From Apple’s official release notes for the new version of iTunes:

iTunes in the Cloud. iTunes now stores your purchases in iCloud and makes them available on your devices anywhere, any time, at no additional cost.

• Automatic Downloads. Purchase music from any device or computer and automatically download a copy to your Mac and iOS devices.
• Download Previous Purchases. Download your past music, TV, app, and book purchases again, at no additional cost. Previous purchases may be unavailable if they are no longer on the iTunes Store.

Sync with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 5.

Wi-Fi Syncing. Automatically sync your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iTunes any time they’re both on the same Wi-Fi network.

I recommend grabbing the update as soon as possible, because trying to get it tomorrow when Apple’s servers are busy dealing with the demand for iOS 5 might not be nearly as easy. The latest version of iTunes requires OS X 10.5 (Leopard) or higher, as well as Safari 4.0.3 or later on a Mac, and Windows XP SP 2 or later.

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Before the latest update (the latest version is now 1.0.2.1966), the app wouldn’t even install on an iPad or iPod touch. However, while this version still isn’t Universal, so while iPad users will have to use pixel-doubling compatibility mode, it will install on all iOS devices running iOS 4 or later. The app is also much more stable, including on the developer preview of iOS 5, and removes a few bugs (like the inability to view Streams or Profiles) which cropped up in the previous version.

There are also some additional features in the Huddle section of the app. You can now hide or mute specific Huddles, so you won’t be notified of new messages in the conversation. Also added was the ability to rename a Huddle to make it easier to distinguish between conversations. Lastly, you can also decline an invitation to a Huddle from your device, and leave a Huddle you are participating in.

Anything we missed? Let us know in the comments.

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The lack of a proper native iPad client for Facebook has been a glaring absence ever since Apple launched the device last year. In the time between then and now, countless Facebook clients created by third-party developers have sprung up on the App Store, including current pack leader MyPad (which also provides access to Twitter, thanks to a recent update), but there is still nothing from Zuckerberg and co. at Facebook HQ, except for a response to a question that made it seem like the network’s website might be all iPad users could hope for.

I mentioned MyPad, and if you’re looking for an example of how the new app will work, that might be a good place to start (you can actually get the official version running on your device, but not without jailbreaking it first). Like MyPad, Facebook for iPad features a navigation column on the right with a dark background that provides you access to your messages, news feed, photos and more. But it also features a lot of elements borrowed from the site’s home page and a photos interface that looks like the native iPad Photos app. Other highlights include the frequent appearance of contextual pop-up menus, which should make interacting with your shared content and navigating your network quite iPad-friendly, and a Places section that displays a full Google map with visuals to go with your list of check-ins, all on one screen.

My own Facebook use dropped off considerably once I started using my iPad more and my MacBook less, which basically means I’ve used it sparingly for about a year and a half now. I’m not sure whether the delay of a native iPad app is because Facebook thought it could get by on its web presence alone or because it took the company this long to get it right. Whatever the reason for the lengthy oversight, the good news for users and Facebook alike is that iPad support is now likely only an update away.

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Analysts have begun their traditional pre-release Apple hardware predictions for the next generation of iPhone. It may have started a little later this year, but that only makes it all the more interesting, as we eagerly await Apple’s first iPhone refresh that will take substantially more than a year to arrive.

If Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore (via Fortune ) is right, the next iPhone(s) may well be worth the wait. Whitmore says the bank’s clients should expect two iPhones this fall, one a true next-generation iPhone 5 device, and the other an “iPhone 4S” that would basically resemble the iPhone 4 in most regards, but would be sold unlocked for use with pre-paid service for $349. Whitmore points out that this would be a smart move for Apple if the company wants to continue growing in emerging markets like Africa, Asia and Latin American, where pre-paid contracts make up the vast majority of all cellular service.

Whitmore doesn’t cite any specific sources for his prediction, and a lower-cost iPhone has long been a popular theme among Apple watchers and analysts, but this year is the first time Apple has given any indication it could have designs in that direction. Apple COO Tim Cook said in an interview with Bernstein analyst Toni Saccognaghi that Apple was indeed interested in producing cheaper hardware for customers who might have tighter budgets than the average current iPhone buyer. Apple also recently started selling the iPhone 4 unlocked in the U.S., indicating it’s at least interested in appealing more to the contract-wary customer.

Apple is already doing well in key emerging markets, like China, where it saw 250 percent growth during the company’s second quarter. That doesn’t mean it couldn’t stand to do better by embracing a sales model in keeping with what smartphone shoppers in international markets are more familiar with. Choice is still a primary driver of smartphone sales, which is why Android’s multi-vendor licensing model has proven so successful. Pre-paid is also on the rise as a service option even in the U.S., which means Apple could capitalize both at home and abroad with a device aimed at that growing category of users.

Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty made some predictions about the next iPhone over the weekend, reporting production of a new model should begin in the last half of August, with the intent to ship devices in late September. Such a timeline would make sense if Apple were revamping the annual iPod refresh, and instead making the iPhone the star of the show.

If Apple does have two iPhone hardware choices on offer come fall, one with more features but a higher price and tied to a contract, and one with older tech but a lower cost of entry and fewer strings attached, which would you opt for?

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Stock shortages and third-party retail inventory systems have traditionally been a fairly accurate barometer of Apple’s hardware refreshes, especially when an update is close at hand. Best Buy’s website revealed new MacBook Pro SKUs ahead of their official release, for example, in February, when the notebooks got updated with Intel’s new Sandy Bridge processors.

A MacBook Air refresh has been rumored for a while now, and part of the update is thought to be the inclusion of Sandy Bridge processor architecture. Intel recently unveiled new low-voltage Sandy Bridge chips, including a Core i5 1.7 GHz variety and two Core i7 versions, one at 1.7 GHz and the other at 1.8 GHz. Current MacBook Airs still use much older Intel Core 2 Duo processors, so the new Core series are a near-certainty for powering any new hardware.

Another change likely in store for the MacBook Air includes the addition of Thunderbolt, Apple and Intel’s new high-speed I/O port. Apple has been steadily replacing the Mini DisplayPort on its new Macs with Thunderbolt. This is because Thunderbolt can handle display output as well as data transfer functions and is compatible with Mini DisplayPort cables and adapters. Other possible additions include a FaceTime HD camera, something else that both the updated MacBook Pro and iMac got this year, and a switch to an AMD graphics processor, since Apple seems to be methodically cutting NVIDIA out of that part of its business.

An updated MacBook Air likely won’t arrive at this point before OS X Lion, which Apple has said will make its debut in July. People who purchase new Macs as of June 6 are eligible for a free upgrade to Lion, so Apple can save itself some money by just shipping new MacBook Airs with the new OS installed, instead of having to deal with the administrative costs of providing a refund. Both Lion and new Airs could ship as early as next week.

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No word on what specific changes have been made to the Mac App Store, but they’re probably designed to optimize the delivery of OS X Lion, which will be available exclusively through Apple’s official Mac software distribution channel as a 4 GB download. The fact that Apple mentions upgrade preparation specifically in the update notes for 10.6.8, combined with Lion’s announced July arrival time frame, indicates that this will likely be the last minor point update for Snow Leopard prior to 10.7′s release.

Other things the update offers include resolving a Preview problem that was causing unexpected applications quits, and a fix for importing some types of media into Final Cut Pro. Also, frustrated Lisbon-Portugal iCal users should no longer have a problem with timezones. Check out the full list of fixes and changes at Apple’s official support site.

Happy downloading, and as always, let us know if you encounter any problems with the update.

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Now any content available to be viewed in the Ustream iPhone application can also be viewed on the big screen or a connected projector, so long as you have an Apple TV to beam content to. That means the whole office can gather around the boardroom table to view a conference taking place halfway round the world, without the need for a more complicated computer setup. Users following online learning tutorials can also watch more comfortably from any display connected to their Apple TV, which could include a hotel room television, since the Apple media streaming box is only about the size of a deck of cards.

Ustream has also become a popular site for people to use for delivering entertainment content, like the bizarre Sheen’s Korner, from actor Charlie Sheen, or smaller productions from enterprising amateurs like Nat&Marie. AirPlay support adds another way for users who are looking for alternatives to traditional cable programming to get content to their living room, without the need for expensive HTPC equipment.

The app also boasts a lot of bug fixes, according to Ustream, so hopefully that will address some of the other issues people have been reporting about an inability to load many live streams. I’m looking forward to being able to tune in to conferences without having to either be glued to the computer or hunched over my iPhone or iPad. Do you think this will have any effect on your viewing habits, educational or otherwise?

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DigiTimes has found that primary suppliers for the MacBook Air will remain the same, and that both the 11.6- and 13.3-inch models will continue to be produced. The source of the info is said to be “makers in the supply chain,” although none would go on record since Apple never reveals info about future product releases early and wouldn’t be too pleased with its suppliers doing the same.

Rumors that Apple would be introducing a refresh of the new MacBook Air, which received a major overhaul in October of 2010, have been circulating for some time now. Some suspect a new Air could be unveiled at WWDC this year. Another possibility is that Apple is planning to launch it alongside the official public release of OS X Lion, the next iteration of its Mac operating system. Lion has a lot of features that make the Air the perfect platform for showing it off, like the ability to resume state on power on, and auto-save features that make the most sense in a mobile computer.

A new Air within the next couple of months also makes sense because it sets up Apple’s computer line-up for the third quarter of 2011, which is when computer-makers traditionally see their peak volume for the year. The MacBook Air has, by all accounts, been a success since its redesign last year, but it still uses an Intel Core 2 Duo processor. Upgrading to the Sandy Bridge platform will provide better power usage, better graphics and better performance, and make the Air much more attractive to back-to-school notebook buyers.

The MacBook Air is the most exciting product in Apple’s Mac line, in my opinion, and I think a well-timed update that coincides with the release of Apple’s most significant operating system update in many years is a recipe for success. An update like the one described in this new report is definitely in the pipeline, and this timeline does make a lot of sense. Anyone putting their money down if this does come to pass?

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As promised, the update changes the iOS location database file in the following ways, according to the update documentation:

• Reduces the size of the cache
• No longer backs the cache up to iTunes
• Deletes the cache entirely when Location Services is turned off

In addition to location fixes, BGR reported that an early build of iOS 4.3.3 also included battery life improvements and fixes for the iPod music player. Apple seems to have moved very quickly to get this update out in order to allay customer concerns regarding location tracking. Has the company done enough to satisfy any worries you may have had?

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I’m on record as being somewhat underwhelmed by the MacBook Pro update, because the changes didn’t address my needs in a mobile computer, which include better battery life, improved display quality and instant-on capability. Those same updates in a desktop machine are a different story altogether. As an inexpensive workhorse, the iMac stands to gain quite a bit from faster, stronger guts and new connectivity options.

According to the report, which stems from Cnet’s Brian Tong, who heard the news from a reliable source, the new iMacs will be shipping soon in advance of an early May launch. As I mentioned above, they include Intel’s Sandy Bridge chip processors and the new Thunderbolt port, which was developed by Intel working with Apple and provides high-speed dual-channel I/O communication in addition to DisplayPort connectivity for external monitors. The update will be the first since the iMacs got Core i3, i5 and i7 processors last July. Tong also reports that the iMac will get no major cosmetic changes with this update.

The improvements in iMac speed and processing power are in line with what we’ve seen from MacBook Pro benchmarks and will be a welcome upgrade. iMacs also have the benefit of being less concerned with power consumption, so in theory, they should beat their portable rivals on most measures. All that extra power will really come in handy for processor-intensive desktop computing tasks like long video-encoding sessions and outputting complicated animation.

Thunderbolt, which currently doesn’t really provide much to MacBook Pro owners (the accessory ecosystem, with a few exceptions, has yet to really embrace and make good use of the standard), should find a better and more useful home on the desktop, too. It’ll be easier to set up semi-permanent hard drive arrays for backup and additional storage, and as camera manufacturers adopt the tech (Canon at least has suggested that it will), the iMac will become an even more attractive option for professional and advanced amateur video editors. Overall, Thunderbolt is a tech that makes more sense on a stationary computer that can take advantage of its high-speed, high-fidelity transfers during long and complicated tasks.

Maybe it’s just me, but I never find myself being terribly concerned over the sluggishness of my laptop the way I do my desktop. That’s probably because I use my iMac to do all the heavy lifting, and keep the MacBook light and breezy. My iMac is about due for an upgrade, too, so I’ll likely make an investment when the update comes down. What about you?

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Are You Looking at Me?

The new iPad will have FaceTime support via a front-facing camera. If it doesn’t, I will eat my hat. Apple is all about FaceTime, and I’m fairly sure the only reason the first iPad didn’t have it is because Apple wanted that to be an iPhone 4 launch feature, and the company knew full well that in a year’s time, it would become an upgrade incentive for original iPad owners. Whether the iPad will have a rear camera as well is less certain. It would help keep the device on par with Android hardware, and Mark thinks it could come in handy for business users. On the other hand, I think most users probably wouldn’t take advantage of it much, and Apple isn’t known for doing things just because everyone else is doing it.

You Look Familiar

The biggest question mark surrounding Apple’s new iPad is probably the display. Will it be double the resolution (2048×1536), as some early rumors speculated? Or will it remain exactly the same, as more recent murmurs indicate? I think the iPad 2 will have a similar screen to the original, but with quality improvements that don’t change the resolution but nevertheless affect the look of the screen. Whether it’s better contrast, brightness, viewing angle or screen depth, we’ll see something that makes the iPad 2 visually pop, but Apple won’t go Retina Display with this revision. The iPhone’s screen remained relatively the same until the iPhone 4, after all. It can afford to keep the same quality of display in place for one more year, especially if it continues to beat all others when it comes to price.

Have You Lost Weight?

The iPad 2 will be thinner than its predecessor. Apple loves to do this with its portable devices; the iPod touch is a perfect example. Apple will have refined the design of components to allow for a thinner case. We might also see a thinner bezel around the screen, allowing for a smaller overall surface area, but the screen will almost certainly remain 9.7 inches. Apple won’t reduce the size of the bezel by too much, though, because the iPad still can’t be held comfortably with one hand without putting a finger on the front of the device. Some suggest a carbon-fiber body might be on the way, but I’d wager that Apple will stick with an aluminum back for this model. BGR this morning posted what it claims might be a picture of the next iPad’s back casing. The casing pictured appears to replicate the design rumors that have been floating around, with a flat back and more prominent speaker, so I wouldn’t be surprised if this is, in fact, what we get.

Have You Been Working Out?

Apple will make sure the next iPad gets improvements under the hood, even if it doesn’t go overboard and throw in dual-core processing or tremendous amounts of RAM. Recent rumors suggest that it’ll get an upgrade to a more powerful processor, an A5 to succeed Apple’s in-house designed A4, which currently powers the iPhone 4 and the iPad. At least 512MB of RAM is also pretty much a guarantee. Don’t be surprised if Apple keeps these changes relatively modest on paper, though. The key to iPad’s success is, after all, how well it performs in the hands of users, something more muscle-bound machines haven’t yet been able to match.

There’s a Certain Something About You

All of the above items are what we can pretty safely expect to see, but none of them will really bowl over customers the way Apple likes to with new iterations of its devices. FaceTime is a big addition from Apple’s perspective, but consumers at this point will be shocked only if it isn’t there. Instead, there are a number of possibilities for something new that really shakes things up.

There are three likely possible wow factors for the iPad 2 in my opinion. The first is the inclusion of a Thunderbolt port. Many early case prototypes for the new iPad feature a space for a port that’s too small to be USB, and was originally suspected to be for Mini DisplayPort. Apple showed it was serious about Thunderbolt by including it in the new MacBook Pros it introduced last Thursday. It makes sense for iPad, because it could make for ultra-fast syncing and data transfer between the iPad and new Macs, rewarding customers who embrace both of Apple’s computing platforms. And even for those who don’t, Thunderbolt on the iPad could be used for simple, single-cord A/V out to connected displays. I think this is possible for this generation, but it’s more likely Apple will wait until Thunderbolt has more presence in its Mac line before we see it go portable.

Second, Apple could introduce iOS 5 alongside the iPad, with additional, device-specific features that are only available to customers who pay for the hardware upgrade. Maybe these could be the oft-rumored NFC features many think are on their way to iOS devices, or AirDrop capabilities like those in the new OS X Lion developer preview that allow for easy, fast device-to-device direct file transfer. This seems like the most realistic wow factor candidate for this generation of hardware.

Finally, the new iPad could come with a price reduction. Apple is already leading the tablet pack when it comes to the cost to consumers, but even a $25 drop would do a lot to solidify that position and overshadow a relatively modest, evolutionary hardware update. Apple has been making the iPad for a year now, so presumably it’s been able to reduce production costs along the way.

Those are my expectations going into Wednesday’s event. What are yours?

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Few Brand New Bits With Limited Use

The MacBook Pro actually introduces very little that we haven’t seen before. The big two new additions are the new Core i5 and i7 processors that use Intel’s latest Sandy Bridge processors, and Thunderbolt, the DisplayPort-integrated fast data transfer connection tech that can manage dual channel transfers of up to 10Gbps per channel.

Apple says the new version of the 13-inch MacBook Pro is “up to twice as fast” as the previous generation, and Thunderbolt is definitely a technology with plenty of promise. But speed bumps are going to come with every major update, and Thunderbolt, while it has promise, doesn’t connect to anything as of yet (besides maybe other Macs and DisplayPort monitors).

No Change Where I Need It Most

I use a mid-2009 13-inch MacBook Pro as my mobile workstation, and from the updates I’ve seen today, there’s nothing that Apple included that would affect the areas where improvement would have the most pay-off.

Occasionally, I admit I could use a little more processing muscle when it comes to having tons of applications open, including Photoshop, but generally speaking, I’m happy with the notebook’s speed and performance. What I’m not happy with about my machine are exactly the things that this update fails to address. Specifically, I’m talking about battery life, display options and improvements, and physical footprint.

The new Pros all offer seven hours of battery life. That probably adds up to a bit more real-world usage than previous models, despite shorter life claims, thanks to Apple’s more honest testing methods. But it doesn’t provide a significant boost to the life of previous built-in battery Mac notebooks, which is something that would definitely have me rushing out to the nearest Apple Store, since the ability to work untethered is still the prime motivating factor behind owning a laptop in my opinion.

Because notebooks are portable, you make tradeoffs with regards to the display. Screen real estate is limited, and things can get pretty cramped pretty quickly if you’re using a lot of apps at once. But Apple appeared to be making considerable strides in this area, since the MacBook Air it unveiled late last year offered a generous 1440×900 resolution display on the 13-inch model. Yet the new 13-inch MacBook Pro keeps the same 1280×800 resolution as previous generations, and doesn’t even come with a matte screen option, unlike its bigger siblings. Better resolution screens are destined for the platform, but they aren’t here yet.

The design of the Pro’s enclosure also remains the same. It’s a fine design, and one that I quite like, but it’s getting fairly long in the tooth and I think Apple could make major improvements by borrowing from the MacBook Air. We’ll likely see weight loss and a slightly slimmer machine with the next major revision of the platform, which at this point seems bound to be just over the horizon.

Transition Phase

In my opinion, these MacBook Pros represented a stopover on the way to something truly great. The next generation will likely boast all the improvements (speed bumps, Thunderbolt, etc) we’ve seen today, but be optimized for and ship with OS X Lion (and may include bigger trackpads to support its new multitouch features), and introduce more advancements in battery and screen technology. Plus, we’ll likely see an improved MacBook Air that inherits plenty from this generation of MacBook Pro, which might be a better option for lighter users. Finally, by the time the next update rolls around, we’ll have a better idea of what to expect from the Thunderbolt-capable device ecosystem, and Apple will have worked out any kinks that may appear with that brand new tech.

The MacBook Pro is a great buy with awesome specs at a good price, but if you don’t have an urgent need and you’ve only recently upgraded, take my advice and hold out for better things yet to come.

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Connecting Apple TV to Your Computer

1. First unplug your Apple TV. Unplug both the HDMI capable attaching it to your home theatre setup, and the power cord. If you’re using an optical audio cable to connect to an A/V receiver, disconnect that, too.
2. Now plug your Apple TV into your Mac, using a Micro USB cable. These ship with a lot of accessories with internal batteries these days, but if you don’t have one, you can grab one very cheap at Monoprice.
3. Open iTunes if it isn’t open already. The Apple TV should appear in your source menu.

Now that you’ve got your Apple TV connected to your Mac, there are two options depending on what you’re trying to do.

Update Your Apple TV

1. Get the latest firmware using a direct download link. These are usually pretty easy to find using a Google search. Here’s the link for the latest software (4.2) for Apple TV as of this writing. It should be a “.ipsw” file.
2. Option+Click the “Restore” button on the Apple TV screen in iTunes. A dialog box will open asking you to specify the location of the Apple TV software file you downloaded in Step 1. Once you select the file, click “Choose” to continue.

Restore Your Apple TV

1. Simply click the “Restore” button in iTunes on the Apple TV screen.
2. iTunes will ask you to confirm, so click “Restore and Update” to continue.

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The new Collections features allows you to organize your books and PDFs into custom, user-created categories. To get started with Collections, tap the button formerly used to switch between Books and PDFs at the top of the iBooks interface, and you can create new collections or edit ones that already exist. On the iPad, there’s a Collections button next to the one for the Store. Moving titles to collections is as easy as tapping the Edit button on the shelf where they’re currently displayed, selecting the books or PDFs you’re interested in rearranging, and tapping the Move button. PDFs and e-books can intermingle in the new categories, and your Collections automatically sync over-the-air if you have multiple iOS devices with iBooks installed.

Using AirPrint, you can now send PDF documents and any notes you’ve made in iBooks (though not e-books themselves) directly to an AirPlay-enabled HP printer, or to any printer if you have Printopia or another workaround in place. You can also email PDF’s and notes if you don’t have an AirPlay-compatible printer.

New, enhanced, illustrated book support will let you enjoy eye-catching art books, coffee table titles and children’s books in a way that might actually be better suited to photo-rich works than paper, since iBooks can present a vista unbroken by a traditional book’s spine.

Finally, little changes like the introduction of an automatic hyphenation option, and slight changes to the colour of the woodgrain texture in both the app icon and the shelves it uses to display e-books and PDFs show that Apple is dedicated to making the iBooks reading experience as pleasant as possible. Probably a good idea in light of new competition entering the fray.

iBooks 1.2 is live now in the App Store, but be warned that some users are reporting early bugs with this version. I haven’t had any trouble so far, but I haven’t yet done very extensive testing. Let us know how you’re finding the update (and the new features) in the comments.

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For those keeping track, the build number on the Apple TV is 8C150, and you can either use the Update Software function in your Apple TV’s Settings>General menu to download and install the new firmware, or get it directly using this link (download file). Updating through your Apple TV is likely the best method for most users, and by far the simplest. Mine completed quickly (around 15 minutes, start to finish) and without issue.

The update also brings new VoiceOver features with selectable reading speeds. You can find the new features under the Settings>VoiceOver menu. It works just like you might imagine, with a computer-generated female voice telling you exactly where you are as you navigate through the Apple TV’s menus.

Stay tuned for more later on how AirPlay streaming works with the new update, or let us know about your experiences in the comments.

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New to All Devices

AirPrint. Wirelessly print photos, docs, email and even entire web pages directly from your iOS device. Unfortunately, you’ll either need an AirPrint-compatible printer or third-party software to accomplish this as of the last few iOS 4.2 pre-release builds.

AirPlay. Wirelessly stream audio and video from your iOS 4.2 device to AirPlay-enabled speakers, receivers and the Apple TV. This works just like AirTunes did with Apple’s Airport Express mobile wireless router, but now includes video, and Apple’s made the tech available to third-party device manufacturers.

Find My iPhone. As revealed this morning, Find My iPhone is now available free for all iOS device owners. You can do it right on any latest gen, iOS 4.2-running device, but even those with older hardware can enable the feature. The only limitation is that you have to create your free MobileMe account on an iPhone 4, 4th-gen iPod touch or iPad first, before you can login to MobileMe with older devices.

Notes with Fonts. Change the font in notes from Marker Felt to either Chalkboard or Helvetica, a much-needed relief for the design-conscious.

Find Text on Web Pages. Search for terms within the page you’re currently viewing in mobile Safari using the search field at the top of the browser next to the address bar. This is a really useful feature, and one that makes so much sense you’ll quickly forget it was ever missing.

New Dock Controls. Double-tapping the home button now brings up the tray of open applications on the iPad, and swiping left will bring you to a panel of controls with additions on all devices, including a brightness dimmer, volume slider and AirPlay output selector.

New for iPad

Multitasking. The latest update for iOS brings Apple’s multitasking implementation to the platform. That means your apps will be able to resume right where you left off if they’re setup to support fast-switching. Audio can also now play in the background, some tasks like uploading or downloading content can complete while the app is closed, and you can get local push notification from on-device software.

Folders. Thank goodness folders are finally here for the iPad. I got so used  to using them on the iPhone, it felt like going back in time when I’d boot up the iPad and find myself wading through screen after screen of app icons.

Game Center. Track your achievements and view leaderboards for GameCenter-enabled games. If a game works on both the iPhone/iPod touch and the iPad, achievements will show up in both places.

Unified Inbox and Threaded Messaging. All your messages in the same place, and with threaded messaging that keeps track of email chains so that you don’t have to go hunting around to find out what the last reply in the sequence was. Great news for the iPad’s Mail app, which is so much more usable than the iPhone version.

New for iPhone

Messaging Customization. There are now 17 new alerts to choose from for text messaging, and you can now assign custom tones for people in your Contacts, so that you can tell right away who’s messaging you without looking at your device.

Anything we’ve missed? Share your own findings in the comments.

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