The iPhone 2.1 update is here. But, psych, you can't install it...

Talk about cruel.

I can't remember the last time I was genuinely excited by the thought of an incremental system update, but there I was, checking iTunes first thing this morning to see if the 2.1 software was available for the iPhone 3G I've been using.

And much to my delight, there it was, at just after 9am EST. And it downloaded without a hitch. I was already salivating at the thought of improved battery life -- maybe I could go 10 hours without a low-battery warning.

Sadly, it won't install.

A Vista problem? An Apple problem? Just plain old bad luck?

I'll report back later - assuming I can get past this dang error message.

Update:10am EST

Still no love. Tried twice more, then gave up and rebooted my system and tried again. At first, it seemed promising, but after backing up my phone, it crashed again (this time with a different error code -- 30).

Then I tried again, and this time it's at least doing something different. Whereas the first two back-ups took about a minute apiece, this time around it's been backing up for about 20 minutes, and it's roughtly 60-percent complete. Stay tuned...

Update: 10:19am

After 50-minute back-up, appears to actually be installing. Thinking happy thoughts. Maybe the fifth time will be a charm...

Update:  10:30am

Success at last. Will report back with first impressions later today.

Update: 2:15pm

First impressions are positive. Read more here.