Upgrading to iPhone OS 3.1 is simple and straight-forward.

When Apple released iPhone OS 3.0.1 we explained how to upgrade to iPhone OS 3.0.1. Well, it’s time for another upgrade, this time to iPhone OS 3.1. So is it worth an upgrade?

Here are some of the top features that rolls out with iPhone OS 3.1,

Genius Recommendations for Apps

iTunes store now gives you recommendations on the apps that you might like based on the apps that you’ve already downloaded.

Genius Mixes

iTunes now can automatically create song mixes based on your existing iTunes library

Download Ringtones Wirelessly

Now you can buy thousands of ringtones on the iTunes store.

Organize Apps in iTunes

You can now use the latest iTunes to organize your iPhone apps in a much convenient way if you’ve upgraded your iPhone to OS 3.1.

And here are the rest of the features that comes with the 3.1 update,

• Improved syncing for music, movies, TV shows, podcasts, and photos
• iTunes U content organization
• Redeem iTunes Gift Cards, codes, and certificates in the App Store
• Display available iTunes account credits in the App Store and iTunes Store
• Save video from Mail and MMS into Camera Roll
• Option to “Save as new clip” when trimming a video on iPhone 3GS
• Better iPhone 3G Wi-Fi performance when Bluetooth is turned on
• Remotely lock iPhone with a passcode via MobileMe
• Use Voice Control on iPhone 3GS with Bluetooth headsets
• Paste phone numbers into the keypad
• Option to use Home button to turn on accessibility features on iPhone 3GS
• Warn when visiting fraudulent websites in Safari (anti-phishing)
• Improved Exchange calendar syncing and invitation handling
• Fixes issue that cause some app icons to display incorrectly

Okay, so now you know it might be worth upgrading to iPhone OS 3.1 let’s see how you can easily upgrade your iPhone to the 3.1 version.

Plug your iPhone to your computer and launch iTunes.

Go into your iPhone Summary tab and click on the “Update” button.

A confirmation dialog will popup asking you to acknowledge the upgrade. Click on the “Update” button to continue the update.

You’ll be presented with a dialog that lists the features that comes with the 3.1 update. Click on the “Next” button.

Once confirmed you’ll be presented with dialogs to accept the license terms. Click on the “Agree” button.

You’ll then be presented with a flurry of dialogs that keep you updated with the update progress. While this happens your iPhone will restart and will hang in there for a while its firmware gets updated. DO NOT unplug or power off your iPhone while these updates happen.

As part of the update iTunes will inform you about the final restart.

Once everything settles down and your iPhone restarts you should be able to see the latest version of the iPhone OS on your iPhone Summary tab in iTunes.

It takes around 15 minutes to upgrade your iPhone to iPhone OS 3.1 but the upgrade process is simple and straight-forward. After you upgrade I hope you liked the convenience of arranging your iPhone apps using iTunes.

If you have any questions/comments regarding this upgrade please let us know in comments.

Technorati Tags:
How To, iPhone, iPhone How To, iPhone Tips, iTunes, iPhone Upgrade