With iOS 5 and OS X 10.7.2 rolling out to users, Apple has officially flipped the switch to turn on iCloud for all users. The iCloud site lost its beta label earlier today and MobileMe users are now able to migrate their accounts to iCloud once they have upgraded their devices OS X 10.7.2 and iOS 5.
The migration process for MobileMe users will move Mail and Calendars to iCloud, and MobileMe users will continue to be able to use Gallery, iDisk and iWeb publishing through June 30, 2012 even though those services are not making the transition to iCloud. A number of syncing services that had been available for MobileMe, including Dashboard Widgets, Dock Items, Keychain, Mail Accounts, Mail Rules, Signatures, and Smart Mailboxes, and Mac OS X Preferences, will become unavailable immediately upon moving to iCloud.
Apple has launched a new store within iTunes specifically for Ringtones and Alert or text message tones. Many of the new alert tones are dialogue clips and sound effects from famous movies including Star Wars and Jaws. The most popular tone at the moment is a beep-boop-beep from R2-D2.
The iTunes Store on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch now includes the Tone Store — an incredible spectrum of music ringtones and alert tones that can be assigned to any alert setting on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
Ringtones have been available for purchase for a while, but the Alert Tones are a brand new offering. For a long time, the limited selection of alert tones was a big complaint of iPhone owners, especially those with several iPhones in a single household.
Ringtones are $1.29 and alert tones are $0.99.
To get to the Tones Store, head to Settings/Sounds and select any of the tone options. Then click "Buy More Tones" at the top of that window.
Alongside today's releases of iOS 5, OS X 10.7.2, and iCloud, Apple has also pushed out iPhoto 9.2, which brings compatibility with iCloud and its Photo Stream feature as well as a number of other improvements and fixes.
iPhoto 9.2 supports compatibility with iCloud and iOS 5. This update also addresses minor stability, performance and compatibility issues, including:
- Left and right swipe gestures can now be used to navigate between photos in Magnify (1-up) view - Previously imported photos are now displayed in a separate section of the Import window - Book/calendar themes and card categories can now be selected using a pop-up menu in the carousel view - Resolves an issue that could cause some pages of books to print incorrectly - Rebuilding a library now correctly preserves saved slideshows and books
The update is recommended for all users of iPhoto '11.
iPhoto 9.2 weighs in at 357.18 MB and requires Mac OS X 10.6.8 or OS X 10.7.2 or later.
In line with Apple's announced schedule calling for a release today, iOS 5 is now available to download for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch users. Users can obtain the update by connecting their devices to iTunes and clicking the "Check for Update" button. It may take a few minutes for the update to propagate to all users, however.
iOS 5 brings more than 200 new features, including Notification Center, iMessage, Newsstand, Reminders, and systemwide Twitter integration.
iOS 5 is compatible with the iPad 2, original iPad, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and third- and fourth-generation iPod touch. It will also ship on the iPhone 4S, which launches on Friday. An iOS 5-based version of the Apple TV software, labeled software version 4.4, is also available.
As part of Apple's rollout of its iCloud service today, Apple has just released OS X 10.7.2. The new update includes support for iCloud and will ensure that users have full access to their iCloud-hosted data across all of their devices.
OS X 10.7.2 brings number of new enhancements beyond iCloud compatibility, including Safari 5.1.1 and ten featured improvements.
Yesterday, Macworld reported that Sprint would be selling the iPhone 4S with an unlocked micro-SIM slot, potentially allowing users traveling abroad to simply slip in a local micro-SIM card and avoid high roaming costs.
Ars Technica now reports that Sprint has reached out to deny this report, indicating that the iPhone 4S will not work with international micro-SIMs.
However, while Sprint will now support international roaming on GSM networks with the appropriate monthly plan, the company will not be selling the phone unlocked for use with international microSIMs. Ars asked Michelle Mermelstein, a Sprint wireless device public relations representative, to confirm that the Sprint iPhone 4S would not work with international microSIMs. “That is correct,” Mermelstein said. “I believe Verizon’s device works the same way.”
Sprint customer service agents have also been offering similar information in response to questions about international travel with the iPhone 4S.
iPhone 4S has World Mode Capabilities with the pre-inserted SIM card. However, you will not be able to use non-Sprint SIM card with it, due to technology differences. If you purchase iPhone 4S you will be able to use it internationally with Sprint Services.
Note: International capabilities will be locked and you will have to call Sprint to activate.
The iPhone 4S, officially set to launch on Friday, is a world-mode device capable of supporting both GSM and CDMA networks, but carrier locking and other requirements will substantially limit that flexibility for customers purchasing subsidized versions of the device.
In what may be a sign of optimism on the part of Apple regarding iPhone 4S uptake, Digitimes reports on an article from the Commercial Times claiming that manufacturing partner Pegatron has now received orders for 15 million units of the iPhone 4S, with at least two million of those coming in the fourth quarter of this year.
Pegatron Technology has landed orders for 15 million units of the iPhone 4S from Apple with shipments reaching 2-2.5 million units in the fourth quarter of 2011, the Chinese-language Commercial Times has cited sources as saying. Earlier reports indicated that the volume of Pegatron's iPhone 4S oders would be only 10 million units.
Pegatron had previously been reported to be targeting 10 million units, potentially not beginning deliveries until 2012 as its stock was said to be focused on Asian markets that will see later launches of the device. But an increase in orders and an acceleration of the production timetable suggest that Apple and its suppliers are working hard to meet demand for the new device, which saw one million pre-orders in the first 24 hours of availability.
While some German customers appear to have been the first to receive deliveries of the iPhone 4S several days ahead of the official launch date of this Friday, it now appears that the premature deliveries are making their way to the United States. AppleInsider reports that one U.S. customer who ordered his iPhone 4S from Verizon has already received his shipment two days early.
Customers who pre-ordered the iPhone in the U.S. and other launch countries have been tracking their deliveries since shipment notices began going out over the weekend, hoping that delivery companies might slip up and offer early arrival of the devices. Apple typically coordinates with shipping services for delivery on the scheduled launch day, but occasionally some shipments have slipped through for early delivery.
In line with the announced October 12th launch date for iOS 5, Apple has also transitioned its iPod touch line to begin shipping with the operating system pre-installed. The most visible change to the iPod touch lineup, however, is the addition of white models, and iLounge reports that the white iPod touch is now on display and available for sale in Apple's retail stores.
Apple's online store is also listing all six models of the iPod touch as "In Stock", indicating that they will be available to ship within 24 hours of ordering.
One of the iCloud features launched immediately in the United States upon the service's announcement back in June was "iTunes in the Cloud", offering users the ability to re-download music previously purchased from the iTunes Store to any registered device. The service allows users to forgo storing their entire iTunes-purchased music library on every device and only download tracks to a given device as needed.
With the full iCloud service set to launch today, we have begun receiving reports from international users that iTunes in the Cloud has already begun going live for them. Reports have come in from Canada and the United Kingdom so far, but it is unclear whether additional countries will be included in the initial round of launches.
UK iTunes Store with new "Purchased" tab
The changes add a "Purchased" tab to the iTunes Store app in iOS, offering users access to an iCloud-hosted list of all of their purchased tracks, allowing for easy download. iTunes in the Cloud also supports automatic downloads, allowing users to purchase content on one device and have it automatically appear on other devices associated with the user's account.
Apple had reportedly been working hard to secure international iCloud music rights in time for last week's iPhone 4S media event, with sources indicating that Apple had indeed secured such agreements by that date, with the UK set to see the first expansion of the service in Europe.
Update: We've now received reports of iTunes in the Cloud being live from the following additional countries: Australia, France, Ireland, Mexico, Netherlands, and Spain.
Apple continues to make preparations for today's iOS 5 launch with the release of its new AirPort Utility [App Store] app to allow users to administer AirPort Extreme, AirPort Express, and Time Capsule base stations.
Use AirPort Utility to manage your Wi-Fi network and AirPort base stations, including AirPort Express, AirPort Extreme, and TimeCapsule – right from your iPad, iPhone, ir iPod touch. See a graphical overview of your Wi-Fi network and devices. Change base station and network settings, or manage advanced features such as security modes, wireless channels, and more. AirPort Utility works with all Apple 802.11n Wi-Fi base stations, including AirPort Express, AirPort Extreme, and Time Capsule.
Apple appeared to originally be preparing to integrate AirPort Utility directly into iOS 5, but apparently decided to break the functionality out into a separate app. Users entering the Wi-Fi portion of the Settings app in iOS 5 will be offered the ability to download the app to manage their networks. AirPort Utility is a universal app compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, and requires iOS 5.
Find My Friends allows you to easily locate your friends and family from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Install this free app on your iOS 5 device and sign in with the Apple ID you use with iCloud. Adding a friend is easy – just send a request to see their location. Once your friend accepts using the Find My Friends app, you will then be able to see that friend's location on a list or on a map.
Find My Friends is a universal app compatible with the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. As previously mentioned, it requires iOS 5 and is therefore limited to the models capable of running the latest version of Apple's mobile operating system, which include the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, 3rd- and 4th-generation iPod touch, and the iPad and iPad 2.
Apple's new Cards app, which was also announced last week, will be released today as well.
Apple seems to be putting the finishing touches on their new iCloud service. iCloud.com has been updated this evening with a new login screen. The service now shows icons in the background and a new login that no longer is listed as "beta". iCloud.com, itself, still seems restricted to developers for the most part. There have been sporadic reports of non-developers being able to upgrade, but it seems you must have created one in iOS 5.
iCloud is expected to launch today (Wed, October 12th) alongside iOS 5 and Mac OS X 10.7.2. Apple released iTunes 10.5 on Tuesday in preparation. We don't expect iOS 5 to actually be released until later in the day. Apple has historically released their major iOS updates around 1pm eastern time.
Macworld reveals an interesting fact about the CDMA iPhone 4Ss that wasn't immediately obvious. The Sprint CDMA iPhone 4S comes GSM-unlocked, while the Verizon CDMA iPhone 4S can be unlocked by request after 60 days.
Sprint plans to sell the iPhone 4S with its micro-SIM slot unlocked; Verizon’s will be initially locked, but if you’ve been a customer in good standing for 60 days, you can call Verizon and ask for an “international unlock.” (A Verizon spokesperson told me that this is Verizon’s standard policy for all world phones—it’s just the first time it’s manifested itself on an iPhone.)
This is welcome news to those looking to travel internationally. In those situations, customers can buy a local SIM card to use during travel, eliminating costly roaming charges.
Macworld does a great job breaking down the advantages and disadvantages of world roaming on the various U.S. carriers. AT&T iPhone 4Ss will apparently still come locked.
Sprint and Verizon iPhone 4Ss should start arriving on Friday, October 14th.
The early iPhone 4S reviews are in. Apple has provided some publications with an early review unit of the iPhone 4S and here are the reviews. We've extracted some of the more interesting points from each review, but you can click each title to read the full writeup.
- "The iPhone 4S blows away the iPhone 4 when it comes to speed." - "The true killer feature of the device is Siri." - "The amount of times Siri hasn’t been able to understand and execute my request is astonishingly low. I’ll say something that I’m sure Siri won’t be able to understand, and it gets it." - You need to be connected to internet for Siri to work.
- "[The iPhone 4S is] easily one of the most capable handsets on the market." - "The 4S is more than capable of going through a full business day without needing a charge, and if you’re a lighter user, you’ll rarely have to worry about it." - On Siri, "The software even has a good sense of humor. Asking it “what is the meaning of life?” will bring up a number of responses, both serious and not so serious. The first time I asked, Siri simply said “42.”
- "My advice is that owners of the iPhone 4 needn’t rush to upgrade; they can get the new operating system. But owners of older iPhone models, or those with basic phones, will find this latest iPhone a pleasure and a good value." - In Washington suburbs, was able to get nearly 7 megabits per second. - AT&T Model still dropped calls.
- "This phone comes dangerously close to displacing a $200 point-and-shoot digital camera." - "Apple says Siri will improve with time — both because she adapts to you, and because Apple itself will periodically upgrade her brain."
- "Before, with the standard iPhone calendar, I would often forget to add an event because I was too busy to type it, and as a result I would forget I had something scheduled altogether. With Siri and Apple’s new Reminders to-do list app, it’s unlikely I’ll forget anything important again because the process is so effortless. - "From my experience, talking on an iPhone 4S on AT&T sounds noticeably clearer than it did on past iPhones I’ve owned" - Several amusing examples of Siri responses including 'I'm Drunk' (Here's a list of cab companies)
- An amusing exchange with Siri at the top of the review - A 1080P sample video is included (edited with iMovie on a Mac) - More praise for Siri: "Siri is not your typical voice recognition technology. You don’t dictate to Siri, you interact and have a conversation with Siri. It’s difficult to explain how good Siri is, but you’ll find out soon enough."
- "So good is the voice recognition that it is now built into all apps that use a keyboard. For the first time I've found that I can happily and accurately dictate texts and emails." - "There is an option to enable Photostream, which keeps every picture you take for ever. Be warned. You cannot delete a picture once it is in Photostream. There may well be blushes within families who share devices and discover that a photo they would rather not be seen is permanently on view, but they'll have to learn the hard way." - "Once again Apple is taking a lead and asking a lot of its competitors. I wish those competitors luck, for the better all smartphones are, the happier I am. If Steve Jobs's true legacy is that the devices every other company makes are so, so much better than they otherwise would have been, I don't think he would mind one bit."
iOS developers are beginning to release apps that take advantage of iCloud's storage features. The excellent SketchBook Pro, a painting and drawing program from Autodesk, was updated today boasting an "option to set iCloud as default location to save canvases" and "controls in Gallery to upload or download from iCloud".
iCloud, which launches tomorrow, automatically "stores your music, photos, documents, and more and wirelessly pushes them to all your devices", according to Apple's promotional materials. The free services aims to help users automatically back up their data and allow them to seamless move load all their data onto a new device when they upgrade or replace their existing one -- part of Apple's new PC Free feature.
In his last keynote address, Steve Jobs launched iCloud, noting that devices have changed over the past decade, with people now using photos and videos on the go, the PC should no longer be the hub for your digital life, with all media hosted on the computer. "Keeping these devices in sync is driving us crazy," Steve told the crowd.
"Some people think a cloud is just a hard disk in the sky," Steve told the crowd. "We think it's way more than that." iCloud stores content (think contacts, calendar, photos, music), with wireless push to all devices. And with APIs providing developers with hooks into iCloud, all apps can take advantage of the service.
SketchBook Mobile for iPhone is available on the App Store for $1.99. SketchBook Pro for iPad is $4.99.
Magazine apps are starting to be updated to appear in the Newsstand feature of iOS 5. In this screenshot, sent to us by reader Shawn, we can see Wired, GQ, and Popular Science apps ready for reading. At the moment, only developers with the iOS 5 developer beta can see Newsstand.
All three apps were updated today with support for Newsstand built-in. Other magazine apps, including Golf Digest and Glamour, were updated today for Newsstand support, ready for iOS 5's general release tomorrow.
Steve Jobs was famous for his wardrobe of black mock turtlenecks and Levi's 501 jeans, but the story of what inspired him to adopt the basic but unique uniform has never really been revealed in detail.
Gawker now shares an excerpt from Walter Isaacson's upcoming biography of Jobs, revealing the history behind the wardrobe choice. According to Isaacson, the idea of a corporate uniform first came to Jobs on a visit to Sony's facilities in Japan, where he was struck by the way uniforms for employees helped create an identity bonding them to the company. Born out of necessity for Sony after World War II when the company's workers had few clothes of their own, Jobs briefly sought to bring the idea of corporate uniforms at Apple.
Sony, with its appreciation for style, had gotten the famous designer Issey Miyake to create its uniform. It was a jacket made of rip-stop nylon with sleeves that could unzip to make it a vest. So Jobs called Issey Miyake and asked him to design a vest for Apple, Jobs recalled, "I came back with some samples and told everyone it would great if we would all wear these vests. Oh man, did I get booed off the stage. Everybody hated the idea."
Despite being shot down by Apple employees, Jobs adopted the idea of a uniform for himself for the sake of convenience and identity, and drew on his friendship with Miyake to create his signature look.
"So I asked Issey to make me some of his black turtlenecks that I liked, and he made me like a hundred of them." Jobs noticed my surprise when he told this story, so he showed them stacked up in the closet. "That's what I wear," he said. "I have enough to last for the rest of my life."
It's not clear when Jobs related that story to Isaacson, but as Gawker notes, the closing quote comes with a whole new perspective following Jobs' death last week.
iOS developers are beginning to release apps that take advantage of iCloud's storage features. The excellent 
