First look at iWork for iOS with iCloud support

Earlier this evening, Apple seeded developers with a new build of its iWork apps (Pages, Numbers, and Keynote) for iOS with support for iCloud, the company's new cloud service launching to the public this fall. In addition, Apple launched iCloud.com for developers to begin testing the web apps for the service, including the ability to view your iWork documents. 

Here is a first look at iWork for iOS with iCloud integration:

What does iCloud integration in iWork add?

• The ability to create a document on your iOS device and have it automatically upload to your iCloud account
• The ability to upload a document to your iCloud account and have it automatically appear on your iOS device
• Make changes to documents on either end and have them stay in sync with each other

Notes

• We were unable to find an option to edit a document on the web interface of iCloud, but you can expect to see it come sometime
• There is quite a bit of delay before documents are updated on either side - likely part of the beta
• When downloading the document from the web interface of iCloud, you have the ability to choose which format to save it in
• Nothing out of the ordinary: functionality is simple (nothing too special other than syncing)

Screenshots

What an October iPhone 5 Means

Yesterday, AllThingsD reported that the iPhone 5 will be released in October, contrary to earlier rumors pointing to a September launch. Now, a recent @markgurman tweet really got me thinking that a later iPhone release date would be better for consumers:

Obviously, I'm not taking this tweet as fact, but he brings up a great point that the next iPhone will probably be an iPhone 5, and not an iPhone 4S. The world's second largest company in terms of market cap would not take a year to simply put a new camera and a A5 dual-core chip in, arguably, their forefront product. I am led to believe that the next iteration of the iPhone will be a huge upgrade for a few reasons:

1) The myriad of Android superphones (e.g. HTC Evo, Galaxy S, Atrix 4G) with specs like 4.3 inch screens, dual-core processors and a gig of RAM are really starting to breathe down Apple's neck. The Android OS has 39% of the smartphone market share, compared to iOS' 28%, according to a recent Nielsen report.

2) Apple's will have about 15-16 months between revisions, giving plenty of time for its massive, talented staff to continue innovating. 

3) Droves of would-be Verizon iPhone 4 buyers have postponed their purchases for the iPhone 5. If Apple can please this group, they will continue grow the Apple halo, which will lead to more purchases on the Mac side.

4) Apple needs to please their fan base. 'Nuff said.

>Now, as for the specific improvements, I'm not going to claim that I know what's going to be released. However, I will say that 9to5Mac has indicated from leaked cases (which aren't always the best indicators of form factors) that the next iPhone will have a larger display while being thinner. That is in addition to a similar report by The Wall Street Journal that the iPhone will be "thinner and lighter", and will also have a dual-core A5 processor and a 8MP camera.

What improvements are you looking for in the iPhone 5?

Apple please enable “Gift this app” in the Mac App Store

For some time now applications in the iTunes App Store have had the ability for users to "gift" apps, in other words buy apps for people they may know. This feature is very handy for giving small gifts or just helping out a friend. However, the same capabilities are not there for applications in the Mac App Store. 

I would expect that most users have not used the "Gift this app" feature in iTunes or on their iOS device much, as I admit I have only used it a couple times. It is a nice feature to have whether it is buying a small gift for a friend or helping your grandparents first setup their iPad with essential applications. It is something to get them started on getting used to using the App Store. 

When Apple announced that Mac OS X Lion would released to the Mac App Store I was more than excited, this was going to make it much easier for me to help my family make the upgrade to Lion. Some of the members in my family aren't as technological as I am, they don't use all the features of an operating system and therefore don't think they need to upgrade there OS. The same things have come up with previous Mac OS X releases, some of the family didn't want to take the time to upgrade. Being the person I am, I'm always willing to help them out. 

On the release date of Lion the first thing I did was download and install the upgrade on my Mac. After exploring the new operating system for a while I thought I would go and buy a few more copies for my family using the "gift" feature. Open up the Mac App Store and check out how Lion is now the first thing that is featured, click on it. Great it says Lion is installed, obviously, so I click that arrow to bring up the small options menu, all I see are "Copy link" and "Tell a friend." Unfortunately, there is no "Gift this app" option that I hoped to use. 

So now I sit here stuck at the moment, I don't know exactly how I am going to my Lion for my family. Since there is no install disc for sale I can't just send it to them like usual. One option is to just buy them iTunes or Mac App Store gift cards with the appropriate credit on them. If I do that I am afraid they may just use that credit for music or apps though. For right now, that may be my only option.

Right now this is a problem for me, but I am sure others have had the same experience. This wouldn't only help sales of Lion, it would benefit other application developers on the Mac App Store in the same way it benefits them for iOS devices. In addition this would be the easiest way for someone to buy an app for somebody else, giving them the same capabilities as in the iTunes App Store. 

I ask Apple, please make available a way to "gift" apps, or buy apps for somebody else. The way it is implemented into iTunes is perfect, I am sure the same way in the Mac App Store would be perfect as well. It would be a good thing for everyone, yourself [Apple], customers and developers. For now I'll wait and give it a while until I buy three $32.04 App Store gift cards. 

Why You’ll Want to Jailbreak iOS 5

Apple is expected to release its highly anticipated update for iOS devices sometime this fall. The update will address many missing features in iOS 4. Apple claims iOS 5 will deliver 200 new features to the end user and over 1500 APIs for developers. Having tested some of the betas myself, I must say, it is a terrific update. The new features such as iCloud syncing, Notification Center, improved stock apps, and new system wide features such as dictionary and Twitter integration are much welcomed. Having said all that, I am a jailbreaker and I will definitely be jailbreaking my iOS 5 device when it is finally released. This is because, although many “missing features” have been addressed, they have not been perfected and not been developed to their full extent. Below I will discuss SOME of the new features in iOS 5 that jailbreak apps have been able to do for a while now and can still compete. 

Notification Center is not LockInfo

Notification Center is Apple’s attempt at delivering notifications in one common place and providing notifications to the users in an unobtrusive way. Many have questioned the approach’s similarity to David Ashman’s LockInfo. Having an extremely similar (although Apple-polished, of course) UI and activation method, Notification Center stacks incoming alerts one after another, also offering some widgets, just like LockInfo.What Notification Center fails to do is allow you to quickly attend to those alerts in a manner such that you will not have to leave your current app. LockInfo allows the integration of QuickReply so you can quickly reply to a text message and continue with your app without leaving it. If you have a new mail, you can Preview the mail in LockInfo without actually opening the Mail app, whereas Notification Center only allows you to see a few lines and must open the app to read the whole mail. Calendar events are also better integrated with custom alerts, colored calendars and status bar icons. While we’re at status bar icons, LockInfo offers status bar icons for unattended alerts so you know what type of notification is waiting for you.

Messages is not BiteSMS

Messages in iOS 5 gets a very minor update, with the addition of iMessage (which is big on its own) and the ability to pull down your keyboard when you don’t need it. It does not offer contact images, a faster technique of replying to messages when you’re not in the app, quick composing and sending of messages while out of the app, automatic retries on failed messages, scheduled messages, etc.; all of which BiteSMS does. BiteSMS has templates, auto forwarding of messages, delivery reports signatures and so many features that I can go on about as if I developed the app.

Accessibility is not Activitor

Activator is a handy system wide implementation that allows you to set certain gestures to do certain tasks. A very useful gesture I have set is holding the volume key up or down to change tracks, this helps when I have my iPhone in my pocket and am using non-Apple headphones. You can set gestures to launch any app, SBSettings toggles, or perform other hardware actions such as pressing the home button. Apple has implemented something somewhat similar but very limited, allowing you to do certain things such as mute, press home button and so on via Accessibility.

Settings is not SBSettings

SBsettings is an add-on that I was surprised Apple didn't have it's own version of in iOS 5. This tweak lets you change settings instantly from anywhere on your device. A simple gesture (which can be set using a Activator) brings up a slide down panel where you can set the screen brightness, de/activate toggles such as Wi-Fi, data, 3G, auto-correct and many more. It even allows you to remove all background process at once. There are also mini apps such as FastNotes, for quick note taking, and a calculator. These handy toggles and quick access are extremely useful when you are in the middle of something and don't want to go into the settings app just to change one thing. There is not even an alternative in iOS 5 to compete.

Themes, Fonts and iFile

I don't use themes on my iPhone, but there are some elegant themes that are purchased and used by many others. Ever since the iOS 2.x days, there were WinterBoard and SummerBoard to enhance the look and feel of your device. Now, themes are more advanced than ever, with widgets, dashboard-like apps, beautiful automasking icons and much more. Apps like Bytafont allow you to customize your font system wide and it offers a wide range of fonts as well. You can also separately change lockscreen fonts and keyboard fonts. iFile is pretty much Finder for your iDevice. This is something the iOS community has always wanted Apple to implement to the software but it has yet to do so. iFile allows you to view and edit elements such as codes and .plist files. It allows installation of .deb files and moving around of files and folders. Apple has absolutely nothing on the customization front in iOS 5.

All iOS pirates are jailbreakers but not all jailbreakers are iOS pirates.

Believe it or not but a high percentage of those who jailbreak do it for the wonderful hacks, tweaks, mods and apps that the Cydia Store offers, not to install illegally downloaded apps and games. This can be proven by the success stories of some of the Cydia Store app developers. Greg Hughes, who developed Wi-Fi Sync (before Apple), has made over $50,000 from his single tweak. David Ashman and LockInfo are also another example. This shows that jailbreakers are just looking to push the limits of their devices and are willing to pay for it. 

These are only very few of the features that jailbreaking offers that iOS 5 doesn't. For a normal user, yes, iOS 5 brings a way to handle notifications, better stock apps, and some widgets…but for a hardcore user or even someone who wants to push the limits of their device, this is not enough. There are a plethora of downloads available in Cydia that is useful to many and those features will not be found in iOS 5. Scrolling board, folder enhancer, barrel, mxTube, infiniboard, emulators, overboard, CyDialer, multifl0w, Safari Downloader, 3G unrestrictor, cyntact, and many more. Even with the iOS 5 betas, developers have already started going at it, with all the Notification Center widgets that are available. As time goes by and firmware updates are released, it is becoming evident that Apple is treating the jailbreak community as a huge unofficial R&D sector. With the emergence of Notification Center, Wi-Fi Sync, ability to use the device during sync, it can be seen that Apple is carefully monitoring the release and use of jailbreak apps and simply plucking out the popular ones and implementing it themselves into iOS. It is almost certain that, with the release of more APIs, the jailbreak developers will come up with more clever and useful tweaks in iOS 5, and it is more certain that some of those tweaks will show up in iOS 6 as stock features.

Facebook’s “Spartan” coming tomorrow?

All eyes are on tomorrow’s mega event from Facebook were it is expected to show off some “awesome” products. While it’s sort of given that Facebook will be unveiling its “Skype integration within Facebook” app, Mark Zuckerberg might surprise all of us by introducing “Project Spartan” (or at least giving the guests a sneak peak of what they have been working on for months now).

Project Spartan is a HTML5 based mobile application that Facebook is quietly developing to compete against Apple and Google in the app market. The name of the project is called “Spartan” because the third party app developers who are working very hard for this project are affectionately called “Spartans”. Sources say that the quality of the app is really amazing. Facebook might be planning to have this as a HTML5-based gaming platform.

We will have to wait and watch if they are going to let us know anything at all about “Spartan” in tomorrow’s event. But my gut feel says tomorrow’s event would be far more than just talking about Skype integration. If nothing we would at least get to see couple of iPad and iPhone apps getting released.

What do you think?

Google+: Its Influence and Impact

Google+, Google's new, invite-only social network, has generated much hype and excitement over the past few days. At this point, there is one obvious question:

How will Google+ impact Facebook?

In short, it will give Facebook its first legitimate domestic challenger since Myspace's rapid demise as a social network. Google+'s slick interface, abundance of features (Sparks, Hangouts), and simple method of sharing information selectively (Circles) will allow it to grow and become stronger once it becomes public. Personally, I like Google+ more: it's snappier, much more aesthetically pleasing, and is easier to set up if you already have a Google account. Google+'s advantages will force Facebook to cave into user's demands, and add new features. However, I see three potential problems stopping Google+ from becoming the next Facebook.

1) Facebook (unofficially) has 750 million users. Seriously, that number is near 11% of the planet's population. That's staggering. It'll take years/decades for Google+ to reach that, if ever. 

2) The audience that has allowed Facebook to become the dominant online social experience, the older, less tech-inclined demographic, would probably find it frustrating to have to restart the whole online social network all over again. Most will not want to have to keep two online personal social lives, so I think that it will be exteremely hard for Google to create a mass exodus from Facebook, when most are already on it. 

3) Almost all of Google+'s exclusive features are an update away on Facebook at Mark Zuckerburg's discretion. You can already replicate Circles by making a list on Facebook. Also, according to ZDNet, Facebook will launch a Skype-integrated, in-browser video chat on Wednesday, which would have similar functionality to Google+'s Hangouts. 

Overall, I think Facebook will not be threatened by Google+ when it becomes public. Also, the hype surrounding it already is starting to die down in the tech community, and the amount of time, marketing and resources it would take for Google+ to become as influential as Facebook is daunting. Don't get me wrong; Google+ is impressive, maybe even better than Facebook, but 750,000,000 is too great of a head start.

To learn more about the features of Google+, read the It's All Tech walkthrough by Ben Hollberg.

Inside Google+

For those of you who weren't so lucky and haven't received an invitation to Google+, we thought we might get you started with a little walkthrough so once that invite comes along your good to go.

As you can see "Home" looks very similar to Facebook. You see your stream, updates from other users you have in circles. On the left you can organize what you see by circle and chat with friends. Of course there is suggestions for new people, something not as useful right now since usage is very restricted at the moment.

There is also one big thing that Facebook lacks, the green button that says "hangout." A hangout in Google+ is a video chat, not necessarily video, you may do text and voice only if you'd like. It allows up to four people to join at a time. After trying out my first hangout last night I have to say that while it is fun and cool, the quality wasn't anything special. I was rather disappointed in the quality of the video and the freezing and lag that happened a lot.

The image above is like a navigation bar, it appears on most Google+ pages. Clicking on the Google+ logo and the Home button both take you home. The other three are Photos, Profile and CIrcles. In addition, there is a search function, which the moment isn't as helpful either.

Google+ uses circles to organize your connections. By default you are setup with Friends, Family, Acquaintances and Following. Of course you can create your own circles and add people to them just as easy as using the default circles. All organization is just drag and drop, extremely simple and will feel very familiar with most people. 

A profile in Google+ also looks very similar to Facebook, as you can see. While I haven't filled in all my information, the network has the forms for Introduction, Bragging rights, Occupation, Employment, Education, Places lived, Home, Work, Relationship, Looking for, Gender, Other names, Nickname and Search visibility. One feature that stands out is the places lived. Places lived allows users to drop pins on a Google Map to show others where they have lived, much better than just reading a list.

Of course in the profile of someone you can see the posts, photos, videos, their +1s, and for those few, Buzz updates. One interesting thing I noticed is that users as of right now cannot show their uploaded YouTube videos in the videos section of their profile. 

The photos section of Google+ shows a grid of pictures from everyone in your circles. A small chat bubble will show in the corner of photos that have been commented on. Clicking on a photo opens up the image in its full resolution with a rest of the browser shaded black. Arrows can help you navigate back and forth through pictures and the comment section is on the right. Users can easily click through different photos they want to see from four categories. Photos from your circles, photos from your phone (Android only), photos of you and your albums.

Although they will probably come soon, Google+ currently has no ads. Instead just a very clean interface. 

It's All Tech will continue to update this as new features and information is discovered. Readers please ask questions about other things you want to see in this Google+ writeup.

Hello world!

Hello everyone, my name is Lavan Ramach and I am the latest to join the It's All Tech team (thank you Brian and team). I am an engineering student living in Toronto, Canada and have been a tech enthusiast ever since I was a kid. Although I have used Windows for most of my life, I’ve owned all the iPhones since its first release and loved them all, especially of course, the iPhone 4. After using Apple’s mobile operating system, I was constantly told by my friends that Mac OS is very much like iOS, but a more advanced, desktop equivalent; that prompted me to make the switch. I bought a 2011 Macbook Pro in March and have been loving it since. Anyways, that’s me, I will be making posts here, mostly iPhone and Apple related, and you can ask me anything related to iPhones, iPod Touch, iPad, and jailbreaking, and more likely than not, I will be able to answer your question and help you out. You can follow me on Twitter here and of course It's All Tech here. I look forward to chatting with some of you and bringing you guys the latest in the tech world. Thank you!

Jimdo offers iWeb/MobileMe hosting users the ability to easily transfer their website

Jimdo, a company that builds software that allows ordinary users to create a website, emailed us earlier this week following news that Apple will be discontinuing iWeb, its website publisher tool, and web hosting through MobileMe in light of the iCloud announcement. In the email, Jimdo informed us of a new tool it's launching to help current iWeb users who host through MobileMe to transfer their content to Jimdo easily. 

We'll help you transfer your site to Jimdo, where you can be assured your site will be safe. After you transfer your site's content, you'll never have to worry about hosting again or a company where your website isn't the most important thing! Jimdo's just as easy, if not easier, to use than iWeb.

The process itself is quite simple: all you have to do is signup for a free Jimdo account and follow this tutorial to transfer all your information. 

If you get a chance to try out the service, be sure to let us know how it goes in the comments below!

The first six days with iOS 5 installed on an iPhone 4

This past Monday, Apple released the first developer preview beta version of iOS 5, the company's newest mobile OS for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. iOS 5 adds things like Notification Center, a one-stop-shop for all you text messages, emails, missed calls, etc., iMessage, a feature that allows messaging between iOS 5 devices, Newsstand, Reminders, system-level Twitter integration, and PC-free setup.

We at It's All Tech were lucky enough to install the beta on a Verizon iPhone 4 the day it was released and have been using it since. Overall, iOS 5 is a big improvement when compared to iOS 4. Apple took many of the things it knew was missing from iOS and integrated it into the new OS. Smaller things like custom vibration patterns for contacts and LED flash notifications are also coming in iOS 5, and are things the jailbroken community has had for years.

Many believe that Apple should have integrated these features into iOS much sooner than they actually did, and because of this, those people are calling iOS 5 a "catchup" to the rest of the industry. Personally, I have to agree with this. Simple features like location-based weather and notifications that don't interrupt you when you're in an app should have been there since the iOS 3 days.

But, without further ado, here are our thoughts on iOS 5 after using it for six days on our iPhone:

• Notification Center is a huge improvement. When you begin using the banners that appear at the top of the screen to notify you of something, you'll really notice how bad (or "not great" if you prefer) the current notification system in iOS 4 is. Notification Center has a slick UI, and the fact that it includes weather and stocks widgets makes it a little more informative. But, we'd still like to see some Wi-Fi on/off, Bluetooth on/off, etc. switches up top too, Apple.

• While we haven't gotten a really good chance to use iMessage, it seems nearly identical to BlackBerry's Messenger service (just with a much improved UI). I'm sure as more people begin to install iOS 5 on their devices, iMessage will be used much more, not to mention the fact that it's integrated seamlessly into the Messages app.
• Newsstand isn't a feature I see myself using a lot, but it's nice to have for some. I usually stick with reading RSS feeds, not magazines. For people like me who won't be using Newsstand all that much, I'd like to see Apple add an option to hide it from the home screen.

• Reminders is a useful app, but needs to be integrated more. The UI seems completely separate from the rest of iOS and Reminders as a whole would just make more sense to be integrated into the Calendar app on iOS. Location-based reminders seems like an interesting concept, if it works well.
• System-level Twitter integration is something I have been debating in iOS 5. While Twitter-lovers will surely enjoy this, I'm a little skeptical about it (for obvious reasons). Also, what if someone, like me, already paid for a Twitter app from the App Store? Apple requires you to use the official Twitter app for Twitter integration.

• The ability to use the camera from the lock screen has been very useful. Improvements like grids and easy access to HDR photos are welcome additions. There are a few bugs with this feature, but this is something you can expect in beta 1 software.
• PC-free setup: one word - FINALLY! Apple's been living in 2008 for the past three + years it seems. We're in 2011: we shouldn't need to plug our device into our computer to set it up. Wireless syncing, although not enabled in the iOS 5 beta yet, seems like it will be very useful for syncing on-the-go. iCloud and over-the-air software updates will surely complement this feature nicely.
• Mail: you can finally flag messages in iOS' Mail app. The poor Mail app in previous versions of iOS has surely kept some business users away from the platform. But, it seems Apple is finally realizing that Mail needs to be improved and they did just that in iOS 5. You also now have rich text formatting in Mail (like bold, underline, and italics). I'm not sure why Apple chose to integrate this only into Mail, but hope that will change in future beta releases.

Overall performance of iOS 5 hasn't been up-to-par with iOS 4, but isn't far off either. The same can be said for battery life. As you can expect, beta 1 has its issues and these things will be addressed in future beta releases to developers.

Did you have the chance to install iOS 5 on one of your devices? What do you think of it so far? Let us know in the comments below!

Apple has iTunes in the Cloud almost right

On Monday Steve Jobs announced just what iCloud does and how it'll work with iTunes. Currently iTunes in the cloud will let you see what you have purchased in the past and if you don't have it on a device, you can download it to that device. In addition, iTunes Match will look at your iTunes library and scan and match any songs you haven't acquired through the iTunes Store.

iTunes Match costs $24.99 a year to allow you to download songs you haven't bought through Apple. But some people have huge libraries of music, many too big for their iOS devices. Those people need something easier than this, they need music streaming so they can listen to music without filling their devices past the limit.

First let me clarify, I am not complaining. Apple working out deals for iTunes Match is simply amazing and will finally get artists the money they've been missing. What I didn't want from iTunes was a complete streaming model such as Google and Amazon use, that wouldn't work for me and many others. Just think about streaming everything, if your like me your away from 3G and WiFi a lot. I don't want to stream music on AT&T's EDGE network at my cabin, I am sure it wouldn't work out well at all. I wanted something where I still get a downloaded copy to keep, and Apple did just that. I am happy that I still get that, I am happy that Apple did what they did and can't wait to use Automatic Downloads more. What I want in addition to what's being offered is some type of music streaming.

There are many people whose music libraries could cross that 16 GB or 32 GB of their iPhone. For those people to have everything they paid for on the iPhone would be great. Once they are out of memory on their device they could just stream the songs they want to listen to. It would be much better than deleting and downloading again and again.

iTunes isn't just music, it hasn't been just music for a very long time. iTunes sells videos, mainly movies. While I have been able to download past music video purchases to be iPhone and iPad, Apple does not allow the re-download of movies. This is where streaming could come in handy, I can't fill my iPhone anymore, especially with movies. I simply don't have enough space. If iTunes in the cloud allowed me to stream movies I have purchases already I'd be more inclined to buy my movies from iTunes.

You all are probably saying I could just buy on my device or sign-up for Netflix. Netflix doesn't get movies very fast, especially new releases, and doesn't have everything. I could buy on my device but before I can watch I'd have to download it, assuming I had enough memory left on my device. Apple should just at least let me delete a movie, which you can do, and re-downloaded an already purchased movie again to my iOS devices.

Again I'll say, I am in no way complaining, iTunes in the Cloud is what I wanted but I wanted just a tiny bit more, the ability to stream music and movies would make it perfect for everyone. For now Apple has an excellent start and does cloud music way better than Google, Amazon and Microsoft have done.

Right now I am happy, and every iTunes customer should be happy. Apple did iTunes in the Cloud just right and has a great start but lets all just hope for a little more in the future. That next step, maybe that "one more thing."

“iOS 5″ makes the iPad more magical than before

Simon Pierro, the magician in the video above, isn't really showing us a beta version of iOS 5 running on his iPad, but it's still a fun watch. Without a doubt, Pierro makes iOS 5 on the iPad truly magical, in a way we could never think of.

Check out the video above!

[UPDATED] Everything we know and everything we still don’t know about Apple’s iCloud

Apple made the decision today to pre-announce what Steve Jobs will be announcing at the Worldwide Developers Conference 2011, taking place in just under a week. One of the things Jobs will be talking about at the opening keynote is what Apple is calling "iCloud." iCloud is simply Apple's name for cloud services - that's all the company is telling us about it right now.

It's expected that iCloud will allow users to play music from their iTunes library (and maybe other media too) from the Web, accessible from things like computers and iOS devices.

There has been a lot of rumors flying around about iCloud over the past few days and hours, so we've compiled a list of everything we know and everything we don't know yet:

What do we know?

• It's a cloud-streaming service! (surprise, surprise)
• Apple has worked out deals with at least three of the four major music labels
• There's going to be integration with iOS devices, as well as computers
• Will likely be somewhat integrated with MobileMe

What don't we know yet?

• Will it cost anything to use?
• How will Apple choose what songs to allow you to play (scan iTunes library?)?
• Will you be able to stream movies and TV shows too?
• How is iCloud going to be accessed (through the Web, an app)?

What do you think iCloud will be like? We're going to continue to update this article with further information that may popup in the coming days.

UPDATE: As we get closer to opening day at WWDC, more rumors about iCloud have begun flying around the Internet. First, a report from the LATimes claims that iCloud will cost users "about" $25/year to use. Apple is planning on offering users a free trial period of iCloud, which will work as expected: allowing customers who purchase content from the iTunes Store the ability to stream from supported devices like an iPhone or iPad.

Also, the report claims that "Apple would also sell advertising around its iCloud service." It's not clear whether the ads are going to be geared towards free customers or how they would appear (although we'd expect it to be something powered by iAds).

Next, according to CNET, Apple has finally signed a deal with Universal Music Group, which is likely the last of the four major music labels that Apple has worked deals out with for iCloud.

[IMAGE CREDIT]

A Visit to Apple Store 2.0

On Sunday Apple rolled out what some might call the next generation retail store. After an overnight shift for employees the Apple Store 2.0 was ready for customers.

The first thing you may notice when walking into an Apple Store is iPads. Not just iPad 2s but iPads selling products. Next to all the major inventory Apple has placed specialized iPads instead of the usual paper information card. Yes, there is even iPads selling iPads. They are all over the main tables for customers to see, they show prices, specs, comparisons and more. You can even have the iPad call over an employee for more assistance.

I said the first thing you may notice is the iPads, that is probably the only thing you'll actually notice. Lets remember, last Sunday was May 22, 2011, the weekend of the ten-year anniversary for the very first Apple Retail Store. That first Apple Store opened in Virginia on May 19, 2001 and a second opened later that day in California. It truly was a special day for Apple and they definitely did something about it.

The idea that customers can interact with these iPads next to products is something amazing. They have a great user interface that is easily adaptable to anyone and doesn't take any learning to use. The iPads can display so much more information than the usual paper information card it is remarkable. This can solve most questions that people may have about the product.

The iPads setup don't seem to be just regular iPads, the thing many people will try to do is press the home button. The home button on these display iPads doesn't do anything. According to some reports there is a special gesture that will allow the iPads to go back to the home screen but nothing is public, yet.

The next generation retail store, what does that exactly mean? I look at it like this, Apple has truly revolutionized its own stores but it could also do the same for others. Some other retail stores use Apple point-of-sale system already for transactions, so we know they can be friendly with other retailers. Will Apple start sending these information iPads to authorized third-party Apple resellers, why not? Beyond that, other retails may want to use Apple's system for products as well.

Think about shopping for your next TV and you have an iPad to interact with and compare just about everything with, you could even see reviews. Wouldn't this make shopping for that next TV easier than trying to read those tiny information tags on the wall. Even though Apple has store layouts unlike any other retailer that doesn't mean their new iPad system won't work elsewhere.

Last weekend while Apple employees were setting up the new stores Apple issued a note around to all of them. The note said that in ten years Apple now has 325 stores in eleven countries and have greeted over one-billion visitors. They don't want to focus on the past, they want to focus on tomorrow. They want to build new iconic stores and help consumers embrace technology even more, so they tell employees not to think on yesterday but to "continue to move forward. To make the most of tomorrow. And every day after that."

This is why last weekend was special for Apple and why it was time to introduce the next generation retail store.

How do Mac users differ from PC users?

The guys over at Hunch released a new info-graphic recently, this one going over how Mac users differ from PC users. Data was collected from 700,000 visitors to the Hunch website. Categories include food, fashion, personality, and others. Just to give you an overview: PC users enjoy tuna fish and hero and patty melt sandwiches, while Mac users enjoy hummus, Banh Mi, and Shawarma. See, food does solve everything!

Check it out below:

Apple Blacklists iPad 2 Buyers

At 9:00 PM local time I lined up at the Apple store at the Gateway in Salt Lake City, Utah to purchase two iPad 2s that would go on sale at 9:00 AM the next morning. I was informed by one employee that night that I would not be able to buy any more iPad 2s because I have bought some already before. Every single iPad 2 I have bought I have waited in line for, including a 21-hour wait last week. Every iPad I have bought legitimately with absolute respect for the Apple store and others in line. But since I have been such a great customer for this past week they won't sell to me anymore?

I still waited in line all night and in the morning I was still sixth in line, when the employees showed up they basically yelled at me for still being in line. They said in no way are am I getting an iPad 2. So I left to the car, after someone took my place of course. After all the iPads were sold I found out that some other people who have been there repeatedly are now banned as well.

So now I still want iPad 2s, I am willing to wait in line as long as it takes. I, however, can't buy them myself, neither can some friends. I know there is a limit of two per person and that makes sense, but it should be per day as well. I know they have rights to refuse service to anyone but why refuse service to their best customer since the iPad release, which I bet I have been. The employee said to me that waiting in line everyday to buy iPad 2s is unfair for the other people in line and that I am not permitted to buy more.

I don't understand why it is unfair for others when I get in line to buy more iPads everyday before everyone else and wait the whole time. That's how anyone else would do it so why can't I? In reality this is unfair to me. If others want to get iPad 2s then they better get in line before me. I'll be there again and again hoping they realize that I am a customer as well and just want to purchase some iPads.

I am writing this now just because I am mad, I'll admit that I still received iPad 2s today from some unknown employees of mine so those twelve hours were not a complete loss, but a loss of two additional iPad 2s. It just means that I will have to go again another day.

I am curious as to what others think of this, do you agree with me and think this is wrong of Apple? Why can't I buy as many as I want, a sell for Apple is a sell for Apple. Why can't I show up and be in line and receive my iPad that I waited for? I have been an Apple guy all my life and will continue but this doesn't make sense to me, why would you ban one of your best customers of the week? Seriously tell me what you think about this, I want to know what their thinking is.

Conan O’Brien mocks iPad 2

With every Apple product announcement, we expect a video from Apple showing the people who were involved in developing it, talking about the product. Along with that, we can expect late night hosts to mess around with the video, and end up with a parody of it.

That's exactly what Conan O'Brien did with Apple's latest iPad 2 video. O'Brien states that he believes Apple is getting "a little bit cocky" and gives his take on the iPad 2.

Video is below:

What I Want for iPad 2

The introduction of the second generation iPad is just one day away, I can't think about it without getting more and more excited about what new features it will have. Here are some of the things I am hoping for, please leave comments for other things you are waiting for as well.

Retina display

After using the retina display on the iPhone 4 I just find it hard to look at my iPad sometimes. A retina display on a device as big as the iPad would be just amazing, and would truly set it apart from all the current competition. Recent rumors have somewhat killed off the idea of a better display, which is sad, but don't lose hope.

Cameras

The cameras on the Motorola Xoom were one of the best features, it is a lock that the iPad 2 will have cameras, front for sure but hopefully back as well. Rumors suggested that even a Photo Booth app similar to the one on a Mac could make its way into the new iPad, I can still remember how fun it was to first use Photo Booth. In addition Apple wants to push FaceTime to as many things as possible, which is the main reason the new iPad will have at least a front facing camera.

Bezel

One of my main complaints about the current iPad is about the bezel around the screen, in my opinion it is just way too big. Just think how nice it would be to have an almost an edge-to-edge screen.

Price/Capacity

A big selling point for the iPad is the price, $499 for the 16 GB model. Let's hope that the memory gets bumped up so 32 GB will be only $499, that way it could compete with the Xoom more. I would gladly pay $599 for a 64 GB model just like I did for the original 32 GB model. Also Apple needs to stay away from contracts, one big thing about the first 3G iPad was that it was contract free and you could buy the service right on the device. I hope it stays that way for others, I like the WiFi only models better myself.

Audio

Watching movies and video on the iPad is wonderful, but the speakers are terrible. I can't watch a movie or even listen to music without headphones on my iPad. Apple needs to take a look at the amazing speakers on the Xoom.

iOS 5/iOS 4.3/Built-in apps

Ok so iOs 5, I don't think so, although there may be a preview tomorrow but the new iPad most likely won't ship with it. iOS 4.3, I hope it is released tomorrow. The current iPad doesn't come with all the native apps that the iPhone does, it reminds of when the first generation iPod touch didn't ship with them either but you had to purchase them instead. Apps that it needs to come with are Weather, Stocks, Clock, Calculator and Voice Memos. I can live without the Compass app for now, in reality it should just be merged with the Maps application on all devices. Better time keeping, more on that in "other".

Other

I wish the all models of the next iPad include GPS, having to set a city each time I use the Star Walk app isn't fun. In addition to lack of GPS the current WiFi only model suffers from a nasty time bug, many users report the time on their iPad is off. Mine is seven minutes fast, even after setting it manually some say it will switch back to off time after a sync. The 3G iPad does not suffer from this because it is communicating and updating with cellular towers and receiving time off them instead of keeping time manually. This should be an easy software fix where it could talk to time.apple.com once a day or so.

The iPad clock says 23:13, the real time is 23:05.

Live Event Streaming

Ok this doesn't really have to do with features on the iPad but considering most people won't be in San Francisco for the event on Wednesday let's hope Apple provides another live stream like it has recently.

Retina display and cameras would be my favorite new features if they were to come, but what are others waiting for? I hear a lot of talk about an SD card slot or USB port, I can understand a mini-USB but not really an SD card slot. Tell me in the comments what I may have missed or why you want an SD card reader, or even just plain why I am wishing for too much.

Clearwire is in cash trouble; throttling the reason?

Wonder why you haven't seen Clearwire or Sprint rolling out 4G to any cities lately? Clearwire and Sprint have merged, creating Clear's and Sprint's 4G infrastructure. Clear is in some serious cash trouble, and has not secured future funding.

They are implementing cost cutting measures, which include layoffs, and suspension of additional market roll-outs. Meaning Sprint isn't getting anywhere in this massive, bloody, 4G battle.

I currently am a customer of Clear's, and I can easily guess why Clear is cash-strapped.

Clear isn't completely Clear - I will admit, I can be quite a gullible person, meaning I can trust companies such as Clear. When I signed up, I asked the agent, and several other people if Clear throttled. They, of course said they didn't and told me multiple times that I would not experience any problems with speed, or my connection going down. Well, I believed them, and I signed up.

I have not had any problems with my connection dropping, but speed is a major issue. Clear promises a "super fast" connection ranging from 3-6 Mbps download, and Upload speed topping off at 1 Mbps, with no data cap. Their customer service reps neglect to tell a new customer that Clear will "manage" you.

They do it to provide an "equal experience for all customers."  I don't download much at all, no movies, just a few songs here and there, yet I am the target of their management system, time after time. When I call and complain, I get "It only lasts 3-4 days, you will be alright."  That just adds more fuel to the raging fire.

They say they throttle you down to about 0.25 Mpbs down. On my most recent Speedtest, I received 0.18 Mpbs down.

Now, this might not be the only reason Clear is steadily losing money, but I am sure it plays a major roll in it. Needless to say, I am actively looking for a new ISP, and this time, I am doing some research before jumping on the bandwagon.

As of right now, I will not recommend Clear to anyone. If they get something done regarding their throttling, and their horrible customer service, I would consider changing my opinion.

My One Hour with the Motorola Xoom

Note: This is not an It's All Tech official review of the Motorola Xoom.

The Motorola Xoom is hyped as the first real competitor to the iPad, mainly because it is the first Android tablet with an OS that was made for tablets.  The Xoom runs Android 3.0, named Honeycomb, has a 10.1-inch touchscreen, front camera, rear camera with flash, stereo speakers and a dual core processor.  Comparable the iPad has an OS that was built for it, a slightly smaller screen and nothing else mentioned above.

I traveled to the nearest Best Buy on launch day of the Xoom, I knew the store was sold out but I also knew they would let me mess around with a display unit.  I was thinking about it on the drive there, knowing that the hardware on this thing would probably make my iPad feel jealous, probably make me just crave the iPad 2 more.

As for the hardware, it lived up to the hype like you wouldn't believe.  The first thing I noticed was the screen, it was larger and seemed slightly crisper.  The first thing I tried out was the cameras, a 2 megapixel on the front and 5 megapixel on the back.  I always questioned whether taking pictures with a tablet would be very easy or even practical.  I found out that it is easy and extremely useful.  This is a big one for the Xoom, especially with Google Talk. Now users can video chat with another tablet or computer, something the iPad currently lacks.

I mentioned the screen was great, so how about video?  Unfortunately the store didn't have any preloaded video so I had to settle for YouTube clips which can't really show off a good crisp screen.  One good thing came from this though, speakers that I could actually hear, speakers that make me want to watch a movie.  I quickly moved to some music that was already loaded on the Xoom, strange music that I have never heard before, and it sounded amazing compared to the iPad.

The Xoom comes with a 1GHz dual core processor, also something the iPad lacks, unfortunately there isn't really I way I could test out speeds.  Going through the Chrome internet browser was fast but about the same as an iPad.  It had a video editing app that I tried out but it was way too hard to figure out for the moment.  Going between screens seemed to lag quite a lot, something that was totally unexpected with a powerful processor.

As mentioned before the hardware is awesome, something I hope the iPad receives in a future update that shouldn't be too far away.  The Xoom runs Google's latest release of Android, Android 3.0 Honeycomb.  According to Google, Honeycomb was designed specifically for tablets, and the Xoom is the first to use it.  I'm going to admit that I wasn't all that impressed with Honeycomb, but I'll also admit I am an iOS user who doesn't want an Android tablet.

Honeycomb looks nice and looks like it has a lot of potential in the future but for right now it seemed to have a lot of bugs.  For one the Maps application, which comes preloaded, crashed on me at least five times and wouldn't let me see anything in street view.  I also had other preloaded apps crash, even the browser did once.  In addition it has an interesting UI, home, recent application (I'm not sure what this is actually called) and back icons that I assume must always be onscreen, not bad but different.  The recent application icon opens to a view of your recently used apps but only shows the five most recent, the iPad shows many more. If you have more Android experience that I do then you should be able to understand the UI better. The UI on the iPad is easy to learn for almost anybody, I don't see this on Honeycomb.

Touch on the iPad is amazing, rarely do I ever touch somewhere but the device thinks I touched something else.  While using the Chrome browser I noticed that I would touch a link but sometimes another link would open up.  I believe this to be some kind of mis-calibration and should be easily fixed.  This also could have something to do with the slight lag while going through screens.

The Xoom also lacks in apps that are designed specifically for tablets, but so did the iPad at launch.  This shouldn't be a problem for users in the long run.  I still wish I could have tried out some third-party apps but maybe next time.

Price, price, price.  The Xoom is priced at $799, something so ridiculous that even the salesman at Best Buy agreed.  Although a comparable iPad with 3G would be $729 an $800 price tag is a lot of money for a tablet.  Consider also that you must buy a month of Verizon data just to unlock WiFi capabilities, I'm not joking about this.  Also consider that the Xoom will be upgradeable to 4G LTE for free in the future, which could make up for that $70 price difference. Verizon will subsidize the Xoom to $599 with a two-year contract, but seriously nobody should do that.

Can you believe how much I got out of just one hour, it didn't seem like an hour at all, the battery seemed to die right on time.  One employee joked to me that there is a time limit for playing with this thing, or maybe he wasn't joking. Even though the battery died, an employee told me it had been going through heavy use for 9.5 hours, which is impressive. In the end I see that $800 is too much for the Xoom, that to me is the deal breaker, in addition to an OS that still needs work.  Also consider the fact the iPad 2 should be just around the corner, I am going to wait and so should everyone that is in the market for a tablet. However, if you are an Android person that doesn't want an iPad then seriously consider the Xoom. It has the best hardware on the market for a tablet, the Xoom is truly the first real competitor to the iPad.