Jobs promises September iPhone software patch

Little publicized by widely suffered bug prevents iPhone applications from launching properly

 

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has promised repair for a little publicized by widely suffered bug in which a user's iPhone applications won't properly launch.

In a short e-mail, Jobs is claimed to have promised a fix is under development and will be rectified within a software update that's scheduled to ship in September

[ Check out InfoWorld's special report on Apple's recent launch of the iPhone 3G and iPhone 2.0. ]

"This is a known iPhone bug that is being fixed in the next software update in September," says the sparse note from Jobs.

A report suggests the bug means users have seen third-party App Store applications freeze their iPhone when they attempt to use the apps; alternatively, such apps briefly launch and then quite to the home screen. Default applications are not affected.

It appears this fault is in the way iTunes is monitoring its App Store purchases. "One member of Apple's forums has been told by a support agent that his iTunes account was apparently "split into two separate accounts," confusing the iPhone when it attempts to load an app. Some users note experiencing the problem chiefly with on-iPhone downloads rather than through iTunes," the report claims.

Macworld U.K. is an InfoWorld affiliate.