Apple announced the release of firmware for the iPhone, version 1.1.3, at MacWorld yesterday.  The release was rumored but now it is a reality.

The update is delivered through the usual method of iTunes, version 7.5 or above to be exact.  The feature list for this release is pretty extensive for firmware:

• Multi-recipient SMS
• Faux-GPS on Google Maps using cell tower triangulation
• Web Clips (bookmarks of web sites on your home screen)
• Home screen icon customization via drag and drop
• GMail IMap now part of iPhone Mail

LifeHacker has a nice overview of the each feature.

The feature I have been waiting for is the location awareness using cell tower triangulation to find my location on Google Maps.  No, this is not GPS but it is similar and should get you pretty close to your true location.

Installation

Installing the update to my iPhone started with upgrading to iTunes 7.6, which was just released for Windows and Mac.  iTunes 7.5+ is required so I figured I would just get the latest.

After upgrading iTunes and starting iTunes the iPhone was immediately recognized in the cradle and I was prompted to upgrade to 1.1.3.  It is a pretty big download, 162MB, and with everyone else doing the same thing it took a bit of time to update.  After download the update was installed quickly and I had 1.1.3 without problem.

After poking around a bit and giving the location-aware Google Maps a try, I was pleasantly surprised how fast my location was show, similar to below:

Notice the small icon in the lower left-hand corner, choosing this will ask Google Maps to find my location.  It worked great!

The upgrade and installation was really easy and I am happy with the results.  Apple, now I would like voice activated dialing please.