How to Download and Install iPhone OS 3.0

So today Apple released it's latest operating system for the iPhone.  Downloading and installing OS 3.0 on you iPhone will give your existing iPhone 3G all the latest enhancements for your phone.  Before you upgrade to OS 3.0, make sure you have the latest iTunes version 8.2.  If your not sure if your up to date simply open iTunes -> click on the 'Help' menu -> and then select 'Check for Updates'.  So now that you have iTunes ready to go here's how you can update to iPhone version 3.0:

1. Plug in your iPhone and connect to iTunes.
2. A pop-up box will appear asking "A new iPhone software version (3.0) is available for the iPhone.  Would you like to download and install it now?".  Click the "Download and Install" button.
3. Now let iTunes do it's magic and automatically update your phone (hopefully :-). It will update and verify the iPhone software and iPhone firmware. While the update is taking place the screen on your iPhone should be black with an apple logo and update bar.
4. Once the update completes, the iPhone will be restarted automatically.

You can also manually update your iPhone OS if you didn't automatically get the "new iPhone software" pop-up box. Here's how you do it:

1. Plug in your iPhone and connect to iTunes.
2. In the left-hand menu, in the DEVICES section, click on your iPhone. This should bring up the Summary tab in the main window of iTunes.
3. Within the Summary tab window, locate the "Version" section and click on the Update button. 
4. A pop-up box will appear that says " iTunes will update your iPhone to iPhone 3.0 software and will verify the update with Apple", then click on the Update button once again to update and verifiy the iphone software and iPhone firmware.
5. Once the update completes, the iPhone will be restarted automatically.

If everything goes smoothly, iTunes will download and install the new iPhone's OS 3.0 version on your phone automatically.  It will seemingly backup your existing iTunes data, and update your phone.  It will also need to verify your phone with Apples iPhone activation server.

Be aware that trying to update your iPhone on the day of the new OS 3.0 release (June 17, 2009), can be a bit daunting due to the fact that Apple's iPhone activation servers are temporarily unavailable due to everyone trying to install the latest software version.  So it may be worth your time to wait a day or so, and save yourself some frustration while trying to download the new software. 

So once everything has updated successfully, you should go to the iPhone's "Summary" tab window in iTunes and there you should see that it says: Software Version: 3.0.  Your phone is now up to date with latest operating system for the iPhone!