Well, that didn't take very long at all, did it? Jailbreak hacks are already here for iPhone 2.1, if you're willing to risk it.
Apple on Saturday (Friday US time) released the iPhone 2.1 update, bringing with it a few cosmetic changes, what's claimed to be a whole mess of bug fixes, battery life improvements and the integration of iTunes 8's "Genius" playlists features.
From what we've seen on an updated iPhone, the update does do what it says on the tin -- our review model is snappier for text entry, less crash-prone in Safari, and while we've not tested it to battery exhaustion, it frankly couldn't be worse -- could it?
One thing that makes some iPhone owners wary of firmware updates is if they're running "jailbroken" iPhones, capable of running alternative applications -- or if they just dislike Apples' rather firm grip on what can or can't be developed for the shiny portable phone-brick. Firmware updates usually wipe the jailbreak process entirely.
Although it didn't take terribly long for a 2.1 hack to appear, it should be noted that it's hardly a simple, one-click solution, and, of course, Apple will just grin at you condescendingly if something goes wrong, and your telco won't magically stop billing you.
You'll also need the 2.1 firmware (around 250MB), iTunes 8 (around 60MB), iTunes 7.7, updated pwnage tools and a fair bit of patience to boot.
Full details of the various ways to jailbreak an iPhone 3G can be found online by Googling for them -- given how quickly the details change, we're not going to link to a specific solution, as by the time you read this, there's probably a better one out there.