Apple is hosted a press conference today in Cupertino, CA called ‘Let’s Talk iPhone’ where they unveiled the new iPhone 4S. We couldn’t be there for the event, but we live blogged the events as they unfolded on the video stream of the event, as well as from other blogs including Wired.com and Engadget. Below is our coverage:

1:01 Apple CEO Tim Cook is on stage for his first product announcement since he took over as CEO.

1:03 Video stream is not working anymore, but we’re following along online.

1:04 Via Wired: “Today, Apple wants to remind us of the uniqueness of their company as they announce innovations of their mobile operating system, applications and hardware, and integrating them into a single experience.”

1:06 Via Engadget: “Hong Kong opening, they sold more Macs on opening day than they have in any other store in the world!”

1:09 Cook is talking about the success of Lion over Windows, and Lion is prominently displayed on Apple’s homepage.

1:14 Via NYTimes: “We’re now getting news about other Apple product lines, like Lion, the Mac operating system. this is the rhetorical equivalent of putting the milk in the back of the supermarket: We’re all here for iPhone news, but first you have to walk past all this other stuff.”

1:16 Via Engadget: “over 300 million iPods have been sold. ‘It took Sony 30 years to sell 220,000 Walkman casette players.’”

1:18 Tim Cook: “iPhone is 5% of worldwide mobile phone market.”

1:21 Video has crashed again, but Engadget is reporting that Cook is talking about how iPads are being used in schools and to fly planes.

1:23 Via Engadget: “iOS is now the number one mobile operating system, 43 percent compared to Android’s 33 percent as of the July ComScore number Apple is quoting.”

1:26 Scott Forstall, Apple’s iOS chief, has taken the stage. Via The NY Times: “mr. Forstall is talking about how more than 1 billion apps are downloaded in a month. A new app is being shown: Cards. you can create cards on your phone or iPod Touch, and Apple will print them out and mail them.”

1:27 Via Twitter: “Apple has paid more than $3 billion to app developers.”

1:30 Via Wired: “Cards is a new app being introduced. It lets you create and mail beauitful cards right from your iPhone or iPod touch. you make the card, Apple does the rest, printing it out on 100% cotton paper. There’s over 21 different designs in 6 different categories: including birthdays, birth announcements, love, travel.”

1:32 Engadget and ArsTechnica are down. Haven’t seen updates from Wired or NYTimes.com for a few minutes. maybe they are having Wi-Fi issues? there were many issues during the Kindle fire press conference.

1:34 NYTimes is back up. They are talking about iOS 5 features. this includes “iMessages,” a new text messaging feature, a newsstand and a better integration with Twitter. here is more about the new iPhone features: “The camera app is now accessible from the lock screen. Double-tap the home button and you can go directly to the camera app, no password or anything required.”

1:38 Safari, Game Center and Mail have been updated for the iPhone. Via Wired.com: “PC Free is the next feature we’re talking about. With iOS 5, you take a device out of a box, and there’s no need for a computer. There’s support for wireless updates.”

1:41 Engadget is back up. Apple is talking about iTunes, iPhoto and syncing documents. Engadget has more: “Documents in the Cloud means your docs get pushed as well. ‘My documents are updated across my devices.’” Like Whispersync maybe?

1:43 there is a new “Find My Friends” feature that lets you find your friends based on their location. Engadget has more: “you can invite friends to share their location for a limited time, which is an interesting feature.” Let’s hope Apple has some privacy worked in to avoid another location-gate.

1:45 More on the Cloud documentas. Via Wired: “when you purchase an app on one device, it’s available on all of your iDevices. Books works the same way. another feature of iCloud is Backup.” there is also a capability to find a lost iPhone.

1:48 Still no iPhone 5 announced.

1:49 Apple has 16 new clock faces and larger icons on the iPod nano.

1:50 Via Twitter @NYTimes: “Apples new iOS5 system will be available Oct. 12.”

1:51 8GB iPod Nano $129, 16GB iPod Nano $149.

1:53 Talk has turned to the iPod Touch as a gaming device. It will run iOS 5. New white one comes out October 12th starting at $199 for 8GB.

1:55 Via Engadget: “”I’m really pleased to tell you today about the brand new iPhone 4S.’ It has the A5 chip! ‘Of course it starts with a Retina display, of course it’s glass on the back… but don’t be deceived, because inside it’s all new.’”

1:56 Engadget is reporting that the iPhone 4S is 2x faster and has dual-core graphics.

1:58 Apple is showing off how good the A5 chip is for playing video games.

2:00 NY Times quips: “this is sort of funny – reports were out there that Apple was ‘hiding’ the iPhone 5 in an iPhone 4 body. maybe Apple wasn’t hiding it at all.”

2:03 Engadget has more details on the iPhone 4S: “Theoretical download speeds are now twice, 14.4Mbps versus 7.2 on the iPhone 4.”

2:04 A cool feature for international travelers caled “World Phone”. Via Engadget: “The iPhone 4 was of course GSM vs. CDMA. The 4S is both — GSM and CDMA.”

2:05 there is a new camera in the new phone. Lots of updates including 30% more sharpness, an f/2.4 aperture, face detection and better white balance.

2:10 The video camera update will include image stabilization.

2:15 Apple has a new feature on the iPhone called Siri. The NY Times has more: “‘We left one thing out,’ says mr. Schiller. ‘It’s about our voice.’ this is the fruit of Apple’s acquisition of Siri, a startup that has been working on voice-control features. Siri is now a feature on the iPhone. ‘It’s an intelligent assistant that helps you get things done, just by asking.’”

2:17 Via @Mediabistro on Twitter: “Apple shares are down about 3% following unveiling of #iPhone4S on.wsj.com/edvozy (via @WSJ)”

2:20 Engadget has more details about Siri: “‘give me directions to Hoover Tower.’ Siri brings up map, shows the route and you’re good to go. Scott’s talking about receiving a text message while your phone’s in your pocket and you are wearing a Bluetooth headset.”

2:24 Siri can remind you to run errands, call your wife and look up things for you in Wikipedia and WolfraAlpha (funnily enough, often the most popular Android book app, not iTunes book app).

2:35 The new iPhone comes out October 14th in the U.S., Australia, the U.K., Canada, Japan, Germany and France. October 28th for other locations. It will be AT&T, Verizon and Sprint in the U.S.

2:40 The iPhone 4 is now $99, the new iPhone 4S will be $199 for an 16GB, $299 for 32GB and $399 for 64 GB.

Apple Releases iPhone 4S: Live Blog – AppNewser

A crowd gathers outside Apple's iPad HD launch event at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

(Credit:Jason Parker/CNET)

Just before it unveiled the new iPad at a media event in San Francisco today, Apple announced that iOS 5.1, the next update to the company’s mobile operating system, is now available.

The list of new features isn’t extensive and largely consists of bug fixes and interface tweaks. That said, there are a couple of useful additions. here are the highlights that Apple has listed in iOS 5.1′s documentation.

A Japanese SiriThis was the only feature of iOS 5.1 that Apple CEO Tim Cook specifically mentioned during his time onstage. Siri, the voice assistant exclusive to theiPhone 4S, now will be able to understand and talk back in Japanese. though Apple says that the new feature may not be completely available at first, I was able to switch our Verizon iPhone 4S to Japanese without any hiccups. unfortunately, my knowledge of the language doesn’t extend past simple greetings like “Good morning,” but CNET’s Seth Rosenblatt was able to ask a few questions like, “What is your name?” he said Siri uses a formal vocabulary, but that she responded correctly and he was able to understand her. Just keep in mind that Siri is not a translation service, so if you have her set to Japanese, she will not respond to English commands or questions. And if you’re counting, Siri now can converse in four languages: Japanese, English (Australian, British, and American), French, and German.

Photo StreamAfter Photo Stream debuted as part of iCloud and iOS 5, users quickly complained that once a photo was uploaded to the feature, they couldn’t delete it. Fortunately, iOS 5.1 adds that option. so go ahead and take those embarrassing photos at next weekend’s party. You can remove them the next day as you nurse your hangover.

Camera shortcutiOS 5 added a nifty lock screen shortcut that allowed users to quickly shoot a photo without having to unlock theiPhone first. the only trouble was that it wasn’t always visible, particularly when you really needed it. With today’s update, though, the shortcut will be present at all times. What’s more, instead of pressing the camera icon to access the camera, you can now slide up the lock screen. I’m not sure the new action is all that improved, but it’s there just the same.

Face detectionOn the iPhone 4S, the camera app now will highlight all faces that it detects when you’re trying to snap an image. of course, it won’t always detect a face even when it’s squarely in the frame, but when it does you’ll see the green box over the person’s mug.

iPad Camera appIn another small but noticeable interface tweak, the camera shutter has moved from the menu bar at the bottom of the viewfinder to the right side of the frame. And as you rotate youriPad from portrait to landscape mode, the button shifts accordingly.

Improved audioiPad users also are set to get louder and clearer audio when watching television shows and movies. We haven’t see a huge difference so far, but we’ll never kick an improvement out of bed.

More GeniusiTunes Match subscribers now will get Genius Mix and Genius playlist suggestions. Nice, perhaps, for those who use iTunes Match, but not significant to anyone else.

New podcast controlsIn the last iPad-only addition, you’ll see new controls for changing the playback speed on podcasts and rewinding for 30-second segments. the latter is a great feature if you miss a beat while listening to a show and want a quick and easy way to catch it again.

Updated AT&T network indicatorIf you have an AT&T iPhone 4S, you may notice that a small “4G” icon is now appearing next to the signal strength meter. It will show only when your phone is connecting the carrier’s HSDPA network. As we’ve told you a few times, classifying HSPA+ as true “4G” is a bit of a stretch, but that hasn’t stopped from AT&T from doing so.

Bug fixesApple also said that iOS 5.1 addresses bugs that affect battery life and fixes an issue that sometimes caused audio to drop for outgoing calls. call quality and battery life are two things that make a phone, after all, so we welcome any fixes. We’ll have to say, however, if we see performance improvements over time.

iOS 5.1 is available today through an over-the-air update or by connecting your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch to iTunes. We’ll add more new features here as we see them, and please tell us in the Comments section if you discover any other changes. for more Apple software news, check out our first impressions of iPhoto, the new iWork apps, GarageBand, and iMovie.

Apple iOS 5.1: First Take

(CBS News) 

A secret FBI file on Steve Jobs is revealing new details about the late Apple co-founder and chief executive officer.

From the file, it seems Jobs spent some time working for the government, reportedly on satellite and software-related programs. in fact, in 1988, Jobs held a “Top Secret” clearance. He lost that clearance in 1990. It’s not known if Jobs was aware of his FBI file, but he was interviewed during the background check and cooperated.

The FBI file also includes what his friends and co-workers actually thought of him — and some of it is not nice.

Special Section: Steve Jobs, 1955-2011Video: What’s in Steve Jobs’ FBI file?Read FBI background report on Apple CEO Steve JobsFBI file: Steve Jobs was considered for govt post

The FBI file, released under the Freedom of Information Act, gives us new insights into Jobs’ personality. his colleagues respected his genius, but many found him to be stubborn and demanding.

One worker at Apple Computer called Jobs, “A deceptive individual who is not completely forthright and honest.” Another colleague defended Jobs saying he was a man of  “…high moral character and integrity.”

But, multiple friends and associates warned he could be abrasive and had a “tendency to distort reality in order to achieve his goals.”

The comments come from a 191-page file the FBI compiled in 1991. Agents were conducting a background check after President George H.W. Bush appointed Jobs to the Presidents Export Council.

Among the more than two dozen people interviewed, they universally said Jobs, while not perfect, was a worthy presidential adviser. but, one co-worker cynically noted, “…honesty and integrity are not required qualities to hold such a position.”

The FBI investigation revealed there were troubles in his personal life.

One colleague said Jobs initially “mistreated” a daughter he had out of wedlock by failing to support her. but, added “…recently mr. Jobs has been more supportive.”

He was C+ high school student with a 2.65 grade point average. And Jobs admitted to the FBI that he was a casual drug user in the early ’70s and “experimented with marijuana, hashish, and LSD.” but Jobs assured agents he “never sold any drugs” and was never convicted of a crime.

The file, though, does reveal Jobs was the target of extortion. Handwritten notes seen in the file were made by the FBI in 1985 after someone phoned in a bomb threat that targeted Jobs and Apple. The caller, who demanded $1 million, was never paid and never found.

Watch Bob Orr’s full report in the video above, along with a discussion on “CBS this Morning” with Adam Lashinsky, senior editor-at -large for Fortune magazine, who is the author of “Inside Apple: how America’s Most Admired and Secretive Company really Works.”

Steve Jobs file reveals frank assessments

An off-Broadway hit about the life of the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs is to appear at this year’s HighTide festival in May, alongside a debut play by the daughter of writer Stephen Poliakoff.

Mike Daisey’s monologue, The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, which played two extended runs at new York’s Public Theatre in 2011, segues between Jobs’s life and career and Daisey’s own visit to the Chinese factory where, he claims, around half of the world’s electronic consumer goods are made. Last October, The new York Times’s theatre critic Charles Isherwood called it, “a mind-clouding, eye-opening exploration of the moral choices we unknowingly or unthinkingly make when we purchase nifty little gadgets like the iPhone.”

The 10-day festival in Suffolk also includes the European premiere of 26-year-old Laura Poliakoff’s Clockwork, described as “a powerful call to arms for a generation of 20-year-olds not considering their own age.” HighTide’s artistic director Steven Atkinson will direct the play, Poliakoff’s first since graduating from the National Film and Television School. her animated short film Bertie Crisp, co-written with Francesca Adams, has been touring film festivals during the past year.

Now in its sixth year, HighTide festival produces work by emerging playwrights. Previous productions have subsequently transferred to the Edinburgh Fringe, the National Theatre and the West end. Founded by Atkinson in 2007, the organisation joined the Arts Council’s national portfolio in last March’s reshuffle and, from April, will receive an annual grant of £200,000. Writers to have shown work at HighTide include former poet laureate Andrew Motion, comedian Tom Basden and playwright Joel Horwood. The Sunday Times named Adam Brace’s Stovepipe, which played at the 2008 festival, as one of the top 10 plays of the last decade.

Other highlights at this year’s festival include the world premiere of Ella Hickson’s latest play Boys, a co-production with Headlong and Southampton’s Nuffield Theatre about five students about to leave university, and Mudlarks, by first-time playwright Vickie Donoghue. The emerging company Curious Directive, a success at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe with Your Last Breath, will present two short plays written by young playwrights in collaboration with scientists under the title Binary. Sound designer Jon McLeod’s headphone audiotour An Organ of little Apparent Importance will take audiences “on a journey through an imagined Halesworth” and includes contributions from local schoolchildren.

This year’s festival, which lasts 10 days, also includes three works-in-progress from emerging writers and young companies.

Steve Jobs play brings bite of big Apple to Suffolk

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Neil Young says that he talked to former Apple CEO Steve Jobs about offering higher-quality digital music downloads, but that since Jobs’s death, discussion with Apple on the matter has ceased.

Speaking at the D: Dive into Media conference, Young claimed that modern digital music formats are so highly compressed that 95 per cent of the audio content is thrown away. (This is a highly debatable claim, but suffice it to say that Young isn’t happy that most music today is sold in a lossy, relatively low-bit-rate format.)

Young doesn’t have a company to plug or a solution to the problem. in fact, he turned to the largely well-heeled audience at the conference as said he needed “a rich guy, someone out there” to lead the charge for better music quality. But he did say he had been talking to one particular rich guy: Steve Jobs.

“I was talking to Steve about it,” Young said. “We were working on it.” When asked by conference co-host Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal what was happening with that now, Young suggested that no discussions were ongoing.

“Steve Jobs was a pioneer of digital music, and his legacy is tremendous,” Young said. “But when he went home, he listened to vinyl. And you’ve gotta believe that if he’d lived long enough, he would have eventually done what I’m trying to do.”

Young likened speakers and headphones to “the back end of the donkey,” suggesting that the problem with music quality is not in the output methods, but in the lower-quality input formats. 

“The ears are the window to the soul,” Young said. “You feel what you hear. When you take away 95 per cent of the nutritional value, you feel it…. Music is great. let the people have 100 per cent, or 99 per cent. Occupy audio!”

Young said that other high-resolution formats, such as Super Audio CD and DVD Audio, failed because of poor marketing and business decisions. He cited Sony’s control over the SACD format and the focus on multichannel audio for DVD-Audio.

“The woman of the house doesn’t want five boxes out there,” Young said. “They’ve should’ve made DVD Audio a stereo thing, but they [didn’t, and they] failed.” 

Neil Young: Steve Jobs and I discussed higher-quality digital downloads

Plus more detail on Windows 8, and Microsoft pulls out of annual developer event

A quick burst of 13 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology team

Tim Cook responds to claims of factory worker mistreatment: “We care about every worker in our supply chain” >> 9to5Mac

Apple CEO Tim Cook, who has not been shy on the emailing as of late, has sent out a lengthy letter to all of his employees that is a direct response to these recent reports of factory worker mistreatment. Cook’s opening: “As a company and as individuals, we are defined by our values. Unfortunately some people are questioning Apple’s values today, and I’d like to address this with you directly. We care about every worker in our worldwide supply chain…”

Cook seems a lot busier with the emails than Steve Jobs was. Or the emails leak more easily.

Setting the record straight about our privacy policy changes >> Google Public Policy Blog

Google is irked:

A lot has been said about our new privacy policy. some have praised us for making our privacy policy easier to understand. others have asked questions, including members of Congress, and that’s understandable too. We look forward to answering those questions, and clearing up some of the misconceptions about our privacy policies that first appeared in the Washington Post. so, here’s the real story:

Follow the link for the rest.

Windows 8 beta: more personalisation coming >> TechRadar

When the Windows 8 beta arrives at the end of February, it will have some widely requested features for killing Metro apps without going to the Task Manager, for navigating using a mouse rather than touch and for doing more with gestures. You’ll also be able to change that overpowering green background. But Windows 8 director of communications Chris Flores points out to TechRadar that you wouldn’t want a photograph as the background of the Metro-style Start screen.

With more details.

Larry Page to Googlers: if you don’t get SPYW, work somewhere else >> PandoDaily

Sarah Lacy at her new Pando Daily site:

a source tells us that CEO Larry Page, who seems to be hell-bent on competing with Mark Zuckerberg whether it’s the right thing for Google or not, had this to say to employees at a Friday staff event after the Search plus Your World launch: “This is the path we’re headed down – a single unified, ‘beautiful’ product across everything. If you don’t get that, then you should probably work somewhere else.” the quasi-ultimatum caught our source by surprise and underscores just how important this new direction is for Page. It also helps explain why Google’s PR was so silent since evidence of the Don’t be Evil toolbar came out yesterday. If this is the future of the company and it flies in the face of Google’s stated values, what can they say?

Google’s PR didn’t respond when we asked for a comment on the “Don’t be Evil” bookmarklet. It fits.

Switch to OpenStreetMap >> OpenStreetMap

Do your maps look like everyone else’s? Are you paying high fees just to include maps on your website?

wonder who that could be referring to?

Switch to OpenStreetMap and discover how you can build beautiful maps from the world’s best map data. We give you the data for free; you can make any map you like with it. Or benefit from the expertise of those already using OpenStreetMap. Host it on your hardware, or elsewhere. You have control. switch2osm.org explains how to make the switch – from first principles to technical how-tos.

OpenStreetMap does produce lovely maps, and they are updated – when it’s needed – really quickly. when will a satnav provider use one?

Microsoft Pulls the Plug On Another Annual Event in Vegas >> Business Insider

Does Microsoft have something against the city of Las Vegas? Late last year, Microsoft announced that 2012 would be its last year keynoting the Consumer Electronics show, which takes place in Sin City every January. Now, it’s also pulling the plug on MIX, an annual conference for developers that Microsoft has held in Vegas for the last six years. the change probably has nothing to do with the location, and more to do with Microsoft’s shifting priorities. MIX was originally focused on Microsoft’s Web technologies, particularly Silverlight and Internet Explorer.

Which may tell you what you need to know about Silverlight’s future.

Google faces Norwegian public sector ban >> FT.com

Norwegian public sector organisations will be banned from using Google Apps after the Norwegian data protection authorities ruled that the service could put citizens’ personal data at risk. the data protection authority said Google Apps did not comply with Norwegian privacy laws because there was insufficient information about where data was being kept. the decision came from a test case in Narvik, where the local council had chosen to use Google Apps for their email. the Norwegian ban comes just as things were going so well for Google Apps in Europe, with the company winning its largest ever contract with BBVA, the Spanish bank.

Oh. Well, there go the product placements in Forbrydelsen.

Eee Pad Transformer Prime with ICS: a preview of Android 4.0 on a tablet >> the Verge

Generally, an improvement in the user interface. But then:

What ICS doesn’t magically change is the selection and quality of the tablet apps available in the Android Market. I have consistently pointed out the lack of tablet-optimized apps in my Honeycomb tablet reviews, and it looks like it will be a complaint that persists. while there have been some notable additions and there are some decent tablet-optimized apps (News360, Plume, and TapTu come to mind), others like Facebook and Twitter haven’t been redesigned to take advantage of the higher resolution screen, making the experience flat-out disappointing.

NEC slashes 10,000 jobs – blames Thai floods, smartphone slump >> Channel Register

The firm did not reveal exactly where in the business the jobs would go, and said the overseas cuts would be made “in accordance with the review of manufacturing operation”. However, its financial forecast document (PDF) reveals some clues.

It shows a Mobile Terminal Business in dire straits, with smartphone shipments revised down for the year from 6.5 million to 5 million units and delays to the expansion of its overseas business. the success of “foreign vendors’ increasing market share in Japan” was also noted, no doubt a reference to the huge impact the iPhone has made in the land of the rising sun.

That’s 5m smartphone shipments for the whole year, forecast.

Tablet display Technology Shoot-Out >> Displaymate

The site may hurt your eyes a bit. Persist:

Most people (and reviewers) seem to believe that the 10.1in screens (measured diagonally) on the Android Tablets are larger than the 9.7in iPad screen – but they are actually 5% smaller than the iPad in terms of the image area of the screen, which is what really counts. this is due to both Aspect Ratio geometry (the screen area decreases as the Aspect Ratio increases) and the Android system bar, which reduces the image area.

We had not calculated that before.

As a person, publisher, news organization and Twitter user, I think Google’s new personalized search results are AWESOME! >> Thmas Hawk

Earlier this week Twitter put out a statement saying that they thought this new search integration was “bad for people, publishers, news organizations and Twitter users.”

I disagree. Sure, it may be be bad for *Twitter*, but to say it’s bad for people, publishers, news organizations and Twitter users is wrong.

he goes on to explain why in detail.

iBooks ideas >> Matt Gemmell

18 quick ideas for things you could do with (free or paid-for) iBooks Author products. all rather neat; some paid; all inventive.

HTC is holding out for a market hero >> Mobile Today

HTC is going to focus on ‘hero’ devices, rather than blanketing the market:

The company’s u-turn follows disappointing global results earlier this month when first quarter net profit fell 26% to $365m, its first quarterly decline in earnings for two years as it faced competition from Apple and Samsung’s Galaxy range.

HTC UK chief Phil Roberson (pictured) told Mobile the manufacturer will return to a strategy of launching a limited number of high-spec devices this year, with a focus on second quarter releases. he said: ‘We have to get back to focusing on what made us great – amazing hardware and a great customer experience. We ended 2011 with far more products than we started out with. We tried to do too much.”

One suspects Samsung will be a large obstacle to heroic ambition.

You can follow Guardian Technology’s linkbucket on Pinboard. To suggest a link, either add it below or tag it with @gdntech on the free Delicious service;

Josh HallidayCharles Arthurguardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. all rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Boot up: Google responds to privacy critics, Apple’s Tim Cook answers claims of worker mistreatment, and more

Apple had its share of much-hyped product releases and headline-grabbing controversies in 2011, but late on Oct. 5, the gadgets and drama were overshadowed by the passing of Cupertino’s enigmatic co-founder. Steve Jobs was gone.

The news hit early in the evening on the East Coast, one day after Apple had unveiled its new iPhone 4S. Jobs had battled cancer for years, taking several leaves of absence and even undergoing a liver transplant, but by August 2011, the time had come to say goodbye. Jobs resigned from his post as Apple CEO, handing the reigns over to Tim Cook, and two months later, he passed away surrounded by family.

Upon hearing the news of his death, fans flocked to Apple Stores around the world to pay their respects, and Apple later held a star-studded memorial service at its Cupertino headquarters. His life was chronicled in a Walter Isaacson biography, published about three weeks after his death, but for more, see PCMag’s look back at Jobs’s life and career.

But Jobs likely would not have wanted his death to overshadow all that his company had accomplished in 2011, though he probably would’ve been OK with it eclipsing some of the gaffes, like location tracking, iPhone battery drains, and contentious patent battles. Let’s take a look back at the good, the bad, and ugly to come out of Cupertino in the last year.

The Products Apple fans spent much of the year waiting for a product that never arrived—the iPhone 5. we got a new iPhone, but it failed to include a totally revamped form factor, larger screen, 4G, or any of the other far-fetched, rumored features that made the rounds in 2011.

Instead, the iPhone 4S arrived looking exactly the same as the iPhone 4 on the outside, but with Siri, a souped-up camera, and dual-core processor inside. any disappointment over the lack of an iPhone 5-branded device did not hurt sales, though. Apple sold at least 4 million devices in the first few days it was available. The smartphone was also added to two new U.S. carriers—Sprint and C Spire.

Earlier in the year, however, Jobs was still well enough to take the stage and unveil the iPad 2—a thinner, faster version of its predecessor with front- and rear-facing cameras. It went on sale in March, prompting long lines at area Apple Stores. By July, Apple revealed that it sold 9.25 million iPads during the quarter, a 183 percent increase from the year before.

Rivals like RIM and HP have struggled to compete with the iPad. The closest competitor appears to be the Amazon Kindle fire, but the 7-inch, $199 tablet has really emerged as a low-cost alternative to the iPad rather than a potential iPad killer. Apple execs quipped recently that the fire might help iPad sales; people will purchase the fire, realize they want something more powerful, and trade up.

With the new devices, meanwhile, came a revamped operating system: iOS 5. It took a page from other OSes, like Android’s notification center and BlackBerry Messenger with iMessage. there was also the launch of iCloud and iTunes Match for on-the-go access to files and music. The company’s Mac and iPod lines also got an overhaul, while the next iteration of Mac OS X, Lion, finally hit the desktop.

Continue Reading: The Year’s Biggest Apple Controversies>

The Year in Review: Apple

At Apple’s keynote for the first iPhone back in 2007, former Apple CEO Steve Jobs wowed his audience when he demonstrated the slide-to-lock gesture.

“Boom!” he said, after demonstrating twice. Scroll down for the video.

Four years later, the U.S. Patent Office finally awarded Apple a patent for this feature, which seems ubiquitous now. Patent number 8,046,721 describes a gesture for unlocking a device on a touch screen that starts with contact on a touch-sensitive display at a predefined location, and then “continuously moving the unlock image on the touch-sensitive display.” a horizontal movement, as used on iOS devices, was one example given.

The patent raises concerns over how Apple will use it to fortify its numerous legal pursuits against Android manufacturers, specifically Samsung and HTC.

Apple sued HTC last year based on a similar slide-to-unlock patent (no. 7,657,849), which was ruled as a frivolous complaint in the Netherlands. as patent expert Florian Mueller noted in August, the Dutch judge said the U.S. patent was invalid in his court because the slide-to-lock gesture was seen a year before the first iPhone, in the Neonode N1m Windows CE-based phone.

Apple’s new patent includes one key line: “In addition, there is a need for sensory feedback to the user regarding progress towards satisfaction of a user input condition that is required for the transition to occur.” 9to5Mac speculates that Apple added the line to prevent judges in Delaware and Florida from being swayed by the Dutch judge’s reasoning.

as you can see at the 4:08 mark in Engadget’s review of the Neonode N1m, the lock gesture does not include “sensory feedback.”

meanwhile, Microsoft jumped the gun by recently filing for a patent for “a graphical password authentication method” based on “sketches drawn by user,” as seen in the upcoming Windows 8 OS.

For more from Sara, follow her on Twitter @sarapyin.

For the top stories in tech, follow us on Twitter at @PCMag.

Apple Awarded Second Slide-to-Unlock Patent, Targeting HTC?

When Apple CEO took center stage, everyone was expecting the unveiling of the iPhone 5. Instead of getting this highly anticipated smartphone, we got the 4S. not only was this a surprise, it did not come with the totally different design everyone expected. To everyone’s disappointment, it was a mirror-image of the 4th generation iPhone.

Don’t be totally discouraged about the 4S. it is still a monster of a smartphone. it comes packed with an A5 dual-core processor under the hood. this is the same processor packed within the iPad 2. Aside from the powerful chip within, it also sports a ton of new features. With the iOS 5 pre-installed, it offers Twitter integration. this will allow you to tweet on the go. Previously, only Android users were able to enjoy better notifications. now, Apple’s users can enjoy notifications as well. Another new feature is the Cards app. With this app, you can create greeting cards. After creating the cards, the Cupertino form will handle printing and shipping for a minimal price. Siri is also onboard. this is Apple’s new voice control service. it is totally different and smarter compared to other voice control services. it also has a sense of humor. there are more features for you to explore. The 4S may look exactly like Apple’s 4th generation handset. however, it does have more to offer.

So what happened to the iPhone 5? although we do not claim to know what is going on within the walls of the Cupertino firm, we can take a look at the clues.

Since the 4th generation smartphone comes with a 3.5 inch Retina display, getting the same resolution on a 4 inch touch screen may have been a problem. it is possible that producing panels for the 5th refresh would only be available until 2012.

This goes the same for the rumored A6 chip that powers the iPhone 5. According to reports, the Cupertino-based technology giant has hired a new chip manufacturer tasked to create the chipset. it is said that the new manufacturer was successful in creating the A6 chip. however, it will only be available next year. The chipset is rumored to have not two but four cores. this means superior performance.

Since the smartphone’s components will not be ready until 2012, it is most likely that we will get to see this highly anticipated handset by the time its parts are ready. Since 2012 is just a few months away, you might just see the iPhone 5 by next year.

What Happened to the iPhone 5?

Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California October 4, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Robert Galbraith

(Reuters) – Apple inc debuts its fifth generation iPhone this week minus its visionary leader for the first time. but CEO Tim Cook may already be thinking ahead to his greatest challenge: repositioning the company’s fabled marketing apparatus to safeguard the brand.

With Google inc Android phones gaining momentum, Cook is likely sticking to established battle plans at this critical juncture. but longer term, he may be better off moving the company out from under Jobs’ gargantuan shadow. the Apple co-founder bequeathed a mystique and cachet to the brand that will be near-impossible to replace, cultivating a community of fans hooked on ease of use and rich content.

It’s those perceptions Cook — who in two months on the job has already shown Wall Street and Silicon Valley glimpses of what an Apple without Steve Jobs might look like — must focus on preserving rather than the inimitable aura of the co-founder who died last week at the age of 56.

“There’s no question Apple is going to go through a time of transformation. There’s a lot of risk around the brand,” said Tim Calkins, a marketing professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management who has advised clients like Eli Lilly & Co. “A lot of pressure will fall on Tim Cook to step up. the hard part is, he’s not Steve Jobs, nor can he try to be.”

Cook has the luxury of time to ponder his next step. Advanced sales of the iPhone 4S — despite disappointing fanboys and pundits hoping for more than an enhanced iPhone 4 — surpassed one million in its first 24 hours globally, smashing the 600,000 for the iPhone 4, though that model was sold in fewer countries.

Sales in stores begin October 14 in Japan, Australia, France, UK, Germany, Canada and the United States.

Some analysts expect fourth-quarter iPhone shipments of as much as 30 million or more, almost double from a year ago.

The fifth iteration of the iconic smartphone comes with a faster processor and a better and more light-sensitive camera, but little else to separate it from its predecessor. but tech experts say the real gems lie beneath the phone’s familiar sleek casing.

Influential reviewers Walt Mossberg and David Pogue raved about “Siri” — a voice-command activated assistant that understands and responds to spoken commands and questions in context, such as queries about the weather or a friend’s phone number. Pogue called it “crazy good, transformative, category-redefining speech recognition.”

“Despite Siri, the iPhone 4S isn’t a dramatic game-changer. some new features are catch-ups to competitors,” Mossberg wrote in the Wall Street Journal. “It isn’t perfect, and is labeled a beta, but it has great potential and worked pretty well for me, despite some glitches.”

Both reviewers marveled at Siri’s ability to hold conversations, from basic “give me directions to …” to quirkier discourses.

“When I asked it, ‘What’s the best phone,’ it said, ‘Wait … there are other phones?’” Mossberg wrote.

Cook now faces the monumental task of not only preserving, but also advancing Apple’s lofty status in the industry and among fickle gadget consumers. moreover, he must do that while honoring his former boss and mentor, a master showman who time and again displayed an uncanny instinct for driving consumer tastes.

“Things for the next two years are pretty much set in stone in terms of what they want to achieve, and the new kind of product focus they are putting out. After three years, the new management is going to make its mark,” said Jack Salzman, principal and founding member of Kings Point Capital Management. “If there is any pressure on the new Apple management, its probably going to be self-imposed, because of the void that was left by Steve Jobs.”

The product pipeline is where Cook needs to stamp his own authority on the company. He can stick to script only so long before he risks stagnation and damaging the brand. Apple needs to find a formula divorced from Jobs’ persona, observers say.

Indeed, during the iPhone 4S’ media launch last week, Cook stepped back and allowed the supporting cast — such as marketing chief Phil Schiller, software head Scott Forstall and design guru Jonathan Ive — to tout the device, something Jobs would have sought to control from start to finish.

“They’ve got to find a new voice in the market. Steve Jobs was so much the face of Apple,” Calkins said. “Protect the core elements of the brand, but at the same time, move forward.”

“You can’t turn Apple into a memorial for Steve Jobs,” he added. Cook shouldn’t “be afraid to make changes in the way the company communicates and reaches out to consumers.”

Branding and marketing aside, ultimately Apple’s products — not their hype — need to be judged on their own merits.

Apple’s meticulously scripted marketing blasts are the stuff of Silicon Valley legend. After rumor and speculation builds across the Internet, the company sends out a cryptic email invitation to tease the product. That, in turn, is typically followed by a splashy extravaganza that culminates in a global first-day sales event across the globe that often has people lining up around the block days in advance.

“Past this launch, there isn’t really a killer new launch. I am sure they have got a number of products in development,” said Pat Becker, a portfolio manager at Becker Capital Management. “But once the phone is out, you will have all the price points covered, you have got the different carriers covered. To me, that’s’ a start toward reaching saturation in the phone market.”

(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in new York and Edwin Chan in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Lauria, Bernard Orr)

After iPhone’s debut, Cook must reposition Apple brand