The latest iPhone firmware version 1.1.1 has recently been released and brought along good reasons to be happy and even better ones causing endless frustration for most users. As promised, Apple has developed a solution for making the unlocked handsets useless, through a process which had a second effect that might lead to destroying the phone's charm.

The producer's greatest mistake with this new upgrade was that of taking away from the iPhone owners the possibility of installing third party applications. The diversity that this type of software used to bring was exactly the thing which took its popularity even further, after its purchase. The apps made it colorful and really managed to make it feel as if packing a small computer in the user's pocket.

After the iPhone's upgrade, users who unlocked the handset to use it with another carrier ended up seeing their devices relocked. Those that stayed with AT&T but improved their handset with colorful applications that really filled all the gaps that Apple is not yet capable of handling when it comes to software, discovered that all their apps were gone. This includes instant messaging, global positioning, business applications and many others.

What did the iPhone users get in return? Access to the WiFi iTunes Music store, improved security and louder volume. That sure beats the liberty of choosing what software to install and making the best of this handset's top performances. All this limiting on the phone's capabilities might drive people away to seeking solutions from other devices, despite the iPhone's high popularity.

The good news is that instructions for downgrading the iPhone from 1.1.1 to 1.0.2 are now available. It will not unlock back the upgraded phones, but it will make it possible to install third party applications for the handsets that have not been removed from AT&T. The new firmware upgrade is supposed to be more difficult to hack into unlocking back the iPhone.