Apple Bans DUI Checkpoint Apps On iOS Devices

The morality police have finally given Apple a wake up call. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company has updated its App Store Review Guidelines, banning driving under the influence (DUI) checkpoint apps for all iOS devices.

Just last month Apple and Google took some heat in Congress over carrying DUI checkpoint apps in their online marketplaces, which lawmakers say pose a harmful risk to public safety.

Senator Charles Schumer grilled Apple and Google over their apps at the inaugural hearing of the Privacy and Technology Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary, saying, "Apple and Google shouldn't be in the business of selling apps that help drunk drivers evade the police. They shouldn't be selling apps that they themselves admit are 'terrible'."

Apps such as "Fuzz Alert," "Buzzed," "Checkpointer," and "Tipsy" were available for purchase on the app store for mobile phone users for as little as $4.99.

Similar DUI checkpoint apps such as "Checkpoint Wingman" and "Mr. DUI" are still available for purchase on the Android Market.
source: Unwired View

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Apple iCloud allows users to download previously purchased apps that are no longer available

CDFXapps has made a great discovery today. They were browsing some of the features of iCloud and found out that users can re-download any previously purchased app, including ones that have been removed from the app store.

Although Apple made it clear that users would be able to download previously purchased apps, they didn't mention that users would be able to download apps that had been previously removed after Apple realized they didn't fit the criteria of the app store. It is unknown on whether or not Apple meant to do this, but it was most likely a mistake.

This shows that Apple is pretty on top of tracking and backing up any apps that you had previously purchased.One example of an app that was previously banned, but now available is Tris, a Tetris clone. Apple will most likely take away this ability in the finalized version of iCloud, but for now you should take advantage of being able to download any apps that were banned that you had previously purchased.
source: Unwired View

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Quad Mountain Ultimate One Nano Watchband

The Quad Mountain Ultimate One nano watchband distinguishes itself by being the only one on the market where no part of the nano touches your skin. This protects your nano from sweat damage, which won't be covered under the warranty. The band is thin and vented where possible for comfort. The nano's controls are all available, and the sides are protected. You'll be able to use the nano with a mini Bluetooth dongle and earphones or with regular earbuds. The Ultimate One is available in black, white, blue, green, orange, pink, and red for $24.95 each. A two-pack pairing one colored band of your choice with a black band is $41.95. They are available directly from Quad Mountain.
source: The Gadgeteer

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Apple Explains How iCloud Works

Apple has formally introduced the iCloud and its barrage of services. The iCloud, according to Apple, “stores your content in the cloud and wirelessly pushes it to all your device.” In other words, it would automatically upload, store, and push all of your Apple data in any of your iDevice.

The iCloud would automatically back-up daily content like purchased music, iBooks, photos, videos, device settings, and app data through WiFi. Meanwhile, Documents in the Cloud would sync Pages, Numbers, and Keynote data between all iOS devices. Apple users would be delighted to hear using the iCloud would not nag them with endless advertisements, while calendar, mail, and contact sync comes free of charge (for up to 5GB).

Another feature of the iCloud is the Photo Stream, a single photo gallery that exists on all of your iOS devices, Apple TV, OS X, and even Windows PCs, syncing all of your images through the cloud. For instance, if you take a photo on your iPhone, it would also appear on your laptop and iPad, which will be stored in the cloud for up to 30 days.

And just as expected, Apple's MobileMe bows out. No new registrations will be accepted, while current subscribers can still access everything until June 30, 2012. Also, if your subscription was auto-renewed, your would receive a refund.
source: Gadget.com

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iOS 5 Offers iMessage and PC Free feature

Apple previewed iOS 5 that includes over 200 new features that will be available to iPhone®, iPad® and iPod touch® users this fall. What I love among the new iOS 5 features is iMessage, a new messaging service that lets us easily send text messages, photos and videos between all iOS devices. As BlackBerry users are very happy with their BBM, I hope iPhone users will have the same fun with the new iMessage app. And with the new PC Free feature, iOS 5 users can activate and set up their iOS device right out of the box and get software updates over the air with no computer required. Follow the link below to find all the new features.
source: Trendy Gadget

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Apple introduces iOS 5

At the WWDC Keynote today, Scott Forstall, Senior Vice President of iOS Software took the stage to introduce the latest version of Apple's operating system for mobile devices to the world, putting an end and confirming recent rumors and speculations about iOS 5. Overall it was a great presentation, with many new and interesting features folks will be getting excited about.

iOS 5 will introduce:

Notification Center: an improved notification system is finally arriving on iOS! After years of requesting for one, iOS users finally have their wishes. The notification system looks great (reminiscent of Android's own notification system) and is miles ahead of iOS' current blue pop up box that users have been complaining about. It is definitely one of the most interesting features of iOS 5.

Newsstand: a new way for users to obtain subscriptions of magazines and newspapers without missing anything. It is also features an aesthetically pleasing bookshelf that users can read all their magazines and newspapers from. Users will be able to purchase content from a new section of the App Store just for subscription titles, with the most popular titles from all over the world available from the store. Titles are also automatically updated in the background, so all users need to do is enjoy the content.

Built-in Twitter integration: apps such as Photos, Camera, Safari, YouTube, and Maps will have integration with the micro-blogging service to let users easily share content with their friends through Tweets directly from the app itself. No more copying, switching to the Twitter app to paste and then returning to the previous app - do it from the same app itself. Great for Twitter users on who use iOS devices.

Safari: iOS' default web browser has been improved, with new features like Safari Reader that hides everything away from the screen, making sites easy to read, a Reading List which lets you save sites to read later (and it's synced to all your iOS devices) and tabbed browsing on the iPad.

Reminders: while there are already quite a number of apps available that do the job, Apple has introduced its own app for helping you get your life organized. Reminders lets you set tasks with time or location-based reminder alerts, priorities and due dates, so you can be alerted when you are in the vicinity of an area and/or the deadline is approaching. It will also sync with your appointments in iCal and Outlook automatically.

Camera: the Camera app is now accessible from the lockscreen. With the iPhone being touted as one of the most popular cameras in the world now, Apple has made it easier for users to pick up the device to take photographs. New features include the ability to use the Volume up button on the iPhone 4 to snap pictures, pinch to zoom to optimize portions of an image, and basic photograph editing/enhancement features available in the app itself.

Mail: the email client in iOS 5 has also been given a much needed update. It now supports rich-text formatting, indentation control, draggable addresses, flagging to mark messages as unread, a search that digs through entire contents of messages, and improved security. It will also support the use of the new inbuilt iOS dictionary.

Keyboard: on the iPad, the keyboard can now be split to enable thumb typing on the tablet. A great new feature for users who prefer to hold their tablets up with two hands instead of resting it on their laps - definitely a feature we did not see coming. Props to Apple for getting creative with its default keyboard.

PC Free: Apple is finally getting rid of the computer - now when you start up a brand new iOS device, you won't need to plug it into a computer to sync with or to set up your account. You can do it all from the device itself. It looks like the iPad/iPhone/iPod touch can be completely independent from now on. Updates will also be performed OTA (over the air), and they will be delta updates which means you only download the features that your device uses. A good decision, seeing how most users are getting their data plans capped nowadays.

Game Center: download and purchase games directly from Game Center, Friend discovery, see the scores of your friends' friends, friend recommendations and game recommendations - basically it's becoming a lot more social, and support for turn-based games.

iMessage: a new, free messaging client for all iOS devices (think BBM but from Apple) that allows iOS users to communicate between themselves over 3G or WiFi. This gives WiFi-only iPod Touch and WiFi-only iPad users the chance to keep in touch without having to use a 3rd party messaging software on their device. Users will be able to send text messages, photos, videos, contacts, and even have group chats. There will be delivery reports, read receipts and real-time typing notification.

AirPlay: remember the iOS-HDMI cable introduced with the iPad 2? Well there's going to be no more need for it in the future. AirPlay will also support mirroring in iOS 5, letting users output what's on their devices on their TVs without using any cables.

Other features mentioned but not discussed elaborately: iTunes Tone Store, Smart Playlist sync from iTUnes, New iPad Music App, Option to speak text selected, VoiceOver item chooser, Mail improved offline support, Improved FaceTime video quality, Multitasking gestures, Alternate routes in Maps.

New developer tools include: Customize UI, improved PDF support, GL Kit, Storyboarding, Access to LED flash, Full page curl transition, Newsstand Kit, Data protection for Core Data, and much more.

iOS 5 will be seeded to developers starting today, while us regular folks will only get it in the fall. Check out the iOS 5 promo video. How many of you are excited about iOS 5?
source: Ubergizmo

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iCloud service officially announced at WWDC 2011, is free!

Well, it's not totally free actually. Apple's iCloud service is perhaps the company's most interesting announcement today at WWDC. Long rumored as a music streaming service, Apple's take on cloud computing is better described as a synchronization platform and only a fraction of it involves music. Starting with iOS 5, many of Apple's native applications will support iCloud, facilitating the automatic synchronization of your contacts, calendar, mail, documents, photos, music, books, apps and backups.

Such content is bounced to Apple's new data center in rural North Carolina and shared between your other devices. For instance, if you take a picture, the image will be automatically uploaded to your iCloud account and downloaded to your iPad and MacBook. Many iCloud-enabled applications have their own unique twists — such as sharing calendar data with your spouse — but the music-specific portion of iCloud is particularly fascinating compared to the completion.

Instead of being a separate music subscription service, iCloud essentially augments the functionality of Apple's existing iTunes platform. Along with offering access to previously purchased music across your hardware, the service will automatically download newly purchased songs on up to 10 devices. Additionally, for $24.95 a year, Apple will offer a service called “iTunes Match,” which will allow you to import non-iTunes songs and download them across all your devices.

Although it might seem pricey, iTunes Match presents several immediate benefits. Unlike competing cloud storage services, iTunes Match can scan your entire library and compare it against some 18 million songs in Apple's database. Those that are matched will become immediately available for download as if you've purchased them via iTunes, cutting out the entire process of uploading the files and automatically upgrading your lower quality songs to 256kbps AAC files.

We think plenty of users will appreciate iTunes Match, even if they only sign up for one year to import a bulk of their library. Songs not available in Apple's database will have to be manually uploaded to your iCloud account if you want to sync them across your devices, but this doesn't cost anything. Apple provides 5GB of free storage — just like Amazon — but pictures and iTunes songs don't count against this limit and we imagine other data can be cleared once it's done syncing.
source: 2DayBlog.com

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iTunes 10.3 released by Apple

Apple has just released their latest version of iTunes, which bumps up the version number to iTunes 10.3 that will deliver a handful of features which were touted during Steve Jobs's World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC 2011) keynote earlier yesterday morning – where it will arrive on Mac machines, making their way to Windows-powered computers eventually, too. Among the new features include automatic downloads which will push newly purchased iTunes music, iBooks, or apps to your Mac and iOS devices where possible, not to mention the ability to re-download previous iTunes purchases (this includes music, apps, and iBooks), as well as being able to go shopping for iBooks books via iTunes on your Mac. For a full list of Apple's patch notes, head on after the extended post.

Automatic Downloads. Purchase music from any device or computer and automatically download a copy to your Mac and iOS devices.
Download Previous Purchases. Download your past music purchases again at no additional cost. Your purchases are available in the iTunes Store on your Mac or in the iTunes app on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Previous purchases may be unavailable if they are no longer on the iTunes Store.
iTunes 10.3 also adds Books to the iTunes Store, where you can discover and buy your favorite books on your computer and automatically download them to iBooks on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
This version also allows you to use Automatic Downloads with apps and books or download previously purchased apps and books from your computer or iOS device.


Bear in mind that there really isn't any method right now to view iBooks on a Mac or PC, where Apple's terms of service for iTunes were altered so that users are able to synchronize their books to their iTunes library, letting them be viewed on an iOS device. The iTunes 10.3 update will weigh in at 74MB, so it should not take too long to appear on your machine, no?
source: Ubergizmo

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iTunes on the Cloud announced, yours for $24.99 a year

Apple has just announced its long-awaited cloud-based music service: iTunes in the Cloud. While not a streaming music service as some had speculated, it will let you download any music you've purchased to all of your devices at no additional charge — something Steve Jobs notes is a first for the music industry. All new music you purchase can also automatically be downloaded and pushed to up to ten different devices — and, as with the other apps that make up the broader iCloud service, it's completely free, with a beta version available today (in the US only, unfortunately).

What's more, Apple has also announced a complementary iTunes Match service that will let you put your existing collection of ripped CDs in the cloud. That's done by scanning your library and matching songs to the versions Apple already has (a DRM-free 256kbps AAC file), rather than uploading everything — a process Apple notes takes “minutes,” not “weeks” — although songs will be uploaded in cases where there is no match. It will run you $24.99 a year (for up to 25,000 songs, apparently), and promises to give you all of the “same benefits as music purchased from iTunes” when it launches sometime this fall.
source: 2DayBlog.com

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iOS 5 coming this fall with over 200 new features

No new iPhone was announced at Apple's WWDC 2011, but Apple did announced iOS 5. Apple unveiled its next major mobile operating system update today. Due this fall, iOS 5 will drastically change the way notifications are handled with the addition of a Notification Center. Instead of issuing individual prompts, the service will aggregate alerts, allowing you to view new text messages, voice mails and other updates in one location. You'll also be able to address alerts by launching their associated app from within the Notification Center or at the lock screen.

Users will find it easier to maintain iOS 5 devices as Apple aims to sever the tie between iOS products and PCs. Currently, users have to connect their iOS product to a machine running iTunes to update the device's operating system, but iOS 5 will be able to perform over-the-air updates. Likewise, new customers will be able to activate their devices without a computer, and the iPod, iPhone or iPad will be able to sync with iTunes via Wi-Fi — a long demanded feature.

Apple also plans to introduce iMessage, a new message application that can send text, photo, and video messages. The service will be exclusive to iOS users, work over 3G and Wi-Fi, and will serve as an alternative to traditional text messaging — not unlike RIM's BlackBerry Messenger service. Besides the typical SMS/MMS functionality, iMessage will offer delivery receipts, read receipts, user typing indications, and of course, it will use the new Notification Center.

The next iteration of iOS will further support digital publishing with the addition of an iBooks-like app that handles magazine subscriptions. New magazine issues will automatically download so you can access them later without a connection. Additionally, mobile Safari will receive the desktop's “Reader” functionality, which lets you access Web content in a clean format, sans site navigation, advertisements and other elements that might be unnecessary or otherwise distracting.

Folks with hectic schedules will appreciate the new Reminders app, which allows you to store to-do lists, set time and location-specific notifications, and sync data with iCal on the Mac and Outlook on Windows. Apple claims iOS 5 will bring over 200 new features, and frankly, there's simply too much to cover in a single post. You can expect updates for the Camera, Mail, Game Center, Weather, and FaceTime, apps, a new iPad music app, new gestures and tons more.
source: 2DayBlog.com

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Qmadix Qi-7 Stereo Headset For iPod Touch

The Qmadix Qi-5 Stereo headset is designed to provide premium quality with style. The headset comes with a 3.5mm gold plated audio jack, a high gloss black finish, double flanged silicone ear gels to enhance noise isolation and three pairs of standard silicone ear gels (S-M-L). The Qmadix Qi-7 Stereo headset for iPod touch is priced at $66.95. [Product Page]

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iOS 5 revealed in a photograph?

We are mere hours away from Apple's great unveiling of iOS 5 at this year's WWDC but it looks like there's still time for rumors to surface - in this case, a photograph. An image of what appears to be the iOS 5 homescreen has made an appearance on the internet and with it comes two noticeable differences.

Clearly visible is what looks like a notifications bar showing two new tweets, and a new icon for the iOS camera app. Could this be what iOS 5 holds in store for us? We all know that a notifications bar is one of the most requested features of iOS and there have been plenty of rumors about it finally arriving on iOS 5, including Peter Hajas (developer behind Mobile Notifier for jailbroken iPhones) interning at Apple.

A new camera icon could also signal a new or improved camera app, though it could have also been just another app called “Camera” on the iPhone since the other apps don't seem to have updated icons - it's impossible to tell for now but stay tuned - we'll find out in a few hours.
source: Ubergizmo

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Is this how iOS 5 notifications will look and work?

We're only a couple hours away from finding out, but a photo has been making the rounds depicting what some are claiming to be part of the enhanced notifications UI in iOS 5. As you can see the in the photo, Twitter mentions are displayed on a second bar below the status bar, much like how Apple displays tethering or background voice calling. The question is, if the photo is indeed real, does tapping on the status bar then bring you to a page with all of your unread notifications? Is there an Android style drop-down panel? TechCrunch, which originally published the photo, says at the very least it has been told the photo is the “right idea,” even if it is not authentic. We'll know in under two hours and we'll be covering WWDC 2011 live.
source: Boy Genius Report

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Apple announces OS X Lion, iOS 5 and iCloud

Apple held its 2011 WWDC today and debuted quite a few new products, including: OS X Lion, an update to the operating system aboard their iMac desktops and Macbook notebooks: iOS 5, the mobile operating system aboard their iPhones, iPads and iPod touch devices; and the long-await iCloud online storage and sync system, which Steve Jobs himself introduced. Loads of new stuff! Below are just the highlights and I'm sure there will be more detailed info and discussion all over the web in the coming weeks. Special thanks to Engadget for the fantastic live event feed coverage!

Mac OS X Lion

Loads of new features, only a portion of which are listed below. Download an update for $29.99. Available in July.

Multi-touch gestures – for Macbooks with touchpads
Full-screen apps
Mission Control for desktop app management
Built-in
– In-app App Store purchases
– Push Notification
– Delta Updates (only what is updated, not the entire system)
Launchpad
Resume
Auto Save
Versions
AirDrop
updated Mail


iOS 5x200+ new features, including the following. To ship this fall. Supports devices starting with iPhone 3GS, iPad and 3rd/4th gen iPod touch.

Notification Center – way improved notification management
Newsstand – electronic subscription manager
Twitter – integrated right into the OS and into many apps
Safari
– new ‘Safari Reader' button for streamlined page viewing in the browser
– Reading List – simply way to read pages later
– Tabbed Browsing
Reminders – a built-in app that syncs across devices
Camera updates
– new camera button on the lock screen
– use the ‘volume up' button to take pictures
– in-app pinch zoom
– one-tap exposure optimization
– in-app editing – crop, rotate, red-eye, etc
Mail
– rich-text formatting
– indent control
– address drag
– flagging
– search entire message
– S/MIME for security
– built-in dictionary
– splittable keyboard
PC Free
– setup and activate your device right on the device
– software updates Over The Air (delta updates – only what's changed)
– Sync iTunes library over WiFi (more on this below under iCloud)
Calendar – set up and delete right from iOS
Game Center
– Achievement points
– Friend discovery
– Friends of friends
– Game discovery
iMessage
– works between all iOS devices
– send texts, photos, video, contacts, group messages
– get delivery receipts, read receipts, and real-time typing notification
– works over WiFi or 3G


iCloud

MobileMe is gone, with its functionality incorporated into the new FREE iCloud with 9 apps. Will ship concurrent with iOS 5 this fall.

Stores your content in the cloud and wirelessly pushes it to all your devices
Integrated with your apps, so everything happens automatically
MobileMe re-written from group up to work in iCloud
No ads
MobileMe is gone; Contacts, Calendar, Mail will be free to use via iCloud
updated AppStore
back up devices to the cloud – WiFi only, including purchased music, books, photos and videos, device settings, and App data
Documents in the Cloud
– store documents in the cloud and share across all your devices
– works on all iOS devices, as well as Mac and PCs
Photo Stream – photos taken on any device are pushed to the cloud, then sent automatically to the other devices via WiFi
iTunes -
– no charge to multiple downloads to different devices
– new ‘Purchased' tab shows everything you have in the cloud
– download a song on one device, it downloads to all without having to sync
– runs on iOS 4.3 beta
5GB of storage for Mail, Documents and Backup plus “other storage too” but Photo Stream and iTunes don't count again it
For music you've ripped from CDs, three options:
– sync devices over WiFi or cable
– re-buy the songs, but from iTunes
– use iTunes Music Match – $24.99 per year for as many songs as you want
– software will scan your tunes and match it up with those songs in the store – takes minutes to scan, not weeks to upload
– any songs that don't match will be uploaded for you and anything that's matched is upgraded to 256Kbps AAC, without DRM


No mention of iPhone 4S or iPhone 5 or whatever it will be called, but even still, perhaps one of the biggest WWDC unveiling events yet. Anyone besides me stoked for this?
source: The Gadgeteer

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Apple announces iCloud, iTunes Match at WWDC 2011

Apple's Steve Jobs unveiled their iCloud service today at the 2011 Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. The service - supported by Apple's new datacenter in North Carolina - will be integrated into iOS 5 and feature cloud storage and automatic syncing across Apple devices.

Unlike the soon-to-be-defunct MobileMe service, Apple's iCloud is fully integrated by default, free of charge. It will not be advertising supported. Device settings and individual app data can also be synced automatically in the cloud and accessed on any new devices with an AppleID.

The heavily anticipated iTunes cloud integration appears poised to surpass offerings from Google and Amazon. The first step was to make songs purchased on iTunes accessible and re-downloadable on any iOS device. But by making multi-million dollar cash payments to music labels, Apple is now also able to offer a matching service that allows for quick transfer of users' iTunes libraries to the cloud. Called iTunes Match, the app scans iTunes libraries for songs found on the iTunes store, then links users' AppleIDs to 256kbps AAC files on Apple's servers. Songs that are not sold by iTunes can be uploaded directly by users. The songs can then be streamed from any iOS device or computer with iTunes. The service will cost $24.99/year and does not carry any restrictions on number of songs stored.

Cloud improvements on existing apps include Photostream, a new addition to the Photos app that lets you instantly (provided you're on a Wi-Fi connection) sync all photos taken on iOS devices with all other iOS devices, as well as Macs & PCs. The Wi-Fi only feature stores photos in the cloud for 30 days, the most recent 1000 photos on all devices, and all photos on your Mac or PC. iOS documents created and/or edited in Pages and Keynote will automatically sync with other iOS devices and Macs. Safari Reader has migrated to iOS, and has an Instapaper-like feature that lets you save articles for offline reading (on a single page without ads).

The iCloud service has a 5GB storage cap for documents; Photostream data and music don't count against the cap.

One of the more interesting new features is the new iMessage app. Taking aim at the popular BlackBerry Messenger app, it adds delivery and read receipts as well typing indicators to their messaging app; it also syncs conversations across iOS devices.

Unsurprisingly, most of Apple's new iCloud features are married to their devices; there was no word on whether or not cloud documents could be accessed independently of Apple devices (the way Google Apps and documents can be accessed from any computer with an internet connection). Apple's goal with these "free" software advances is still to get you to buy a device.
source: Unwired View

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Apple iOS stats: 200 million devices sold (25 million iPads), 14 billion apps downloaded, and more

While announcing the brand new iOS 5, Apple has also unveiled some general iOS stats.

First of all, we've found out that more than 200 million iOS devices have been sold until now.

According to Apple, 25 million of those are iPads - so the company sold 10 million iPads since March this year, when the number of units sold was reported to be 15 million.

Apple didn't say how many iPhones it sold to date. However, we know that there were 100 million units sold in March. We also know that the company shipped more than 60 million iPod Touches as of the same month. Certainly, there have been several more million iPod Touches sold since then - let's say 5 million at most. This would mean iPhone sales hit 110 million (probably more, though) by now. So, about 10 million iPhones were sold since March.

The conclusion: customers bought 10 million iPads and (at least) 10 million iPhones in the last three months. That is something.

Also interesting: it took Apple three years to sell the first 100 million iOS devices (since June 2007, when the OS was called iPhone OS), and only one year now to ship another 100 million (from June 2010 to June 2011). 100 iOS million devices in one year – that's comparable to the total number of Android devices shipped since Google's OS was first launched (September 2008).
source: Unwired View

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Apple unveils iOS 5, brings notifications but little else

This year's WWDC keynote saw no new hardware announcements and instead it was iOS that took center stage. Apple unveiled the next major release, iOS 5, for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, which packs over 200 new features or say they say.

The greatest new feature of iOS 5 is the notification area, which comes to replace the annoying pop-ups. Taking a leaf of Google's Android book, the company has added a dedicated screen that you open by pulling from the top of the screen downwards. It contains all your notifications and if you click one of them it takes you to the app responsible for it.

Next came Twitter integration, which covers Contacts, Safari, Photos, Camera, YouTube and Maps. You can now Tweet from all those apps and your contacts are automatically synced with their Twitter accounts. It's a rather strange move from Apple adding Twitter integration, when fans have been asking for Facebook for what seems like ages. makes us wonder if perhaps there's some grudge going on between the two companies.

The Safari browser was arguably the app to get the most significant update, but alas, those were mostly for its iPad version. The Apple slate got tabbed browsing, bringing it on par with the competition. The Reading list plug-in for both the iPad and the little iOS devices allows you to save pages for reading later. Those get synced between devices too.

Moving on, the iOS5 brings the Newsstand app - it gathers all magazine and newspaper subscriptions in one place, making it easier for you to access them.

Finally, Apple decided to break the computer-chains imposed on their iOS devices. You will no longer need to connect your iPhone/iPad/iPod to a computer before your first use or for each firmware update. Starting with iOS 5 updates will be pushed over the air and they will come in smaller sizes thanks to the implemented Delta encoding. While it sounds good, it sure sound like it's going to make the job of jailbreakers all the harder.

iOS 5 will be pushed to end users this Fall, which seems like a pretty long wait considering that it isn't the major step forward that everyone was expecting it to be. At least that gives us a rough estimation as of when we should expect the next iPhone - be it iPhone 5 or 4S. Obviously a late September release is the best we can hope for.

The iDevices eligible for an upgrade are the iPhone 3GS and 4, the iPad and iPad 2 and latest two generation of iPod touch - 3rd and 4th.

The good news is that Apple announcements didn't end with the iOS 5. The company introduced its iCloud online synching service, which might as well be more beneficial to iOS users than the firmware update. Check out what that's all about here.

In case you feel like getting a dose of video demos, you can check out the iOS 5 new features coverage in our blog.
source: GSM Arena

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