VivaBusiness 2.0

Almost lost in the cries of pain and dismay from users who "bricked" -- temporarily or permanently -- their iPhones by installing Apple's (AAPL) September update onto devices that had been unlocked, modified or activated on a Windows machine (see Techmeme this morning for the ugly details) is what the update does for the vast majority of users.

The summary of new features provided by the company includes several improvements people had been calling for from iDay one:

• iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store
• Louder speakerphone and receiver volume
• Home Button double-click shortcut to phone favorites or music controls
• Space bar double-tap shortcut to intelligently insert period and space
• Mail attachments are viewable in portrait and landscape
• Stocks and cities in Stocks and Weather can be re-ordered
• Apple Bluetooth Headset battery status in the Status Bar
• Support for TV Out
• Preference to turn off EDGE/GPRS when roaming internationally
• New Passcode lock time intervals
• Adjustable alert volume

Apple has provided a cheery video in which several of the new features are demonstrated by the same actor who did the original iPhone guided tour. Anybody with a nonfunctioning phone will probably find it too painful to watch.

As many commentators have noted, it's not as if Apple didn't warn users who had unlocked their iPhones that update 1.1.1 could render the devices inoperable. What it didn't tell its user community was that the update might also disable hundreds of third-party applications that independent programmers had written to make the device more useful.

Some of these problems may go away in the weeks ahead.  Jailbreak will probably get updated to allow third-party apps to be reinstalled. The creators of iPhoneSimFree and anySIM may figure out how to repair whatever damage they might have caused to iPhone's firmware.

Repairing relations with the fiercely loyal core of its user base may take Apple a little longer.