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New iOS 5 features compared to Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone

This article was originally posted June 6, 2011, and updated on October 4, 2011.

Apple has unveiled the next iPhone at long last, and with it comes iOS 5, which we first learned of in June. We got demos of 10 of the 200 additions and enhancements, including the hotly anticipated over-the-air system updates, new message notifications, and group messaging. The iOS 5 update rolls out on October 12.

Deep voice integration through the Siri app (beta) was revealed at the iPhone 4S launch event today. This is the deep voice integration we expected, and in addition to handling text composition and replies, reminders, and meeting requests, it also reaches for a more conversational tone in its voice search. Questions like, "Do I need an umbrella today?" yields results like, "Yes, it sure looks like rain." A new icon of a microphone will soon join the virtual keyboard.

While all the new features bring happy tidings for Apple fans, many have already existed on Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone operating systems. That's not necessary a knock on Apple; all the platforms eventually ape each other's best features, and remember how long it took Apple to enable copy/paste on its original iPhone? What it does reveal is that Android, and even Windows Phone and BlackBerry, are applying real pressure.

Here's a look at how some of Apple's major iOS 5 updates line up with those on rival mobile platforms. We've included dates and the names of Apple's new features when available.… Read more

Apple announces 2011 Design Award winners

Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference continues through the rest of this week, though the annual Apple Design Awards show is now in the can. This is the event where the company hands out awards to developers with particularly well-designed software, be it in looks or overall functionality.

This year's edition, which wrapped up last night, was notable in that it was the first to require that Mac OS software apps were in the Mac App Store, a requirement Apple made when announcing the conference in March. Previously any application was eligible, as long as it was on the platform.

Apple began its annual design awards program in 1997 under the moniker the "Human Interface Design Excellence," changing to its current name just a year later. Those who win get promotion on Apple's developer site, as well as a cube-shaped award that glows when picked up. The design for that cube, which has been made by Palo Alto, Calif.-based Sparkfactor Design since 2003, was once put through a CT scanner by an award winner to see how it worked.

A full list of winners from this year's show is below. All links lead to those apps in their respective App Stores. You can also take a quick look at what each of these apps looks like in our slideshow. … Read more

How iCloud could improve your gaming, movie experiences

On Monday, Apple announced its new cloud-based media service iCloud. The service allows users to store music, photos, and apps on Apple's servers and access them from their iOS devices, Macs, or PCs.

That's great for music and photography fans, but what about us cinefiles and gamers? Where's our love? For now, Apple isn't showing us much, but the potential exists to integrate the service with games and movies in a way that no one has done before, and it just so happens that I have a few suggestions about how that should come to be.

As a side note, I'd just like to say how much I'm looking forward to no longer being burdened by iTunes' restrictive nature when it comes to my music. Before iCloud, if I wanted to buy a song through iTunes at home, sync it to my iPhone, then transfer that song to my Tunes library at work, I couldn't. Which is ridiculous and antiquated functionality that I am very happy to see go.

This was an issue for years, and I'm surprised it's taken this long to see it fully addressed. So I guess a thanks to Apple is in order; however, it's one of those thanks a wife gives her husband after she's reminded him five times to take out the now-overflowing garbage, and he finally does.… Read more

Rumor: Siri integration not announced at WWDC but coming to iOS 5

According to tech blogger Robert Scoble, as reported by TechCrunch, despite Apple not announcing a major voice activation upgrade during WWDC, the technology will still be included in the public iOS 5 release.

Voice integration has been a major part of iOS 5 rumors all spring and according to TechCrunch:

"At least three of our original sources on this were 'very surprised' not to hear anything during the keynote."

All the signs pointed to Apple making a major voice integration announcement after buying (and sitting on) the personal assistant app Siri for some time as well as several … Read more

Apple's WWDC: iCloud, iOS 5, Lion, and more (roundup)

The new iCloud storage service headlines the company's Worldwide Developers Conference, which also delivers the lowdown on version 5 of iOS and the Lion version of Mac OS X.

iOS 5 beta jailbroken in less than 24 hours A group of hackers jailbreak the beta version of iOS 5 that Apple released to developers just yesterday. Apple plans to release a full version to customers this fall. A brief tour of iOS 5 iOS 5 code points to two iPad 3 models (Posted in Apple Talk by Josh Lowensohn) June 7, 2011 2:28 PM PDT

Apple releases iTunes 10.3 with iCloud beta … Read more

Which iOS 5 feature excites you the most? (poll)

Unless you were sleeping under rock a yesterday, you heard that iOS 5 is official and coming to an iDevice near you this fall. (Here's a brief tour of what's inside.)

Although CNET's Kent German thinks Apple took only "baby steps" with the new OS, I think there's a lot to like. In fact, at the risk of sounding like a gushing fanboy, I'd say iOS 5 offers an embarrassment of riches.

I mean, Wi-Fi syncing? There's nothing babylike about cutting the cord (hmmm--OK, bad analogy) that has long tethered the device … Read more

Apple amps up 'Post-PC' chatter, actions

Steve Jobs and other Apple executives had a lot more to say about the "Post-PC" era, as the iCloud replaces the Mac and PC as the "digital hub."

At Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference today, Apple executives picked up the gait--you might even call it the start of a sprint--toward the "Post-PC" era. And some of the biggest strides toward this future are happening in iOS 5 and iCloud.

Over the years, "Post-PC" has meant different things to different people. But here's the way Apple seems to describe it: increasingly, you will be using devices like the iPhone and iPad as your personal computer, giving them at least equal weight with the traditional personal computer. And the gravitation to those high-mobility products will be facilitated by technologies like the iCloud which, in effect, serves as a common hard drive, accessible by--and automatically syncing--all of your devices.

That's the idea, at least, of an iCloud utopia. Google's version of this can be seen in the Android operating environment on smartphones and tablets and the Chrome OS on upcoming Chromebooks. Not to mention apps like Google Docs on the PC.

Below is a quick rundown of Post-PC-related statements made today by Scott Forstall, senior vice president of iPhone Software… Read more

Apple WWDC rumor scorecard: 2011 edition

The dust from Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference has settled and now we know all about iCloud, iOS 5, and Mac OS X Lion. We also know which rumors from ahead of the show turned out to be true, and which ones didn't.

To Apple's credit, there were very few leaks ahead of this year's show. While a few iOS 5 features came out, as well as functionality that would appear in iCloud, there was a fair bit that was unknown going into it. The one exception being OS X Lion, which Apple had taken most of … Read more

Apple's iCloud and what it means for wireless data service

Apple's new iCloud services announced at the World Wide Developer Conference in San Francisco today will put everything from mobile apps to digital pictures to music in the "cloud," where users can easily store and access them. But what will this mean for your wireless data bill?

Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the iCloud service, which acts as a digital hub that will store and replicate content so that it can be shared among multiple iOS devices, such as iPhones, iPod Touches, and iPads.

"Now the (digital) hub is in the cloud," Jobs said during … Read more

iCloud casts shadow over other cloud services

The upcoming launch of Apple's full-on cloud service, iCloud, is both a validation that "the cloud" is where consumer media and apps are moving, and a shot across the bow of cloud service companies. Here's how existing cloud-enabled apps are likely to fare.

Music Amazon's Cloud Player and Google Music both let you store your music in the cloud, but only Apple bypasses the lengthy upload process for tracks you already have by allowing you to send just fingerprints of prepurchased music. Also, Apple's iTunes neatly synchronizes your music with all your iTunes-equipped devices. … Read more