Yes, it’s happened: The new 2.2 firmware rumors and releases. Apple has released the first beta for firmware 2.2 to select developers. Following on the 8 betas for 2.0 (released July 11, which needed a bit of work, it turned out), and 4 for 2.1 (released September 12, which changed from feature bump to much needed stability patch), 2.2 will hopefully bring us a little Notification Server features, and who knows what else?

Most want cut and paste, turn-by-tunr GPS, Flash support, and MMS support, along with maybe a refund for App Store apps that don’t perform as expected (aka Duds). Maybe a dream with that last item?

Macrumors states:
‘The new version is labeled iPhone OS 2.2 beta 1 and is accompanied by a new beta of the iPhone SDK (build 9M2611). Beyond “compatibility testing”, there are no other differences noted by Apple.’

The typical NDA effects will keep those select few tight-lipped, no doubt, but hopefully some deep-delving coders will “accidently” leak a few goodies for us anyway.