Cult of Mac

As far too many people have pointed out already, Apple’s event this morning was a bit of a disappointment — as a spectacle. 16 months is a long time to wait for an incremental hardware improvement, which the iPhone 4S unquestionably is. But there was one announcement amid all the recap of iOS 5 and iCloud features that should have been tremendously exciting to anyone who cares about the future of interactions: Siri, the voice-activated assistant exclusive to the iPhone 4S.

As always happens when Apple rolls out a major technology (in this case, e-concierge services), critics are happy to point out that Cupertino is late to the party (can you believe that it took them 5+ years to respond to the Treo?!). Specifically, they’re calling Siri a catch-up effort to match Google Voice Actions technology that’s been available on Android for well over a year. Having used Voice Actions for awhile now, I can confirm that this is half-true. On a feature-by-feature basis, Siri looks me-too. But from an experience standpoint, it’s totally different. As usual, Google’s implementation is process-oriented. Apple’s, unsurprisingly, is human and friendly. And this is why Siri has the potential to be revolutionary.

The iPhone 4S has been official for less than a day, and Samsung is already plotting to block the device’s launch in some parts of Europe. The Korean electronics giant has announced that it is filing a preliminary request to have an injunction slapped on Apple’s fifth-generation iPhone in both France and Italy.

Itching to get your hands on Apple’s latest iPhone? According to Apple representatives, you’ll be able to pre-order the iPhone 4S from 12:01 AM Pacific on Friday, October 14.

Shortly after Apple’s ‘Let’s talk iPhone’ event yesterday, the company finally seeded the Gold Master release of its highly-anticipated iOS 5 software. Until now, you had to have your device’s UDID registered to get your hands on the software early, but that’s not the case with the GM release — anyone can download and install it onto their device.

Don’t have the time to watch the full Apple Keynote? Here’s the whole thing, compressed down into just 90 seconds. Catch the video after the break.

One of the overlooked iPhone 4S features in today’s keynote was the fact that Apple’s newest smartphone boasts Bluetooth 4.0 technology. The latest MacBook Air and Mac Mini models also have Bluetooth 4.0.

Apple’s technical specifications for the iPhone 4S note that the device has built-in Bluetooth 4.0 support. 

Back in 1987 during the era of John Sculley, Apple released a “what if” video describing a device called the Knowledge Navigator. This prescient work anticipated a personal digital assistant a la Siri, a touch screen tablet computer like the iPad, videoconferencing (FaceTime) and more.

Apple has posted its three intro videos from today’s “Let’s Talk iPhone” keynote on YouTube.

The three videos introduce the iPhone 4S, Siri, and iCloud. Check inside to watch!

Apple has just emptied their magician’s hat onto the table, and out of that silk showman’s topper spilled the brand new iPhone 4S. For some of us, the revelation of “just” a faster iPhone 4 was a disappointment… but it was much more than a disappointment to hundreds of case makers who had bet millions of dollars between them on a radical redesign.

Ah, the mythical iPhone 5. A slimmer, tear dropped iPhone with a larger display and a lozenge shaped capacitive home button. What a chimera. It first emerged as a report over at This Is My Next from Joshua Topolsky, the ex-Engadget editor who was also wrong about whether or not the iPad 2 would have a Retina Display. But he’s not the only one who was wrong about the iPhone 5, and for the last six months, it’s been persistently murmured about by tech bloggers, journalists and analysts.

What the hell happened? How were people so wrong?

Apple’s issued the call to all Mac OS X Lion Developers to submit their iCloud enabled OS X Lion apps today. Shortly after this first request went out Apple also asked iOS developers to submit their iOS 5 apps today.

Today Apple announced a new iPod nano model starting at $130. While the design of the iPod nano has remained identical to the previous model, Apple’s new nano software includes multiple additions and improvements.

2010 iPod nanos can already get Apple’s 1.2 software update that is starting to ship on the new models. The new software adds multiple clock faces, better navigation, and new Nike+ fitness features.

This is it, folks, we’re here: the future. Remember Dave talking to HAL back in Kubrick’s lethargic masterpiece? It’s real.

Apple has posted an online tool that you can use to check your iPhone eligibility for an upgrade. Basically it tells you if you are allowed to buy an iPhone 4S at full retail price or at a subsidized price.

Get ready for a shock that will piss you off folks. A number of readers are reporting that so far no eligibility dates are being updated to make it easy to get that annual iPhone upgrade that we’ve all been used to in the past.

Hailed as a “kiosk killer” back when it was announced in June at WWDC, there are a few more details available now on the Newsstand app, available Oct. 12 with iOS5.

Despite Apple’s  squabbles with publishers who were complaining about selling subscriptions to digital versions on iTunes, many top titles are will be available including The New York Times, GQ, Wired, The New Yorker, Popular Science, National Geographic and Esquire.

This is a pretty nice spread of titles to start with from the dozens of global publishers who signed up for Newsstand — Hearst Corporation, Conde Nast, Disney Worldwide, Europe’s Sanoma Media and the New York Times Corp.

There may be mixed reactions to Apple’s unveiling the iPhone 4S, featuring a ‘world phone’, improved antennas, better camera and the Siri voice-activated personal assistant. While the announcement was impressive, what wasn’t said could leave some Apple fans disappointed, according to analysts.

Apple has already posted the video recording of its “Let’s Talk iPhone” event online. You can head over to Apple’s website and watch the 96 minute keynote in its entirety right now.

Apple execs like Tim Cook, Scott Forstall, Eddy Cue and Phil Schiller all took the stage today to talk about products like iOS 5, iCloud, Siri and the iPhone 4S.

Check our homepage for all of today’s event coverage. And stay tuned for more.

If you’re not sold on how incredible Apple’s new Siri technology is, and why it’s worth buying an iPhone 4S just to have access to it, check out the incredible Siri demo video Apple played at today’s event.

If this doesn’t make you think that we’re on the cusp of an entirely new era of the way we interact with our devices, well, let us know, we probably embedded a Dramatic Chipmunk video by mistake instead.

Leander Kahney: I’m excited about the iPhone 4S. The old iPhone 4 model is a great handset; probably the best smartphone on the market. It’s a great design: easy to pocket; tough as nails; and very functional. Why mess with success? I know many fans are disappointed by the lack of a bigger screen or new design. Bu tI think the internal upgrades look phenomenal. A better antenna, a much faster chip and graphics, plus a great-looking 8MP camera! The best smartphone is even better.

Siri looks astonishing — truly sci-fi stuff. If it works as advertised — and that’s a big if — it will certainly change the way we use our smartphones. I’m already a big fan of Google’s voice search, which is great while walking or in the car. But Siri greatly expands the things you can do. I’d love to be able to set alarms, reminders, send texts and emails with a few simple commands. And it’s likely that the number of capabilities will quickly expand into other areas.

And being able to dictate everything rather than typing will make a big difference to me. I suck at typing. I can see my iPhone becoming my primary input device for writing and email, rather than my iPad or iMac.

Of course, we’ll see how it works in real life. Talking to my iPhone will undoubtedly feel strange and unnatural. I’m in no hurry to look like Scotty in Star Trek talking into the mouse. But I’ sure I won’t be the only one.

Following the release of the iOS 5 GM for developers, Apple has seeded the final Gold Master version of OS X 10.7.2.

This releases puts the finishing touches on iCloud integration with Lion for the service’s public launch on October 12th. iOS 5 will also be released to the public on October 12th before the iPhone 4S goes on sale October 14th.

OS X Lion 10.7.2 should be released publicly very soon. The update will be available in Software Update and the Mac App Store.

It was rumored by several mainstream media outlets that Facebook would be making an appearance at Apple’s iPhone event today to unveil integration with iOS 5.

That obviously didn’t happen. Why? It appears that Apple pulled Facebook from the presentation at the last minute.

Apple just released AppleCare+. When you buy your iPhone 4S, you can choose AppleCare+ for $100 to cover two accidental damages to the device.

AppleCare+ must be purchased when you buy a new device, and for each incident Apple will charge a $49 service fee. Beats having to buy a new iPhone when the screen cracks!

A couple years ago, the European Union looked at all of the hundreds of proprietary gadget chargers out there and said, “Enough. Let’s just agree on a standard so if I forget my charger, I can use one of my friends’ instead.”

A good idea, right? The EU decided upon the Micro USB standard as the one that all mobile manufacturers should use. But here’s where it all gets sort of goofy, because the EU then said that companies could still use proprietary chargers, as long as they sold adapters for the Micro USB standard.

Which is what explains Apple’s latest iPhone accessory, The iPhone Micro USB Adapter, which costs just eight quid over at Apple’s UK online store. Apple gets to play nice with EU regulators while still maintaining its closed, multi-billion dollar ecosystem of accessories that depend on an Apple Dock Connector.

Pre-orders start Friday for the iPhone 4s launched today – more on the specs here. It ships October 14 with Siri, the voice-activated personal assistant app, but it’s no iPhone 5.

Are you ready to buy one? Tell us why or why not in the comments.

Apple has opened the floodgates for developers and released the iOS 5 Gold Master version in the Dev Portal. Following the “Let’s Talk iPhone” event where Apple unveiled the iPhone 4S, iOS 5 has reached its final beta stage before its release on October 12th. 

Here it is folks. The new iPhone 4S. Although apple.com is struggling under the load right now, we’ve managed to grab some images for you. More as soon as we can get them.