Apple’s annual iPod media event traditionally happens during September, and we’re hoping that this year’s is going to be pretty spectacular. In addition to the final previews, and possibly the public release, of iOS 5, we’re hoping that elusive iPhone 5 finally shows its face.

While we’ve heard many, many rumors surrounding the fifth-generation device, and indeed the next-generation iPod touch, we’re yet to hear a specific date for their unveiling. Until now.

Now that Lion on your Mac looks just like iOS on your mobile device, Apple is now considering dropping its desktop and laptop software in favor of a single OS platform based on apps and the cloud. The idea has so many advantages, an OS merger is likely to begin next year.

Apple has just launched its iCloud.com online service which will later be the successor to MobileMe. Those signed up to the service can now use their web browser to access their Mail, Contacts, Calendar and more.

After a torrent of speculation surrounding the Apple’s fifth-generation iPhone in recent months — nearly all of which has offered the same launch date — it seems the iPhone 5 may not be arriving this September after all.

It seems reasonable by now to expect Apple’s iPhone 5 to launch this September. Considering all the speculation we’ve waded through over the past few months, a September launch has certainly been the most consistent claim. And while we’re no closer to an exact launch date, the China Times pinpoints the second week of September for the launch of the fifth-generation device, and later this fall for the launch of the iPad 3.

Developers running iOS 5 on their Apple mobile devices have been able to fiddle with iCloud since shortly after it was announced at WWDC in June. However, without iCloud on their Mac as well, they to sync your bookmarks, calendars, photo stream, and documents. Until now!

Apple’s eighth major release of the Mac OS X operating system finally hit the Mac App Store on Wednesday, after what seemed like a painfully long wait since it was teased at WWDC in June. Its $29 price tag, coupled with over 250 awesome new features, makes it a ‘no-brainer’ upgrade for anyone using a compatible Mac, and its launch day download numbers certainly prove that.

Apple has confirmed that OS X Lion will be hitting the Mac App Store today, and while we already know it will cost $29.99 for those in the U.S., do you know how much it will cost where you live? Here’s Apple price structure for Lion.

Apple has held its earnings call for the third business quarter, and there’s plenty of new information and speculation to glean from what was said. The rumor mills are always churning, but rarely does the industry get as much actual hard data from Apple as it does during one of these earnings calls.

Apple’s success up to this point is phenomenal, but what’s even more interesting is the future of Apple’s business. We’ve gathered the main highlights from this last earnings call to give you a good idea of where Apple is headed in the coming months.

Following its absence during 2010, Apple could be set to launch another round of the developer “Tech Tour World Tour” later this year to coincide with the release of iOS 5 and iCloud.