Thanks to the iPhone Dev Team, my first-gen iPhone is now running App Store apps courtesy of the unlocked and jailbroken iPhone 2.0 firmware. After fiddling with it for a couple of hours, here’s what I found:

The Not-So-Good Stuff:

  • iPhone FW2.0 is a bit sluggish compared to its predecesor, FW1.1.4
  • MobileME is still very buggy. I added two contacts on the web version and it got pushed to my laptop a few minutes later and to my iPhone 10 minutes later. Not good considering it’s supposed to PUSH information instantly or at the very least after a few seconds.
  • Some App Store apps are still very buggy causing it to quit suddenly and sometimes even cause the iPhone to reboot spontaneously.
  • Still no flash support in Safari.
  • Still no A2DP (wireless music streaming over Bluetooth) support.

The Good Stuff:

  • Calculator now shifts to Scientific mode when you tilt it sideways, pretty cool.
  • More regional support. No more hacking and modifying files just to get it to work properly with local providers.
  • Microsoft Exchange support. This is particularly useful for Corporate users.
  • Contacts app now separate from Phone app just like the iPod touch.
  • Safari lets you save pictures from webpages.
  • Overall, the best thing in my book about the iPhone 2.0 FW is the App Store as it opens an opportunity of enhancements for iPhone and iPod touch users.

Oh and my favorite App Store apps? Midomi Mobile and Remote.

Midomi lets you find information about a song four ways:

  1. By singing or humming the song to your iPhone
  2. By typing an excerpt of the song’s lyric
  3. By recording a few seconds of the song playing on TV, radio, or etc.
  4. By reciting or saying a few lines of the song

It then automatically shows you song information with links to a youtube video and an option to purchase the song from iTunes. Amazing, isn’t it? Oh and the best part? The app won’t cost you anything, it’s absolutely FREE.

Remote is also a free app from App Store developed by Apple, Inc. It basically let’s you control iTunes on a MAC or PC using your iPhone or iPod touch through a WiFi network.

Since its official release last July 11, I have been looking forward to the day I get to play with iPhone FW 2.0 and App Store. I have to say that Apple certainly knows how to wow, it is definitely worth the wait.