Upgrading your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch to a new version of iOS isn’t hard, but there’s still a few ways to optimize the process, not just to make the upgrade process as quick and painless as possible, but to make sure you leave all downgrading options available to you in a pinch. Here’s how to do it the right way.

Here is a quick run through of what you can expect when you start the process of moving from MobileMe to iCloud.

This step-by-step process transitions your email, calendars, contacts and bookmarks to iCloud.

Well, looks like the saga of the stolen iPhone 4 prototype is finally over. The two men who sold Gizmodo the iPhone 4 prototype they ‘found’ in a German beer garden in April of 2010 have been sentenced, and as has been typical in the case so far, they got off light.

If you’re hoping that the Dev Team will be able to port the iPhone 4S’s new Siri feature to other devices like the iPad 2 and iPhone 4, prepare for a disappointment: MuscleNerd says that it will likely require piracy, and therefore, they probably won’t do it.

Following its unveiling at WWDC back in June, users in the U.S. have been able to enjoy the iTunes in the Cloud beta, which allows them to re-download content purchased from the iTunes Store. Users in other parts of the world were left out, and we were led to believe that iTunes in the Cloud would be U.S.-only upon its launch. Today, however, Apple is rolling out the feature internationally.

Remember the chatter prior to last week, that Apple would announce an inexpensive iPhone? Well the rumor has returned — evolved into the “iPad mini.” According to one analyst, Apple is prepping the device for 2012 to combat Amazon’s $199 Kindle Fire.

What started as a downer for deflated consumers may become yet another runaway hit for Apple. Already with more than 1 million advance orders, the iPhone 4S is expected to ship to 2.5 million eager fans during the upcoming Christmas season.

We’ve come across some awesome Kickstarter projects for iOS device accessories, and the MobileMount is most certainly up there with the best of them. Its a simple device that uses two suction cups to securely mount your iOS devices — or any device for that matter — to a flat service.

Itching to get iOS 5 onto your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch? Yeah, so are we. But according to one man, it won’t arrive until 10 AM PST/6PM GMT.

After releasing multiple versions of its iconic iPhone handset, Apple has built in what one Wall Street expert Wednesday calls “an annuity of smartphone buyers.” The iPhone 4S typifies such thinking as 18 percent of 2012 sales for the new phone is expected to come from owners of previous iPhone models.

Following the release of Find My Friends just moments ago, Apple has launched a new AirPort Utility app for iOS devices that allows you to manage your wireless networks.

One day before a Dutch ban on sales of its Galaxy smartphone is set to go into place, Samsung reportedly will jettison a feature that judges found violated an iPhone patent. The Netherlands had said it would ban sales of three offending Samsung smartphones beginning Thursday.

Alongside the unveiling of its iPhone 4S at an event in Cupertino on October 4, Apple announced a brand new service called Find My Friends. Similar to Find My iPhone, Find My Friends allows you to see where you friends are based on the GPS location of their iOS device. Ahead of the launch of iOS 5 later today, Apple has made the Find My Friends application available, but you won’t find it in the App Store.

We’ve seen the first rash of iPhone 4 reviews coming in, and they all agree on one thing: Siri is very impressive.

It works because it does several things all at once. It understands what you’re saying, irrespective of your accent, and without a lot of initial training. And it understands what you mean, because it has the built-in smarts to know that if you say “Tell my wife I’m running late,” you mean “Send a text message to this particular contact with text that says I’m running late.”

But this is just the start for Siri (which Apple’s acknowledged by calling it a beta). The iPhone 4S is the first Apple device that supports it – it certainly won’t be the last. Where might Siri go next?

Bringing your own equipment with you while on the road often requires some planning ahead. If you plan to use an AppleTV while traveling you might want to bring some ethernet cables or a WiFi router along with you:

Since I travel a great deal, I have been wondering if there is a way I can use AppleTV and the hotel’s WiFi network to stream video from my laptop to their television. In looking at the Apple Support Discussions, it appears that a similar question has been raised by those in college dorms.

I realize that this requires a HDMI cord and port on the television. But is there a way that the Mac can then “talk” to the AppleTV?

Thanks, Bill

This tip is especially handy for Mac OS X Lion users, but it should even work with Mac OS X Snow Leopard too. You’ll be able to activate a hidden debugging menu and other hidden secrets in the Disk Utility app on your Mac in the folders Applications –> Utilities.

Existing MobileMe customers will be happy to find out that Apple is giving them access to the 20GB iCloud storage plan until June 30, 2012. The total allotted storage comes to 25GB, but the plethora of storage plans I expected to appear didn’t. Instead Apple is only offering three storage plans.

If you’re buying your new CDMA iPhone 4S through Sprint, then you’ll be pleased to know that the device will come unlocked — allowing you to stick in any SIM and use the device on any network. If you’ve ordered a Verizon device, however, it will come locked to Verizon, but you can request to have it unlocked after 60 days.

While we’re still clicking that ‘Check for Update’ button in iTunes in anticipation of iOS 5, the Apple’s iCloud website has already lost its ‘beta’ tag and been given a new login page design.

The WSJ’s crusty old Walt Mossberg, not easily impressed by new gadgets, was also pleased by the iPhone 4S and Siri:

Inside its familiar-looking body there lurks a nascent artificial-intelligence system that has to be tried to be believed.

Walt Mossberg: The iPhone Finds Its Voice

The first reviews of the iPhone 4S are coming in, and they look pretty good.

David Pogue, in a review headlined “New iPhone Conceals Sheer Magic,” says Siri is game-changing:

It’s even more amazing how Siri’s responses can actually form a conversation. Once, I tried saying, “Make an appointment with Patrick for Thursday at 3.” Siri responded, “Note that you already have an all-day appointment about ‘Boston Trip’ for this Thursday. Shall I schedule this anyway?” Unbelievable.

Having an uncluttered and minimalistic desktop has several benefits. Not only does it remove visual distractions, it can also actually speed up your Mac. In this video, I’ll show you a few ways to clean up and un-clutter your desktop.

A few magazines have begun to populate Apple’s Newsstand app on the eve of the October 12th release of iOS 5. Right now the only two magazines that I could add to Newsstand were Wired and Popular Science. They only showed up on an iPad I wasn’t able to find anything for the iPhone.

Apple’s iPhone 4 remained the best-selling smartphone on both AT&T and Verizon during the month of September. The iPhone 4 has continued to do well in the consumer market despite the fact that it’s over a year old.

On Sprint, the number one handset was the Samsung Galaxy S II, Epic 4G Touch in September. The HTC Sensation took the number one spot on T-Mobile.

The folks over at Hipstamatic sent either the best or the worst email subject line, ever.

It announced  “We Heart Boobies GoodPak,”  presumably touting a limited-edition lens of the photo app for October. (Spam filters everywhere are convinced it’s an advert for a new porn toy. But of course we opened it anyway.)