Today, however, Apple seems to be taking steps to address the issue, starting with a new list of 11 questions that run the gamut from asking about push notifications; to wifi and Bluetooth; to this one, identified by the iPhone Blog: "When you notice a power drop, does it seem to be a legitimate power drop, or rather an issue with the battery icon indicator?"

There's also an unsigned battery life logger that Apple has offered up for download. Once the user installs the logger, their phone will synch the logs with iTunes, at which point the software will ask if it can report back to Apple. Steve Jobs will then personally respond to you via email*

While battery life issues are nothing new for iPhone users, this approach by Apple is, and it lends some credibility to the many users who have pounded the Apple help desk discussion boards with complaints about 3.1. Who amongst the Gizmodo readership is also losing juice at an alarming rate since the introduction of 3.1?

*Steve Jobs will respond to you via email only if you are Joe Nocera. [iPhone Blog - Thanks, Rene]

No, really, you won't have to wait long. Which is kind of important, because without the 3.1 firmware, you can't indulge in some of iTunes 9's best treats—app organizing and genius playlists, to name a few. From the Dev Team:

Because of changes with Apple's update techniques this will be a multipart release, starting with the initial release of PwnageTool for Mac OS X - this application supports the iPhone 1st Generation (2G), The iPhone 3G and the iPod touch 1G. NB: THIS DOES NOT SUPPORT THE 3GS OR 2ND or 3RD GEN IPOD TOUCH. redsn0w for Mac OS X and Windows will follow sometime in the near future, please don't bug us about it - we'll release when we have something ready.

The rest of you can download Pwnage Tool right here, which should handily jailbreak and unlock any piece of hardware that hasn't been released in the last four months, and with a lot less hassle than with the hackish method discovered yesterday. [Dev Team—Thanks, tipsters!]

Users are reporting that iPhone 3.1, which just dropped Wednesday, won't sync with some Exchange servers—in particular, any that ask for full device encryption. Which quite a few do! Apple's official note on the change:

iPhone OS (beginning with the iPhone OS 3.1 update) can enforce the Exchange ActiveSync mailbox policy requiring encryption on the device. If your Exchange Server administrator has selected this option, only devices that support device-level encryption are allowed to sync Mail, Contacts, and Calendars.

So in a direct way, the iPhone has actually increased Exchange support, in that it honors Exchange servers' requirements for device-level encryption, and won't connect if the device doesn't meet them. Since they don't support hardware encryption at all, the iPhone 2G and 3G can in no way meet these requirements, so blocking them from connecting is just good security policy.

Here's the problem: Before 3.1, firmwares just falsely reported that a user's iPhone supported device-level encryption. To frame this change as a bugfix is basically dishonest, since this "bug" was intentionally planted by Apple in order to rush full Exchange support out the door on devices that, by their very nature, can't have it. Now, anyone who bought an iPhone 3G under the (reasonable!) impression that they'd be able to use it to connect to their company's security-enabled Exchange server now can't. Oops? Sorry? Both?

Apple's solution: Convince your company to slacken its security demands, or just buy a 3GS. Thanks dudes, I'll look into that. [Broadband Reports via TUAW via AppleInsider]

# mproved syncing for music, movies, TV shows, podcasts, and photos
# iTunes U content organization
# Redeem iTunes Gift Cards, codes, and certificates in the App Store
# Display available iTunes account credits in the App Store and iTunes Store
# Save video from Mail and MMS into Camera Roll
# Option to "Save as new clip" when trimming a video on iPhone 3GS
# Better iPhone 3G Wi-Fi performance when Bluetooth is turned on

* Remotely lock iPhone with a passcode via MobileMe
* Use Voice Control on iPhone 3GS with Bluetooth headsets
* Paste phone numbers into the keypad
* Option to use Home button to turn on accessibility features on iPhone 3GS
* Warn when visiting fraudulent websites in Safari (anti-phishing)
* Improved Exchange calendar syncing and invitation handling
* Fixes issue that cause some app icons to display incorrectly

Genius Recommendations for Apps

Get recommendations for apps you might like based on apps you've already downloaded.
Genius Mixes

Have iTunes automatically create mixes based on what's already in your library. You don't even have to choose a sample song.

Download Ringtones Wirelessly

Choose from thousands of iPhone ringtones on the iTunes Store and buy them with a tap.
Organize Apps in iTunes

Use iTunes on your computer to drag apps onto virtual Home screens, then sync them to your iPhone.

Update: And it looks like you can cut and paste small videos. [9to5]

Other than this, there are a number of fixes that you can head over to the developer site to check out.

UPDATE: Reports are coming in that, predictably, some of the simpler tethering tricks no longer work.

UPDATE 2: A few more features have come to light, including new accessibility options (VoiceOver and high contrast mode can be toggled with three clicks on the home button), as well as new video saving and editing buttons. [iPhone Dev]