security enhancements are included, too, updating CoreGraphics, ImageIO, networking, Office Viewer, Passcode Lock, Safari and Webkit. A complete list of security updates is available on Apple's website.

The update is available by clicking "Check for Update" with your iPod selected in the Devices area of the sidebar in iTunes.

According to iPhoneHellas.gr, version 2.2 of the iPhone firmware will be made available on November 21. The site says that the tipster is "reliable" but offered few details. Gizmodo calls the site "consistently reliable."

The tipster did say, however, that the update will not contain Greek keyboard support. Rumor has it that the update will contain:

• Street View, public transportation and walking directions for Maps
• An always-visible search field in Safari
• A rating request before you delete an app
• The ability to download podcasts directly to your handset
• Location sharing via email
• Support for Emoji icons
• An option to turn off auto-correction

There is still no word, of course, about the most requested and elusive of options: copy and paste. Gizmodo seems to think that -- if the release date is indeed on the 21st -- the major features of the update have been frozen. Looks like we'll have to wait until 2.3.

[Via O'Grady's PowerPage.]

MacRumors hears news of some interesting new features that may see the light of day in the next iteration of iPhone firmware.

The Maps application will apparently have support for Google Street View. It remains to be seen if the integration will be as impressive as that of Google Android, which used GPS compass data to dynamically change the street view depending on which way you're actually pointed.

Also included is support for Japanese emoji icons: 461 popular pictures that can be added to text messages and emails. Emoji support is popular on Japanese phones, and including it on the iPhone might give a boost to sales there (described as less-than-stellar by the WSJ).

In a move sure to be popular with non-English users using the English keyboard, the new firmware will also let you turn off auto-correction.

It's not clear when the new firmware will be generally available. Developers received version 2.2, beta 1 on September 25.