The latest firmware update released by Apple may have improved security and added features, but some iPhone owners are having problems. Reports from users on the Apple support forums indicate a major problem with updating to iPhone OS 3.1 on the iPhone 3G.

Users are ending up with bricked phones, and iPhones that crash several times, requiring a hard reboot. Holding the sleep and home button doesn't always work, however. Some users are finding it necessary to downgrade to iTunes 8 and firmware 3.0.1 to solve the problems.

Sometimes backing up the iPhone in iTunes during a sync takes a while. According to Apple, now there's a new way to speed up the process.

Backup times can suffer when there are a large number of photos or videos on the Camera Roll. To speed up your iPhone backup the media files must be imported to your computer, removed from the camera roll, and re-synced to the iPhone.

The latest iPhone firmware is live. Steve Jobs announced the release of iPhone OS 3.1 today at Apple's Rock and Roll media event. The latest iPhone firmware can be downloaded using iTunes.

The software adds new features and includes bug fixes. iPhone Dev-Team has recommended against updating your firmware until further notice if your iPhone is jailbroken and/or unlocked.

With the upcoming late release of MMS for the iPhone, AT&T is struggling to maintain a positive image with its subscribers. Reports have suggested their latest efforts will either come under the category of "too little, too late" or "my iPhone has more features on AT&T."

Reports are circulating that the company is developing features for the iPhone that will be exclusive to AT&T, even after the iPhone is available on other carriers in the US. Improvements in the works mainly add features to the existing visual voicemail system.

The glass facade of an Apple store may look sleek, but apparently it doesn't do much for security. The surveillance video of this heist shows what is described as a professional "smash and grab."

The stolen goods included 14 iPhones, 23 MacBook Pros, and 9 iPod touches. Five mask-wearing suspects pulled off the entire operation in 31 seconds flat.