Software updates are a lot like stockings on Christmas morning.

Stocking stuffers are never as exciting or expensive of presents as the wrapped ones under the tree, and you can usually see most of what you’re going to get before you even dump out the sock.

But a present is a present, and there is always the hope that at the bottom of the stocking there will be a few unexpected surprises. Such as a fix to that one pesky bug I keep noticing, and maybe, just maybe, a snappier OS.

The bug I was hoping to see fixed was in the SMS app. Before this software update my text messages had been intermingling with one-another. When I got a text message from someone, that message would often display inline with my most recently opened SMS conversation. Moving up one level to the top-level list in the SMS app and then opening up the conversation would fix the problem. Fortunately, since the update I haven’t noticed it at all.

In hopes of a snappier OS, there is the rare occasion in which you can clearly tell that the OS is faster. But usually, minor software updates are more like placebos regarding response time—some people swear the thing is lightning fast now, and others can’t get over how darn slow it got.

And now, in good old-fashioned unordered listery, here is a short handful of thoughts on the actual software update:

• After the update my screen was noticeably more dim. I went in to adjust the brightness meter, anticipating the phone had set the level at 10% for some reason, but oddly the level was set at the same place I normally have it (around 70%). Moving the bar up to nearly 95% now gets me the same level of brightness as I previously had. My first concern is if this will affect my battery life.
• Streaming a podcast via the Edge network works great for me. What threw me off when streaming a podcast, is not that it continues to play even if you leave Mobile iTunes, but that the stream is not controlled via the iPod app. You have to go back into Mobile iTunes to pause or stop it.
• I am a big fan of the Home button’s new ability to get me back to the Home screen. That was a clever idea, for sure. It’s amazing how many things they can get just one button to be capable of doing.
• The feature I am most glad about? Better audio quality for voicemail. Seriously. I don’t know what happened but one day all my voicemail messages began to sound like they had been recorded in a tin room by a robot. Thank goodness I’m getting messages from the real world again.