Apple’s last major reveal in addition to the operating systems is the iCloud service. iCloud, as you’d expect, puts all the user data on the cloud enabling users to keep their data in sync with all of their devices, including iPad, iPod touch, iPad, Mac or a PC. For instance, any changes you do on the device is synced back on the cloud and updated on other authorized devices.

Some of the services iCloud will offer are Contacts, Calendar and Mail, keeping them in sync across all Apple devices and also allowing users to share the calendar with friends and family.

The Apps and books purchased from the iBooks store will also be synced, automatic backup of content over Wi-Fi, Photo Stream (up to 1000 images for 30 days) and finally the iTunes Match service. It’s a paid service wherein it matches your ripped music with the vast iTunes library and upgrades them with a 256kbps AAC DRM-free copy. iTunes Match will be released this fall for $24.99/year.

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The Cupertino giant also unwrapped their latest OS for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The iOS 5 is a major release that boasts more than 200 new features for users and opens up 1,500 APIs for the developers. Apple gives us a glimpse with the best 10 features expected in the upcoming iOS 5, which you can take a look below.

Notifications: The first change expected in iOS 5 is a major overhaul in the notification system. Goodbye to those annoying popups and say Hi to the Notification Center. The Notification Center is similar to the system found in Android where you pull down to show all the unread notifications.

Newsstand: What iBooks is to purchased books, Newsstand is to subscription-based magazines and newspapers. The newsstand will auto-update new content in the background so users will have the fresh content whenever they want.

Twitter: Apple has deeply integrated Twitter into the iOS 5. iOS 5 now includes a master login for Twitter and will allow users to tweet from apps like Camera, Photos, Safari, Videos, YouTube etc.

Safari: Apple has tried to bridge the gap between the desktop-based Safari and the mobile Safari found on the iOS. The Reader feature has now been ported on the mobile version, which allows users to read multi-page documents into a long single page. Safari also gains tabbed browsing interface and Reading Lists.

Reminders: Reminders are now built into the iOS 5 enabling users to create different types of list and even sync them to the computers.

Camera: Next improvement is in the camera department. The Volume Up key can be used to perform its regular function but now also doubles as a dedicated camera key. Also, the lock screen gains a camera icon, which will allow users to take pictures quickly. The camera from the lock screen will also work in case of passcode where rest of the content on the device will still be protected.

Mail: Next up is Mail that is improved with rich-text formatting, control indentation, flag/unflag messages and better enterprise support with S/MIME.

PC Free: One major gripe owning all these iDevices was to activate them with iTunes on a PC or a Mac. Well, it will be a thing of the past now with iOS 5. Instead it will be activated over the air and will be greeted with a Welcome screen. Even the iOS updates won’t require iTunes as they’ll be done over the air.

Game Center: Apple’s game-centric social hub, Game Center has also been improved. New features include, achievement points, friend discovery, game recommendations, turn-based games support etc.

iMessages: This is possibly a big punch at RIM’s much lauded BBM service. It’s a free messaging service for iOS users allowing them to send text, photos, videos and contacts, all encrypted over a regular 3G connection or Wi-Fi.

Some of the other features the iOS 5 boasts are a system-wide split keyboard, iTunes sync over Wi-Fi, AirPlay Mirroring and more.

The iOS 5 will be available as a free update for iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 2, iPad, iPod touch (fourth generation) and iPod touch (third generation) this fall.

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Apple at the WWDC Developer expo unveiled more details about the upcoming Mac OS X. The new OS dubbed as Lion features more than 250 new features, out of which 10 were demoed at the keynote today. Some of the notable features are:

Launchpad: It works similar to a home screen on the iPad. User will be able to all their Mac apps on the screen and can be launched quickly.

Full Screen support: Lion supports system-wide support for full screen apps. Users can enter full-screen mode with one click or switch to another app in full screen by swiping the trackpad.

Mission Control: This feature gives a unified view of all running apps and windows on the Mac. It includes the next generation of Expose that shows all opened windows, thumbnails of full screen apps etc.

AirDrop: Allows Mac user to wirelessly copy a file to another Mac over Wi-Fi without any setup.

Also, there will be an iOS-reminiscent version of Mail, Versions, Resume, Auto Save etc.

Apple has released the Lion OS developer preview today whereas the retail release is expected in July. It will be released nowhere else except on Mac App Store for a very affordable price of $29.99.

Apple has confirmed that Steve Jobs along with other Apple executives will deliver a keynote address at the WWDC this coming Monday. There’s no mention of any hardware launch as previously rumored but Apple will reveal the next generation Mac OS X and iOS, namely the Lion and iOS respectively and the new iCloud service.

Additionally, there will be more than 100 technical sessions enabling developers to harness capabilities of these next-generation operating systems.

Mark your calendar. Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is set to return on June for a five day event at San Francisco’s Moscone West. While developers will get more than 100 technical sessions by Apple engineers, Apple has also confirmed to reveal “the future of iOS and Mac OS.”

The future of course, remains a mystery but won’t be surprised to see Apple releasing new APIs for developers to harness more power from Apple OSes.

Apple WWDC

At the WWDC, Apple also announced an update to its web browser. The new Safari 5 is touted as the world’s fastest browser and comes with some new features to make both consumers and developers happy.

Safari 5 includes the new Safari Reader that allows the user to read the multipage article in a single page for a quick, uninterrupted reading with options to enlarge, print or share the article. The browser also features the Nitro JavaScript Engine that runs JavaScript 30 percent faster than Safari 4 and faster loading of webpages with DNS prefetching.

For the developers, Safari 5 now brings more HTML5 features and has Safari Developer Program that allows them to customize and create Safari 5 extensions on web technologies like HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript.

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As expected, Steve Jobs unwrapped the latest iteration of iPhone at WWDC. It’s called as iPhone 4 and in fact is the same leaked device we saw couple of months back. The iPhone 4 is just 9.3mm thick, about 24% thinner than the 3GS and is claimed to be the world’s slimmest smartphone.

Phone’s specs include: Apple A4 SoC, HSPA, 3.5-inch screen (960×640), HSPA, Bluetooth, 802.11n Wi-Fi, GPS, Compass, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, 5MP camera with LED flash, 720p video recording, front facing camera, FaceTime for video calling and micro SIM slot.

The few new features iPhone 4 boasts are:

Design: It’s pretty much evident. iPhone 4 has broken from the previous iPhone mold and has brought in a new design made of glass and stainless steel. The front and the rear part consists of glass whereas the side is covered with stainless steel and gaps that make up for the integrated antennas.

Display: Apple has bumped up the display too which is known as the Retina Display. iPhone 4 has the same screen size of 3.5-inch but has 960×640 pixel resolution support or 326 pixels per inch. The display has an IPS-based panel for a wide viewing angle and a 800:1 contrast ratio.

Processor: iPhone 4 is powered by in-house built A4 chip. We’re not sure if it’s the same as the iPad but we’ll know soon. Anyhow, the new processor and a space has led to a bigger battery and thus, extra battery life. iPhone 4 has up to 7 hours of 3G talk time, 6 hours of 3G surfing, 10 hours of Wi-Fi and video, 40 hours of music and 300 hours of standby.

Camera: iPhone 4 has got an upgraded camera. The phone now boasts a 5MP backside illuminated sensor and has LED flash to capture pictures and videos in the dark. Its got 5x digital zoom, tap to focus but interestingly, it has added the support to record 720p HD videos at 30fps.

The iPhone 4 has also got iMovie for iPhone. iMovie brings in a lot of features to edit videos, add effects, music etc. right on the iPhone. It will go $4.99.

iOS 4: The iPhone 4 will run Apple’s iOS 4, which is nothing but the new name of iPhone OS 4. Apple touts it as the “most ambitious release to date” and opens up 1500 developer APIs and about 100 new features for the consumers, including multitasking!

Another interesting addition to the iOS 4 is the inclusion of Bing search created completely with HTML5. Google will still be the default search engine though.

FaceTime: It’s a built-in app that allows users to set up video calls between iPhone 4 to iPhone 4 users. All it requires is Wi-Fi and supports both front and rear cameras.

Pricing & Availability: The iPhone is coming on June 24 in US, France, Germany, UK and Japan in 16GB and 32GB capacities. It will go for $199 and $299 respectively whereas the iPhone 3G will be discontinued and iPhone 3GS will take its place for $99. Pre-orders start from June 15.

18 more countries will get it in July while the number will go up to 88 by September. Hopefully, India will be included in the roll out.

[Via gdgt]

We’re few hours away before Steve Jobs taking the center stage and here we’ve supposedly one of the products, in addition to the iPhone to be unveiled at the WWDC. It’s dubbed as Magic Trackpad that will hook up to Mac computers via Bluetooth and apparently enable users to use the finger-input on a larger tracking surface. We’re not sure but this trackpad could be targeted at designers and artists who want to draw precisely on their Macs. Nonetheless we’ll definitely know what will it exactly do in the next few hours.

[Via Engadget]

As much as it sounded implausible, there was little hope in our minds to see Steve Jobs and Steve Ballmer share the same stage. But that hope has been thrashed as Microsoft’s official tweet confirms about Ballmer’s no show at Apple’s developer conference.

Ballmer is currently in India and will give a keynote speech at the IndiMIX 2010.

[Twitter via Engadget]

If you needed an official confirmation, Apple’s PR team just sent out a release confirmed Jobs’ presence at the event. Steve Jobs will address the opening keynote to over 5,000 developers present at the Moscone West in
San Francisco from June 7.

Steve Jobs claims not to disappoint, which means we’ll have the first “official” look at the iPhone 4G.

WWDC is Apple’s biggest conference for developers where Apple engineers give development and hands-on sessions of their various devices and the underlying software.

Press Release