NEW YORK (Reuters)- Apple Inc has issued a software update for the latest iPhone to helpfix connection problems that led to a flurry of online complaints fromcustomers, a European mobile service provider said on Tuesday.
T-Mobile, owned by Deutsche Telekom AG, said the software wasavailable for users to download to their iPhones on Tuesday, but thatit was not yet clear if the upgrade would fix all the connectionproblems.
"We have had complaints about connectivity in the Netherlands buthave not had more complaints than usual for a 3G phone in Germany. Ourtechnicians said today Apple has issued a software update but it is tooearly to tell if the problems are solved," a T-Mobile spokesman said.
AT&T Inc the only U.S. network operator carrying the iPhone,confirmed that Apple had provided a software update but declined togive details about what it was aimed at fixing.
Apple, which sold about a million iPhones around the launch weekend in July, was not immediately available for comment.
One of the key attractions of the latest iPhone is its faster,third-generation (3G) Web connections when compared with the firstiPhone that was launched in mid-2007.
However, users around the world have complained about dropped callsand inconsistent Internet speeds, with the phone often reverting to aslower technology known as Edge even in 3G areas.
Nomura analyst Richard Windsor and media reports have blamed faultysoftware on an Infineon Technologies AG chip for the problems. Infineondeclined to comment about iPhone but noted that its chips work on 3Gphones from suppliers such as Samsung Electronics Co without problems.
The iPhone 3G has gone on sale in about 22 countries since its launch on July 11.
(Reporting by Nicola Leske in Frankfurt and Sinead Carew in New York; Editing by Brian Moss)
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