Apple has released the new version of it’s mobile OS, so if your device matches the requirements (iPhone 3GS and up or iPad 2 and up) you can have it in a matter of … hours because the download speed is currently pretty slow. But still, we’re excited for the new features, especially Passbook which will create a completely new service for designers! Great stuff.

In case you don’t know how to update – go to Settings / General / Software update on your iOS 5.1 device.

So the rumors were true. The new iPhone is called the iPhone 5, it has:

• 4″ display
• 16:9 aspect ratio
• 1136 x 640 screen resolution

And unfortunately it also has those two stripes on the back – we get it – with full aluminum you won’t get the radios to work, but wasn’t the antenna on the outside now? iOS 6 update coming on September 19th.

Our initial views on the iPhone 5 are: Meh. It’s really not THAT exciting. And the only really exciting iOS6 feature is Passbook, because it opens a whole new real from designers and developers (and businesses). If it sticks it’s gonna change the industry big time. The rest of the OS is ok, but not really revolutionary. Panorama mode in 2012? Come on Apple!

Besides, one more thing is bugging me a little bit. The calendar app icon updates itself with the current day, but the weather icon doesn’t. It still has the sun and 23 degrees Celsius. That’s an inconsistency that is very unlike Apple.

It’s funny how the keyword for 2012 is not a smartphone, but an ecosystem. Both companies announced new products and bragged about their ecosystems. But they’re right. Tech specs are not as important anymore as they used to be. The most important thing is what you can do with a phone. By the way we’re really liking both Win Phone 8 and the new Nokia Lumia!

You can see the Nokia and Microsoft presentation at:
http://www.nokia.com/global/about-nokia/webcast/live/.

Clever!

The rumors didn’t even need to be true, because we had common sense and it really WAS obvious that Apple will unveil a new iPhone this fall. It was also pretty obvious that it’s either gonna be called “the new iPhone” or iPhone 5 since iPhone 4SS sounds kinda stupid. So lo and behold here’s the date – september 12th 2012. A few more months till the end of the world to enjoy the new, supposedly 4inch device from Apple. And the nice “5-shaped” shadow is giving away the name. Cool.

I wonder how doomsday 2012 apps will look on that larger display ;) But on a serious note, we’re pretty excited what will the killer feature be now. Siri update we already know of, so I’m guessing a better camera system, especially after the Lumia 920 presentation yesterday. This is by far the most tech-geek exciting month in a while.

We bet this will look great on the new device:

Nothing spells copycat better than 1 billion dollars in damages

So the “tech trial of the century” is almost over. The jury has reached a verdict, Apple is happy, Samsung will appeal and life will go on. Or will it? Maybe this is actually a good thing, that it wasn’t the full 2.5 billion Apple wanted. It could still be a big dent in Samsung’s budget and it could lead to trouble putting out new devices. 1 billion seems fair and at the same time maybe it’ll be a lesson not to copy other peoples work so openly.

This result will certainly influence other companies to do things differently from now on, so Apple’s slogan Think Different can also be a jab at it’s competitors. Design differently! Android will have to lose the bounce-back scrolling feature and some others, as judged yesterday. Too bad people got used to these over the years, but clever people from Samsung and Google will find a way to replace them. Maybe that’s when we’ll see true innovation.

What’s funny here is the fact that previous Apple arch-rival Microsoft is now laughing, that Windows8 looks so good right now, as a truly original mobile OS.

The birds are still chirping, the sun is shining, the air is as polluted as ever. So will Apple consume Samsung as seen above? Probably not.

The biggest tech trial in history is coming to an end as we speak. By reading the liveblog from the final statements I can honestly say that everyone’s trying super hard to prove a point and win those billions of dollars. Which is what would be expected. But what does this whole trial mean to the consumers?

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The death of mobile flash may have even more consequences than we initially imagined

Flash for mobile devices died a couple of days ago, and apparently there wasn’t a web-wide mourning vigil cast. Nobody cared. Most of the video sites are adding a HTML5 player now, so soon flash video will be gone too. Even Adobe has put out their own HTML5 authoring tools, leaving flash for desktop animation, presentations and e-learning. And for a while we would’ve thought it’s gonna stay that way. I mean Flash is definitely fantastic for making animated movies and clips. It’s also pretty good for presentations and e-learning solutions. But that last part might change soon too.

Most companies (including big corporations) that use e-learning solutions don’t really care what technology they’re using, as long as it works. And that worked out pretty well for e-learning delivery companies, because on most laptops and desktops Flash does work well. But there’s a slight change now, that apparently many of those content creation companies didn’t notice.

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Steve Jobs must be laughing hard now!

For a while there was an argument that the iPhone is inferior to Android devices, because they CAN run Flash. Nobody really cared that it was eating up battery like american kids are eating up fastfood. The sluggish performance didn’t matter either. It was as if Flash was awesome, and the lack of it on iOS was a real dread. Well apparently Steve Jobs was right in his open letter about Flash. The technology is now proven NOT RIGHT FOR MOBILE DEVICES. It took a few years for Android to realize that (or for Adobe for that matter) and tomorrow it’s being pulled from future OS releases.

The web will never be the same again… Oh wait, Flash usage on the desktop web has shrunk due to all that fuss significantly too :O

Microsoft is changing ... again

The name “Metro” was used to describe the colorful tiles and typography of the next generation mobile Windows platforms (at first, then came the redesign of the desktop experience as well). Well not anymore. Microsoft has been trying to quit using the name Metro for some time now, but without stating what the new name would be. And apparently the best choices are the simplest ones, as the new interface will just be called “Windows 8” from now. At least that’s what zDnet says.

I think it’s good. The metro name wasn’t really explaining anything, and the tiles do look like windows, so it fits, even if by a stretch. Besides it’s much simpler and better for the brand. Too bad that probable reaction of consumers to the desktop windows 8 might be a big disappointment for the Redmond company.