Today at its Let’s Rock event, Apple has announced that an upgrade to its rocky iPhone 2.0 firmware is on the way, and will be available starting Friday. Many users have been plagued by long backup times and connection issues since the 2.0 firmware (and the iPhone 3G) launched last July. Unfortunately, there was no mention of the much-awaited Push support for third party programs, which Apple had previously promised for a September release.

Apple also made a number of other announcements, though they were somewhat underwhelming – Apple’s stock price has dipped nearly 4% today. Many of the new updates have been leaked over the last few weeks, with especially accurate predictions offered by Digg founder (and TC50 expert panelist) Kevin Rose.

Among the updates:

-iTunes 8, which includes Genius – an intelligent playlist generator that will make use of anonymous data uploaded to Apple’s servers to help improve results.
-Apple has made amends with NBC, which pulled its content from the iTunes store last year. NBC shows like The Office and 30 Rock will be back, and will be available in HD for $2.99 (as will content from a number of other networks).
Click here to get CrunchGear’s full story on the new iTunes

-A second generation iPod Touch, with built in support for the Nike+ jogging accessory. The new Touch is substantially less expensive, at 229 (8GB), $299 (16GB), and $399 (32GB), and now shares the iPhone 3G curved design.
Click here for CrunchGear’s initial review of the new iPod Touch.

-A new nano has been released, with a slimmer profile and a built-in accelerometer. They also have more space, with 8GB for $150 and 16GB for $200, and are available in more colors.
Click here for CrunchGear’s initial review of the new Nano.