Apple® today previewed its iPhone® OS 4 software and released a beta version of the software to iPhone Developer Program members. The iPhone OS 4 beta release includes an updated Software Development Kit (SDK) with over 1,500 new Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and over 100 new features that will be available to iPhone and iPod touch® users this summer. New features include Multitasking for third party apps; Folders to better organize and access apps; improved Mail with a unified inbox, fast inbox switching and threaded messages; enhanced Enterprise support with even better data protection, mobile device management, wireless app distribution and more; Apple’s new iAd mobile advertising platform; and iBooks, the delightful new ebook reader and online bookstore recently debuted on the iPad™.

“iPhone OS 4 is the fourth major release of the world’s most advanced mobile operating system,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We’re delivering over 100 new features, including multitasking, folders, a unified inbox, deeper Enterprise support, and an iPhone version of our iBooks reader and online iBookstore.”

iPhone OS 4′s new multitasking offers users a new way to quickly move between apps, and provides developers seven new multitasking services to easily add multitasking features to their apps. These services include background audio, so apps like Pandora can play music in the background, and VoIP, so VoIP apps can receive a VoIP call even when the iPhone is asleep or the user is running other apps. iPhone OS 4 provides multitasking to third party apps while preserving battery life and foreground app performance, which has until now proved elusive on mobile devices.

Folders help users better organize and quickly access their apps. Simply drag one app icon onto another, and a new folder is automatically created. The folder is automatically given a name based on the App Store category of that app, such as “Games,” which the user can easily rename. Using folders, users can now organize and access over 2,000 apps on their iPhone. Users can also create and manage iPhone folders on their Mac® or PC using iTunes® 9.2.

iPhone OS 4 delivers the best mail experience on a mobile phone with its new Unified Inbox, allowing users to see messages from all their email accounts displayed together in a single inbox. With just a few taps, users can quickly switch between inboxes to see messages from any single account. In addition, users can now thread their messages by conversation, making it easier to stay on top of email discussions, as well as open email attachments with compatible apps from the App Store.

iAd, Apple’s new mobile advertising platform, combines the emotion of TV ads with the interactivity of web ads. Today, when users click on mobile ads they are almost always taken out of their app to a web browser, which loads the advertiser’s webpage. Users must then navigate back to their app, and it is often difficult or impossible to return to exactly where they left. iAd solves this problem by displaying full-screen video and interactive ad content without ever leaving the app, and letting users return to their app anytime they choose. iPhone OS 4 lets developers easily embed iAd opportunities within their apps, and the ads are dynamically and wirelessly delivered to the device. Apple will sell and serve the ads, and developers will receive an industry-standard 60 percent of iAd revenue.

The iPhone OS 4 beta release includes a developer preview of Game Center, which contains a set of APIs that allows developers to create apps with the ability to invite friends to play a game, start a multiplayer game through matchmaking and track achievements and compare high scores on a leader board. Apps created with GameKit APIs will work with Game Center, Apple’s new social gaming network available to iPhone and iPod touch users later this year.

New enterprise features in iPhone OS 4 include improvements in security, scalability and compatibility. The new Mobile Device Management service can be integrated with third party servers to wirelessly configure, query and even wipe or lock managed iPhones, and iPhone OS 4 enables enterprises to securely host and wirelessly distribute their own in-house developed apps to employees. The new Data Protection feature uses a user’s passcode as an encryption key to protect mail messages and attachments stored on the iPhone. iPhone OS 4 now provides the option to set a longer, more complex passcode, making iPhone and its data even more secure. iPhone OS 4 allows IT managers to set up multiple Exchange ActiveSync accounts, is compatible with Exchange Server 2010 and includes support for forthcoming SSL VPN applications from Juniper Networks and Cisco.

Today, more than four billion apps have been downloaded from the revolutionary App Store and more than 185,000 apps are available to consumers in 90 countries. Over 85 million iPhone and iPod touch users around the world can choose from an incredible range of apps in 20 categories, including games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel.

Availability

The iPhone OS 4 beta software and SDK are available immediately for iPhone Developer Program members atdeveloper.apple.com. iPhone OS 4 will be available as a software update to iPhone and iPod touch users this summer.* A version of iPhone OS 4 will be coming to iPad this Fall.

*Some features may not be available on all products. For example, Multitasking requires iPhone 3GS or third generation iPod touch (late 2009 models with 32GB or 64GB).

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution with the Apple II, then reinvented the personal computer with the Macintosh. Apple continues to lead the industry with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system, and iLife, iWork and professional applications. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store, has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

Apple® today announced that its magical and revolutionary iPad will be available in the US on Saturday, April 3, for Wi-Fi models and in late April for Wi-Fi + 3G models. In addition, all models of iPad will be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK in late April.

Beginning a week from today, on March 12, US customers can pre-order both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G models from Apple’s online store (www.apple.com) or reserve a Wi-Fi model to pick up on Saturday, April 3, at an Apple retail store.

“iPad is something completely new,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We’re excited for customers to get their hands on this magical and revolutionary product and connect with their apps and content in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before.”

Starting at just $499, iPad lets users browse the web, read and send email, enjoy and share photos, watch videos, listen to music, play games, read ebooks and much more. iPad is just 0.5 inches thick and weighs just 1.5 pounds—thinner and lighter than any laptop or netbook—and delivers battery life of up to 10 hours.*

iPad’s revolutionary Multi-Touch™ interface makes surfing the web an entirely new experience, dramatically more interactive and intimate than on a computer. You can read and send email on iPad’s large screen and almost full-size “soft” keyboard or import photos from a Mac®, PC or digital camera, see them organized as albums, and enjoy and share them using iPad’s elegant slideshows. iPad makes it easy to watch movies, TV shows and YouTube, all in HD, or flip through the pages of an ebook you downloaded from Apple’s new iBookstore while listening to your music collection.

The App Store on iPad lets you wirelessly browse, buy and download new apps from the world’s largest app store. iPad includes 12 new innovative apps designed especially for iPad and will run almost all of the more than 150,000 apps on the App Store, including apps already purchased for your iPhone® or iPod touch®. Developers are already creating exciting new apps designed for iPad that take advantage of its Multi-Touch interface, large screen and high-quality graphics.

The new iBooks app for iPad includes Apple’s new iBookstore, the best way to browse, buy and read books on a mobile product. The iBookstore will feature books from the New York Times Best Seller list from both major and independent publishers, including Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Group and Simon & Schuster.

The iTunes® Store gives iPad users access to the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store with a catalog of over 12 million songs, over 55,000 TV episodes and over 8,500 films including over 2,500 in stunning high definition. All the apps and content you download on iPad from the App Store, iTunes Store and iBookstore will be automatically synced to your iTunes library the next time you connect with your computer.

Pricing & Availability

iPad will be available in Wi-Fi models on April 3 in the US for a suggested retail price of $499 for 16GB, $599 for 32GB,$699 for 64GB. The Wi-Fi + 3G models will be available in late April for a suggested retail price of $629 for 16GB, $729 for 32GB and $829 for 64GB.  iPad will be sold in the US through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers.

iPad will be available in both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G models in late April in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan,Spain, Switzerland and the UK. International pricing will be announced in April. iPad will ship in additional countries later this year.

The iBooks app for iPad including Apple’s iBookstore will be available as a free download from the App Store in the US onApril 3, with additional countries added later this year.

*Battery life depends on device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results vary.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

Truly delighted to impress consumers developing super applications over the next 60-90 days for the iPad release.

Sourcebits, a leading developer in mobile and social app, gaming and digital solutions for iPhone, Mac, Android, Blackberry and Web, today revealed their aggressive solution for iPad App design and development, rightfully named the Sourcebits iPad Lab. The company, which currently employs over 150 talented software developers, has dedicated a team of 80 iPhone developers and Apple award winning designers to focus solely on creating SUPER APPS for the next generation of Apple iPad devices, including the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced the new iPad device to the world on January 27th with its retail debut slated for March 27th, launching a countdown over the next 60 days to the release of the iPad and its 3G-enabled version 30 days later.

The Sourcebits iPad Lab will work around the clock to ensure that their clients, including Fortune 500 clients, major tech players (such as Apple) and consumers will have a collection of super apps to download on launch day.

What drives the aggressive Sourcebits iPad Lab? It’s the opportunity to create super apps that harness the new device’s high resolution and more powerful capabilities, which will impress users, while also being optimized for current and future iPhone and iPod touch devices.

Sourcebits was one of the first Apple hero developers to deliver software solutions to the App Store in 2006 and, to date has launched over 150 iPhone apps, many of which have been featured in the top 10 and top 100 lists. Sourcebits has launched iPhone and Android apps under their own private label, Spoonjuice, and for a variety of clients including many Fortune 500 companies.

Seattle, Washington – 25ThingZ, a Seattle-based eBook publisher, has released a new eBook, “25ThingZ iPhone Developers Need To Know About The iPad”, enabling iPhone developers to ensure their apps are ready for the iPad on day one.

“Since iPad users will be able to immediately download all the apps they’ve already purchased for the iPhone as soon as they unbox their iPad, existing iPhone developers need to be prepared”, said Michael Lehman, Managing Director of 25ThingZ. “25ThingZ specializes in delivering eBooks featuring concise, focused information combined with concrete action steps. This eBook gives iPhone developers a giant head start toward taking advantage, as Steve Jobs said, of the next gold rush on the App Store by enhancing their apps for the iPad.”

Version 1.0 of 25 ThingZ iPhone Developers Need To Know About The iPad contains information based only on public, documented, non-NDA sources. When the NDA surrounding the iPad SDK is lifted, owners of version 1.0 will receive free access to version 2.0 including sample code and specific design guidelines.

System Requirements:
eBooks from 25ThingZ are delivered as a standard PDF file. Reading requires a computer or mobile device with appropriate software, such as the free Adobe Reader or an eBook reader, such as the Amazon Kindle.
25 ThingZ iPhone Developers Need To Know About The iPad is available for purchase now for $10 (USD) at the company’s website.

25ThingZ

Apple today introduced iPad, a revolutionary device for browsing the web, reading and sending email, enjoying photos, watching videos, listening to music, playing games, reading e-books and much more. iPad’s responsive high-resolution Multi-Touch  display lets users physically interact with applications and content.

iPad is just 0.5 inches thick and weighs just 1.5 pounds— thinner and lighter than any laptop or netbook. iPad includes 12 new innovative apps designed especially for the iPad, and will run almost all of the over 140,000 apps in the App Store. iPad will be available in late March starting at the breakthrough price of just $499.

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“iPad is our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “iPad creates and defines an entirely new category of devices that will connect users with their apps and content in a much more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before.”

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iPad features 12 next-generation Multi-Touch applications. Every app works in both portrait and landscape, automatically animating between views as the user rotates iPad in any direction. The precise Multi-Touch interface makes surfing the web on iPad an entirely new experience, dramatically more interactive and intimate than on a computer. Reading and sending email is fun and easy on iPad’s large screen and almost full-size “soft” keyboard. Import photos from a Mac®, PC or digital camera, see them organized as albums, and enjoy and share them using iPad’s elegant slideshows. Watch movies, TV shows and YouTube, all in HD or flip through pages of an e-book you downloaded from Apple’s new iBookstore while listening to your music collection.

iPad runs almost all of the over 140,000 apps on the App Store, including apps already purchased for your iPhone® or iPod touch®. The iTunes® Store gives you access to the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store with a catalog of over 11 million songs, over 50,000 TV episodes and over 8,000 films including over 2,000 in stunning high definition video. Apple also announced the new iBooks app for iPad, which includes Apple’s new iBookstore, the best way to browse, buy and read books on a mobile device. The iBookstore will feature books from major and independent publishers.

Apple also introduced a new version of iWork® for iPad, the first desktop-class productivity suite designed specifically for Multi-Touch. With Pages®, Keynote® and Numbers® you can create beautifully formatted documents, stunning presentations with animations and transitions, and spreadsheets with charts, functions and formulas. The three apps will be available separately through the App Store for $9.99 each.

iPad syncs with iTunes just like the iPhone and iPod touch, using the standard Apple 30-pin to USB cable, so you can sync all of your contacts, photos, music, movies, TV shows, applications and more from your Mac or PC. All the apps and content you download on iPad from the App Store, iTunes Store and iBookstore will be automatically synced to your iTunes library the next time you connect with your computer.

iPad’s brilliant 9.7-inch, LED-backlit display features IPS technology to deliver crisp, clear images and consistent color with an ultra-wide 178 degree viewing angle. The highly precise, capacitive Multi-Touch display is amazingly accurate and responsive whether scrolling web pages or playing games. The intelligent soft keyboard pioneered on iPhone takes advantage of iPad’s larger display to offer an almost full-size soft keyboard. iPad also connects to the new iPad Keyboard Dock with a full-size traditional keyboard.

iPad is powered by A4, Apple’s next-generation system-on-a-chip. Designed by Apple, the new A4 chip provides exceptional processor and graphics performance along with long battery life of up to 10 hours.* Apple’s advanced chemistry and Adaptive Charging technology deliver up to 1,000 charge cycles without a significant decrease in battery capacity over a typical five year lifespan.**

iPad comes in two versions—one with Wi-Fi and the other with both Wi-Fi and 3G. iPad includes the latest 802.11n Wi-Fi, and the 3G versions support speeds up to 7.2 Mbps on HSDPA networks. Apple and AT&T announced breakthrough 3G pre-paid data plans for iPad with easy, on-device activation and management.

Continuing Apple’s dedication to designing and creating environmentally responsible products, each iPad enclosure is made of highly recyclable aluminum and comes standard with energy-efficient LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. iPad contains no brominated flame retardants and is completely PVC-free.

Apple today released a new Software Development Kit (SDK) for iPad, so developers can create amazing new applications designed to take advantage of iPad’s capabilities. The SDK includes a simulator that lets developers test and debug their iPad apps on a Mac, and also lets developers create Universal Applications that run on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.

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Apple® today announced that more than three billion apps have been downloaded from its revolutionary App Store by iPhone® and iPod touch® users worldwide.

“Three billion applications downloaded in less than 18 months–this is like nothing we’ve ever seen before,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “The revolutionary App Store offers iPhone and iPod touch users an experience unlike anything else available on other mobile devices, and we see no signs of the competition catching up anytime soon.”

iPhone and iPod touch customers in 77 countries worldwide can choose from an incredible range of apps in 20 categories, including games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

© 2010 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, iPhone and iPod touch are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

As you may have heard. “Fake Steve Jobs” ie. Daniel Lyons has proposed Operation Chokehold for this coming Friday at noon pacific. The idea? To bring the AT&T network to its knees by encouraging data-intensive app use from iPhone users for one hour. The point, is to let AT&T know they don’t have the most robust network to handle the amount of traffic from the iPhone. With all due respect to Mr. Lyons, AT&T is probably in a good position to know the health of their network.

Ryan Ritchey from The Digital Lifestyle is offering an alternative: Operation Feedback. He’s encouraging every iPhone user to download AT&T’s Mark The Spot app for reporting dropped calls, dead spots, data drop, etc. and for one week, starting Friday, mark every single issue encountered.

“If you want to bring something to its knees and be productive at the same time, why not flood the problem-tallying server with legitimate service concerns?” Ritchey said.

Operation Feedback will allow users across the United States to not only vent frustration with the level of service from AT&T, but to hopefully make the network better for everyone. This plan also eliminates any interruption to emergency service/notifications that could arise from a total network outage.

http://www.thedigitallifestyle.tv

NEW YORK (AFP) — Apple announced Monday that more than one million new iPhones have been sold in just three days and released the first public comment from chief executive Steve Jobs since he went on medical leave of absence in January.

“Customers are voting and the iPhone is winning,” the 54-year-old Jobs said in a brief written statement.

“With over 50,000 applications available from Apple’s revolutionary App Store, iPhone momentum is stronger than ever.”

Apple said over one million iPhone 3GS models had been sold through Sunday and six million customers have downloaded the new iPhone 3.0 software in the first five days since its release.

The iPhone 3GS went on sale in the United States on Friday while the software upgrade was released on Wednesday.

The two-sentence statement from the iconic Apple chief executive came two days after The Wall Street Journal reported that he had had received a liver transplant about two months ago in Tennessee.

The newspaper reported that Jobs has been recovering well from the liver transplant and was expected to return to work on schedule later this month.

Apple did not say whether Monday’s statement officially marked the end of Jobs’ leave of absence.

The Journal, citing an unnamed person familiar with the situation at Apple, said Jobs may initially work part-time “for a month or two.”

Jobs’s gaunt appearance has been the source of intense speculation over the past year, often causing swings in the price of Apple stocks.

Apple has been secretive about Jobs’s health since he underwent an operation in 2004 for pancreatic cancer but has been adamant that he was returning to the company’s helm at the end of June.

Apple vice president of marketing Phil Schiller took the place of Jobs this month at a developers conference presentation and unveiled the iPhone 3GS, which is the first model to have video camera capabilities.

Apple’s fortunes have been uniquely linked to Jobs, who returned to the company in 1997 after a 12-year absence to turn around the flagging tech giant with innovative and wildly successful products like the iPod and iPhone.

In a January 5 letter to Apple employees, Jobs said he was suffering from “a hormone imbalance.”

“The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward, and I’ve already begun treatment,” he said.

Less than a week later, however, Jobs announced that his health issues were “more complex than I originally thought” and he was taking a medical leave, putting chief operating officer Tim Cook in charge of day-to-day operations.

Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple Computer in the garage of Jobs’s family home in 1976.

Under Jobs, the company introduced its first Apple computers and then the Macintosh, which became wildly popular in the 1980s.

Among other innovations, Jobs and Apple introduced the “computer mouse” to make it easy for users to activate programs or open files.

Jobs left Apple in 1985 after an internal power struggle and started NeXT Computer company specializing in sophisticated workstations for businesses. He co-founded Academy-Award-winning Pixar in Emeryville, California, in 1986.

Pixar was created from a former Lucasfilm computer graphics unit that Jobs bought from movie titan George Lucas for a reported 10 million dollars.

It became a scrappy, creative studio that produced box-office hits including “Toy Story,” “Finding Nemo,” “Bolt,” “WALL-E,” and “The Incredibles.”

Walt Disney Company in 2006 bought Pixar in a 7.4-billion-dollar deal that gave Jobs a seat on its board of directors and made him the entertainment titan’s biggest single shareholder.