iPhone software 2.1 arrives: Is it working for you?

The massive iPhone bug fix that Steve Jobs promised us Tuesday is here, and so far, iPhone users are reporting peppier performance, faster backups, and more signal bars. But is reception actually any better? Tell us what you think.

I updated my iPhone 3G with software update 2.1 this morning (if you haven't done so already, just dock your iPhone, fire up iTunes, and click "Check for update"), and so far, so good—at least as far as overall performance goes. Voice and data reception? Still open for debate.

Among other improvements, Apple has promised "faster loading and searching of contacts," "fixed bugs causes hangs and crashes for users with lots of third-party applications," and "dramatically reduced time to backup to iTunes—and indeed, my contacts screen is loading much faster now (it used to take several seconds to appear), my apps (which used to crash pretty regularly) have yet to skip a beat since the update, and—lo and behold—backing up my iPhone only takes about five minutes now, compared to 40-60 minutes before the update.

The firmware also adds on-the-fly Genius playlist creation to the iPhone, and cosmetically, the "3G'" and "E" (for EDGE) icons no longer have blue boxes around them. (Check out this exhaustive report of changes from Ars Technica.)

OK, but what about all those dropped calls and 3G reception problems that have sparked lawsuits, zillions of angry forum posts, and who knows how many ugly headlines? (Note that Apple only promises "improved accuracy of the 3G signal strength display," not necessarily better reception.)

So far, responses on Apple's official iPhone forum run the gamut. On the plus side: "Before the 2.1 update no matter what I did it would ALWAYS drop the call within 9 seconds of placing or getting a call … [Now] I have talked to 11 people and I have had NO dropped calls, and it shows 4 bars (sometimes 5). If the bars are fake I am thankful for them."

On the flip side (from a user in New York): "It just looks like Apple added 2 bars extra to what I had before. So these are 'fake' bars. No difference in speed. Speed test results are the same."

For my part, I've been making plenty of calls this morning and haven't lost a call yet—a welcome change. I'm also seeing a solid five bars and the "3G" icon here in my Manhattan office, compared to two or three bars before the update. But after running the mobile speed test on DSLReports.com multiple times, I'm still seeing data speeds in the 100-170Kbps range—not much of an improvement.

So, I ask you, dear reader: Has your iPhone reception gotten any better since the update? Noticing fewer dropped calls? The same? Worse? How many bars are you getting now?

Also, how about data reception? Is your iPhone 3G still flipping between 3G and EDGE? How's it doing in terms of fetching e-mail?

Finally, how's your iPhone performing overall? Better battery life (as Apple promises)? Is the Contacts screen launching more quickly? Any application crashes?

Let us know in the comments below—also, please tell us what city/region you're in, which carrier you're using, and whether you have the iPhone 3G or the original iPhone.