Apple updated the software that runs its iPhones on Friday in hopes of decreasing dropped calls, improving battery life and cutting the time it takes to synchronize the device with a computer.

The update is available on Apple's iTunes online service. Early feedback is positive, claiming that after the update, iPhone is getting faster at handling key tasks. In contrast, an August update that was supposed to improve the iPhones' connectivity to high-speed data networks drew mainly negative responses claiming it didn't work.

Apple also said the new update "improved accuracy of the 3G signal strength display" - meaning the phone would show more "bars" on the connection meter. However, the quality of the connection was not necessarily affected by the update.

Apple also said the new software will also improve e-mail reliability and reduce crashing applications. Besides complaining about such bugs - which have given Apple's high-end reputation some relatively rare knocks - iPhone owners have grumbled about missing text messages. After the update is installed, the device will chirp its text message alert several times.

The company also posted a fix for an issue in the Windows Vista version of iTunes which was causing a blue screen of death to appear when an iPhone or iPod was plugged into a PC. Apple is advising users to uninstall both iTunes and the Apple Mobile Device Support tool and then download the updated versions from its web site.