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This week: we can't stop talking about the App Store and what it means for developers. We recorded before 2.2 came out, but expect it to be the topic du jour next week for iPhone Live!

[This is an official Smartphone Experts Round Robin post! Every day you reply here, you're automatically entered for a chance to win an iPhone 3G, Case-Mate Naked Case, and Motorola H9 Bluetooth Headset! More below!]

iPhone OS 2.2 build 2.2 5G77, at 246.4MB, is the second major point release to Apple's second generation mobile operating system. Following on release 2.0 (full review) on July 11, and 2.1 (full review) on September 15. Interestingly, while 2.0 had 8 betas, 2.1 only had 4 and 2.2 but 2. Is Apple really getting twice as efficient, or only spending half as much effort getting feedback?

Like 2.1, this update is also available FREE for the iPod Touch. Unlike 2.1, however, Apple is not providing the same functionality to Touch, with the Google Maps update notably missing. Since these updates don't seem dependent on either the cell radio or GPS, it's difficult to imagine why Apple chose to -- we'll say it -- shaft the Touch. Perhaps they'll blame their subscription accounting model again? iSigh.

Remarkable also by it's absence -- again -- is the much ballyhooed Push Notification Service (announced during WWDC 2008), intended to provide the semblance of multi-tasking to 3rd party apps by sending badges, sounds, and pop-ups through a central Apple server to alert users of, for example, new IMs or tweets. (Should we even bother to mention the continued, and continually unexplained, absence of cut and paste, MMS, unified inbox, video recording, etc.)

Note: We updated just fine using iTunes 8.0.1, but you may want to consider grabbing yesterday's 8.0.2 release first.

But enough dwelling on the didn't gets. Read on after the jump for the we gots!

I noticed 3 messages stuck in my Gmail outbox post-OS 2.2 upgrade. Just sitting there. Mocking me. "Sending" but never getting "sent". Following a comment by Matt, I re-typed my password and voila, the intertubes they were cleared.

Not sure if this will work for everyone, either by itself or with a reset, but give it a try and let us know.

With the Apple's early morning release of the iPhone 2.2 firmware update, that's the exact question many people will be asking. Hey, we at TiPb asked it ourselves -- and then blindly pushed and shoved our way to the iTunes tethers!

So what's new in iPhone 2.2, is it awesome enough for you to update, and who should stay clear at all costs?

Answers after the jump!

Running 2.2 (5G77) and if you don't care about cut and paste, mms, or any of the other other stuff Apple likely hasn't had enough time/resources to make an investment/reward benefits case for, you'll dig the Google Maps and Podcast downloads -- and Emoji if you, you know, are running on a legit Japanese iPhone carrier!

Screen cap gallery after the break!

(Thanks to Dieter for getting US Google Street-view content! I don't think us filthy Canadians are deemed worthy for it yet!)

Now that 2.2 is upon us, you can get your TiPb fix in yet another way: grab our Podcast over the air!

It's simple. Just turn on WiFi (necessary because all of our podcasts are over 10 megs), head into iTunes on your iPhone, and search for "Phone different." It'll pop up right quick (and includes the feed for our iPhone Live! Podcast to boot!). Then head in, tap download, and away you go!

(Speaking of the Phone Different Podcast, we have this week's in the bin. It should be edited up and ready for you to grab tomorrow)

Ok, so here we have yet another update on the Dev Team's blog. This time they tell us everything we want to know about the 2.2 firmware and jailbreaking.

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[This is an official Smartphone Experts Round Robin post! Every day you reply here, you're automatically entered for a chance to win an iPhone 3G, Case-Mate Naked Case, and Motorola H9 Bluetooth Headset! More below!]

Google's Android is the future of smartphones. At least, it's one of the possible futures. Alongside the iPhone, it's the OS I'm most intrigued by, and that the two companies have chosen such different strategies in tackling the future only makes it ever so much more exciting.

The iPhone is an ordered, iconic device made entirely by Apple, with all the integration and fit and finish -- and frustratingly capricious omissions -- that only a single guiding mind can achieve. Android, by contrast, is chaotic and communal, designed by Google to free developers and fit a multitude of tastes and form-factors -- with all the possible confusion and derivation open source has to offer.

Which one is "better" is a ridiculously impossible question to answer -- each platform has its strengths and weaknesses and each user their own unique needs and preferences. Frankly, we're fortunate to live in a time where there are so many truly awesome devices from which to choose. (Even a few years ago -- and yes, I'll say it, pre-iPhone shockwave -- things were far, far more bleak.)

For my part, all I can really do is tell you how I use a smartphone, and how well the Android G1 fits that usage bill.

I really need to point out, up front, that the G1 is a beta device. There, I said it. Unlike Windows Mobile or Blackberry OS, which have been on the market for years and years, and the iPhone OS which is already on 2.x, Android has just hit the market with all the promise and problems that inevitably go with that. The Android device I experienced this week will absolutely and without question be blown away by whatever Android device(s) hit the market next year. So, it's not a fair comparison for Android from the get go, and I beg everyone to remember that when I lay... er... get into it below the fold.

The BodyGuardz Protective Skin for iPhone 3G is available now in the iMore Store for $24.95. It is a thin, clear, protective film that covers almost the entire body of your iPhone 3G - screen, back, top, bottom, and sides, yet still gives your iPhone the "naked" look and adds virtually no bulk while offering protection against scratches and scuffing. Read on for the full review and see if it's right for YOUR iPhone 3G.