The molecules of the aluminum merge together, Apple says, with Friction Stir welding, a new technique that makes this machine seamless. A newly engineered body contains a brand new set of technologies that take what the iMac 7th generation accomplished and pushes it to a whole new level. There will be at least two models available from Apple, those being the following:

21.5 inch 1920 x 1080 display
25 inch 2560 x 1440 display

These units will be working with a lovely IPS display with a 178 degree viewing angle and 300+ nits brightness. These units have a full lamination design, a brand new bit of technology called Plasma deposition – of course this is a whole lot of testing that leads to 75% less reflection on the display than before. Each of these units has been individually calibrated by Apple by hand as well.

The back of these devices have a headphone port, four USB 3.0 ports, two Thunderbolt ports, and an Ethernet port – check the Apple portal for full pricing on this device as well as the rest throughout the day!

While these numbers aren’t unknown, and we’ve heard plenty already regarding numbers, it’s nice to hear it right from Apple’s own Tim Cook. Confirming that they sold over 5 million iPhone 5′s just on the opening weekend. Selling out faster than any iPhone to date, and being the fastest selling phone in history.

We’ve been watching the numbers, and reported on these numbers back in September, and you can read more about their 23 iPhone 5 sales a second. Pretty impressive numbers right?

The folks from Apple followed that up with a neat video showing some of the massive excitement, crowds, and families that lined up around the world to get the latest and greatest from Cupertino. Below are a few photos from Apple’s video showing the excitement of launch day. In case you somehow missed it, check out our iPhone 5 Review. Stay tuned right here for all the news coming soon about the iPad mini and more.

With a 10AM PST start time we’ll be off and running with all the news you can possibly handle right here in the SlashGear main news feed and in our fabulous Apple portal. There you’ll see the iPad mini along with refreshes – rumored, mind you – of the Mac mini, iMac (probably not), Retina MacBook Pro (that being a 13-inch iteration), and more! Software will include a slightly updated iOS 6.1, updates to iBooks and other odd Apple-made apps, and a push for more.

Have a peek at a couple panorama shots we’ve got here from inside the theater that the Apple event is taking place in right this minute as well. You’ll see no lack of iPhone 5 units and Apple-made products of all sorts in hands and popping out of backpacks. Expect the stage to bring on a whole new wave of updates – check the timeline below for a few last-minute possibilities and stay tuned all day long!

This update has three new updates to the Mac mini lineup, each of them leaked to 9to5mac. The first of these is a 2.5GHz dual-core processor toting machine with 4GB of RAM and a lovely 500GB hard drive. The second has a a quad-core processor clocked at 2.3GHz with 4GB of RAM once again and a hard drive that’s twice as nice at 1TB. The Server edition comes in at 2.3GHz quad-core with 4GB of RAM and a massive 2TB hard drive.

• 2.5 GHz dual-core, 4GB RAM, 500GB Hard drive
• 2.3 GHz quad-core, 4GB RAM, 1TB Hard drive
• Server: 2.3 GHz quad-core 4GB of RAM, 2TB Hard drive

The pricing on these devices has not yet been revealed. Expect each of these units to be available later today more than likely. Word has it that these Mac mini device will be working with 2x2GB stock RAM, but upgrades will be available from Apple up to 16GB – massive! Stick around for the main Apple event to find out the full run-down as Apple makes it all clear.

You can get all the Apple action from SlashGear via our massive Apple portal with full feature selection, including reviews and run-downs!

This new iPad mini device has been shown several times as coming in 24 iterations, that being wi-fi, 3G, and 4G LTE in several internal storage sizes, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB. The extra 12 comes from there being two different color combinations – white and black. This new iPad mini device will likely have a 7.85-inch display and a Lightning connector like the iPhone 5 and new iPod devices as well.

The iPad refresh – that being the Retina-display-toting 9.7-inch display on the 3rd generation model, will likely be coming with a Lightning connector and an improved processor inside. This update will allow the tablet to remain on top of the performance scale while the price remains the same across the lineup. The iPad mini will take a stab at the ever-so-slightly smaller-sized tablet range that’s currently dominated by the Kindle Fire and the Google Nexus 7, both of them priced at or below $200 USD.

We’ll be at the Apple event on the 23rd – that’s Tuesday, and we’ll be live coming at you from the SlashGear Live portal for liveblogging action all day long. Expect plenty of photos, videos, and instant updates. Also feel free to check out our Apple portal for all sorts of Apple updates before and after the event – and during it also, of course.

These refreshes have also been tipped to be coming with some upgrades, of course, including a Mac mini with 16GB of RAM included in two RAM slots and a denser machine overall. That’s not to say much for the weight of the machine, but the insides will certainly be jumping at leaps and bounds while the size of the unit stays relatively similar to past models. This update has the Mac mini finally able to join the official Apple ranks – rather than just 3rd party modified sales ranks – with its 8GB configuration replaced with 16GB of RAM for the standard edition.

The Mac mini may well have 32GB of RAM then with higher grade models, with four slots for RAM still being the situation on the innards. This boost has separately been tipped to be coming in at a thinner profile than before, strangely enough, this ringing true with the theme of the event, Apple showing us “a little bit more” as it were.

The iMac on the other hand will be keeping its height but reducing its thickness, with a bit of a teardrop design making this all-in-one sort of machine small as it is gigantic. The iMac has been tipped as having a price increase as well, so we’ll see whose reports add up in the end. Size reductions add to the possibility of there being a 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro as well.

We’ll be live at the Apple event on the 23rd of this month – that’s next week – so stay tuned and make sure you’re ready for lots and lots of action. New hardware primarily is what we’re expecting, but we could very well see some software boosts as well – we shall see!

This event will likely center around an update to the whole Apple range, with the iPad mini coming with a Lightning connector and a refreshed iPad coming with Lightning as well. There have been several other rumors surrounding this event including a new 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro that’s essentially the same as the one released earlier this year – but smaller. It’s not that Apple wants to get tiny here in the Autumn of 2012, but they’re certainly not going to let the competition swipe their legs out from under them.

Apple has over the past year concentrated on becoming thinner and sharper, with the iPhone 5 becoming taller yet smaller and the Retina MacBook Pro getting smaller as it gets much higher definition in its display. This event will steal some fire away from Microsoft simply based on its timing as well with the release of Windows 8 set for the 26th of this month.

Have a peek at the timeline below to track what we’ve heard and been tipped on for the iPad mini over the past few weeks, and stay tuned for the final event as well. We’ll be on-site with all the coverage you could possible want from start to finish right here on SlashGear!

The iPhone 5 will be reaching 100 countries on 240 carriers soon and will be working with a “dramatically simpler” iTunes for all your media needs. The iPhone 4 was announced to be taking the place of the iPhone 3GS as the Free segment of the iPhone family while the iPhone 4S has been pushed down to $99 USD range at just one size – 16GB. The iPhone 5 sits therefor at $199, $299, and $399.

The iPhone 5 will be working with Photo Stream as its own social network for photos. You’ll find three microphones on the iPhone 5 for HD recording galore. The way you’ll connect your iPhone 5 to any other device (aside from wirelessly) is with the Lightning dock connector, 18 pins of reversible glory connected with USB.

There’s a lovely new 8 megapixel camera under the hood with enhanced abilities and a thinner profile. The 4-inch Retina display up front of the new iPhone is just as wide as the iPhone always has been, this allowing you still to be able to work with it with one hand. This device is, again, the “world’s thinnest smartphone” at the moment, and you’ll find several of your favorite LTE carriers working with the iPhone 5 in the near future.

You’ll get the newest A6 chip in the new iPhone 5 with twice the performance in both CPU and graphics. And of course we’ve got our first iPhone 5 revealed post up for your perusal as well – hands-on with the iPhone 5 coming up soon!

The display is 2.5-inches large on this device and is a touchscreen as well. It comes in 7 different colors and appears very much to be working with a user interface all its own – iOS, sort of, but a bit more tuned to this size. This device comes with an FM tuner integrated as well as “live pause” so you can listen to your favorite show over and over again.

Video is also coming back to the iPod nano with “widescreen video” ready for action right out of the box. This means that videos you purchase from the iTunes Store will be using “every single pixel”. This device comes with the “The longest battery life we’ve ever had in a nano” and works with the new Lightning connector introduced this week as well – and Bluetooth to boot!

This news came aside numbers that showed the iPod lineup to have sold 350 million units since the beginning, with the entire iPod lineup still being a set of devices that Apple loves and cherishes – so to speak. Stay tuned to our Apple portal for more information on the devices and services we’ve seen introduced at the big Apple event this week!

The iPhone 5 will be appearing in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore first, with a major list of additional countries coming soon. This device will be appearing in 100 countries and on 240 carriers eventually, with additional countries from the first standard list coming on the 28th. You’ll be able to pre-order from Apple.com starting this Friday.

Check out the rest of our iPhone 5 news today in the timeline below and through our big Apple portal – and let us know if you plan on purchasing this next-generation device now, later, or maybe even not at all! If you’ve got a past-generation device you’ll also be getting a FREE upgrade to iOS 6, the company’s next-generation software one way or another – wirelessly, too!

Note that this technology is a brand effort as well as a technology effort. Apple has made it clear that Thunderbolt is a technology that they’ve branded themselves – so to speak – while Lightening is another brand of theirs here with this cord first and foremost. We’re going to see a whole lot more of this technology in the near future from Apple, you can bet!

UPDATE: Check out the pricing and release details for the basic cord as well as the converter devices and adapters as well – up in the Apple Store online now!

This iPhone 5 news comes along with a massive bunch of details for the device that have been shown off all day long – and will be shown at great length over the next week as well. Stay tuned to our Apple portal for all the information you need on this iPhone 5 as it hits store shelves later this month – or so we expect! Have a peek at the timeline below for more information on the iPhone 5 and whatever else we see here at the Apple event as it unfolds through the day!

This device has also been shown to be bringing an improved camera on the back – though it is still called 8 megapixels, it’s a big boost, as well as audio and video enhancements as well. The iPhone 5 will come with three microphones for better noise cancellation than ever before as well as an improved A6 chip under the hood. The iPhone 5 is set to bring on a new era of mobile products for Apple with its new 16-pin port plug for USB and will be coming soon to an Apple store near you.

Check the timeline below for more instant updates on the event surrounding this next-level device and of course hit our Apple portal as well for continued coverage as the device hits stores!

With a launch of your Pages app, you’ll be going 2.1x the speed, with an opening of a Keynote app, 1.7x the speed. This device’s chip is also tuned to bring on the best gaming experience the iPhone has ever seen, EA coming to the stage this week to show off its graphics prowess. EA’s Rob Murray showed off Real Racing 3 with “full console quality” and “for the first time, rear view mirrors!”

Have a peek at our liveblog of this event at live.slashgear.com for all your Apple iPhone 5 needs!

The total amount of iPad units sold through June, Cook noted, was 84 million, while the number of iPad sold between April and June of this year was 17 million. This device, noted Cook, has 250,000 apps made specifically for it, while the iTunes Appstore as a whole has 700,000 apps. This includes number that bring the developer world to a great place, said Cook, “90% of the apps in that 700k are downloaded every month. The average customer uses over 100 apps.”

With over 100 apps downloaded, on average, per customer, the iTunes market is booming. Apple made it clear that with 400 million iOS devices sold through June of 2012 in all, they’re doing quite well in the mobile universe. Stay tuned to SlashGear all day long for more – specifically to our liveblogging portal for the best up to the minute!

If you’re so hungry for information that you’re going to burst right this second, you’re not alone! Have a peek at our pre-event round-ups of both hardware and software to keep your mouth from cracking apart with teeth grinding. In the Software rundown we’ve got all the information you can handle on iOS 6, the mobile operating system that the iPhone 5 will be running right out of the gate. For the Hardware wrap-up you’ll be seeing everything from the iPhone 5 to the iPod touch to the iPad mini – that more than likely being a device we’ll see later this year.

Stay tuned to our iOS 6 tag portal if you’re interested specifically in the software aspects throughout the day, and hit the iPhone 5 tag portal if you’re only interested in that device. We’ve got photos coming in as they’re taken in the live portal and we’re ready to stay on the case as it cracks all day long!

Starting times by region:
08:00AM – Hawaii
10:00AM – Pacific
11:00AM – Mountain
12:00PM NOON – Central
01:00PM – Eastern
02:00PM – São Paulo
06:00PM – London
07:00PM – Paris
09:00PM – Moscow
02:00AM – Tokyo (September 13th)
03:00AM – Australia (September 13th)

Check the short timeline below for additional last-minute leaks as well – and keep your scorecards handy!

If you’re wanting to get in on the possibilities for the iOS 6 mobile operating system as it exists here in pre-release mode, check out the iPhone 5 pre-event software rundown. You’ll also want to check in on our iPhone 5 pre-event hardware wrap-up to see what the phone might bring. Along with the iPhone we’ll more than likely see another device or two being refreshed – like the iMac and the Thunderbolt display.

Have a peek at some of the most recent tips as well, starting with the bit about how iPhone 5 pre-orders are being tipped for the 14th – that’s this Friday. We may also find a Samsung booby-trap this week as well as coverage for the iPhone from around the world – Vodafone and Everything Everywhere amongst them – over in the UK – here in the USA we’re expecting everyone but T-Mobile. Don’t forget to check the post that made more than a bit of a stir yesterday afternoon: “biggest upgrade in consumer electronics history” they said. Stay tuned!

One of the first things Apple will be looking out for during this event outside the proceedings is a Samsung booby-trap with LTE patents galore. HTC might also be coming for them. Analysts have been projecting that this release will spur 10 million unit sales for the new product alone in September.

The images you see above and below are all renders as created by a talented designer/artist/rendered by the name of Martin Urecht. They were made several weeks ago but remain as accurate as ever, matching several supposed leaked photos of parts from all angles. Note that the iPhone 5 here is shown in a couple of color combinations too – also more than likely accurate.

The new line of Apple mobile products will likely use a new mini dock connector with 9 pins on each side – interchangeable! This iPhone will almost certainly be working with 4G LTE connectivity from a variety of carriers. The iPhone 5 will likely keep iPhone 4S prices while the iPhone 3GS is phased out entirely.

One big CERTAINTY we’ve got is the fact that the next iPhone will be running iOS 6 which we’ve covered extensively in it’s pre-release phase here since WWDC 2012. Check out our WWDC 2012 tag as well for more information on the software end of things – check the 80-second greatest hits video above to see the key points from the event, too – iOS 6 is on the way!

The iPhone 5 has been tipped to be carrying a much larger battery than ever before so it can support 4G LTE drain. The new smartphone will likely use a Nano SIM card. There’s a set of updated earbuds in the mix as well (slightly different from above.)

T-Mobile is reportedly ramping up for the event – though they’ll probably not be doing it with the iPhone 5 – they’re aiming for unlocked counterparts galore. The release date for the iPhone 5 has been tipped as September 21st for in-store sales. The iPhone 5 will likely have a 4-inch display and thinner body while its width remains the same. You’ll want to see some HD photos and video of the device – or just the display, that is – before you jump on in.

There’s also word that there’ll be an iPod touch with boosted Retina display and a slightly more powerful processor under the hood – not to mention a brand new dock connector. Several sources have reported iMacs and Retina MacBook Pro 13-inch models heading out from suppliers now as well. The iPad mini looms as well, but is much more likely going to be revealed in October instead of here in September. The Apple Thunderbolt Display may be coming with a refresh here at tomorrows event as well.

The iPhone 5 has been foreseen as the “biggest upgrade in consumer electronics history” and will very likely bring in a giant wave of news coverage for Apple. You can join us in the main SlashGear news feed or through our [Apple Portal], and certainly through our big Liveblogging feed at SlashGear Live (http://live.slashgear.com/) as well!

For starters you’ll want to check out our WWDC 2012 Portal for full coverage, then if you must head to Apple.com and watch their keynote video you can do that too. The video is where you can relive all the iOS 6, OS X, and Siri magic as it was announced earlier today.

While a large part of the event was all about hardware. Specifically the amazing new Next-Gen MacBook Pro Retina, they had tons and tons of iOS 6 features to show off — around 200 are new but they only showed a few. Siri went international, and even arrived for the iPad. The MBP 17-inch and Google Maps both got axed by Apple, and we have full wrap-ups coming soon. Again, you can watch the entire WWDC 2012 keynote video online now by clicking here. Stop by our official Apple Hub to get your information and technology overload. Will you be buying the new MacBook Pro?

This morning’s new iPad event had all the usual hype leading up to it. Plenty of rumors emerged in the weeks ahead, many of which are now confirmed, including the Retina display, 4G LTE support, and A5X dual-core processor with pumped up graphics. Other revelations include support for 1080p video recording and playback, an improved 5-megapixel iSight camera, and voice dictation.

Besides the next-gen iPad, Apple also announced new support for 1080p video downloads in iTunes along with a refreshed Apple TV that can now support 1080p content. The updated Apple TV will be available starting next week at $99, while the new iPad will be available starting March 16. The new iPad is priced starting at $499 for the 16GB WiFi-only model and $629 for the WiFi plus 4G LTE model. The 16GB iPad 2 will continue to be sold with a price reduction to $399 for the WiFi-only model and $529 for the 3G model.

It’s an upgrade with a name change for certain with Apple now going full-boar with the idea that there is one one iPad, it being the newest one. Should you want to purchase the original iPad, you’ll have a bit harder time finding it available from Apple as they’ve begun focusing primarily on this iPad 3 device and their iPad 2 units with reduced prices. The previous generation iPad you’ll also notice only comes in Wi-fi now, as the new generation takes over the mobile data game.

Pick up your new iPad via pre-order in the online Apple store right now!

Have a look at the timeline below to get a good idea of what you’re getting into with this new model, and head to the big Apple portal to get the full collection of posts as this model spreads through the marketplace like a wildfire. Will you pick up a new iPad later this month?

Retina Display and A5X Chip

This high quality Retina Display has 2048 x 1536 pixels in it, an amazing improvement over the previous generation with 1/4 that packed in the same sized display. This iPad, I should mention, is the same physical size as its predecessor, with the same shape and color variations as well: white or black. Apple let us know that your average HDTV has 1920 x 1080 pixels in it, this generation iPad having quite a bit more than that already — and with the A5X under the hood, your graphics will be popping.

This new A5X processor has what Apple is saying is a vast improvement over not only the previous generation Apple A5 dual-core processor, but the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor with 4-PLUS-1 technology as well. They say that its with their four graphics cores here in the A5X that they get 4X graphics performance where the A5 gets 2X and the NVIDIA Tegra 3 gets 1X – we’ll see how this all lines up when we get the device in front of us, of course.

iSight Camera

On the back of the new iPad 3rd generation device there’s a new iSight Camera, this camera a vast improvement over the 1 megapixel camera we currently have on the iPad 2. What we’ve got here is a 5-megapixel sensor with backside illumination, a 5-element lens, hybrid IR filter, and an Apple-designed ISP. Essentially this means that it’s not quite as good as the iPhone 4S, but it’s got a lot of the same work put into it. This camera has “advanced optics” with its IR filter, works with autofocus as well as white balance, and has face detection.

This camera is also capable of recording 1080p video with built-in stabilization as well as temporal noise reduction. This camera is what Apple calls “perfect for Retina display” of course as it’ll bring you some sharp and crisp videos straight from reality down to the pad.

Voice Dictation

This newest iPad has the ability to take down what you’re saying as you’re saying it, this feature working in real time with text-driven apps. You’ll be able to do this in a variety of languages including English, French, German, and Japanese – Japanese is also new to Siri this week, but the new iPad does not yet have Siri integration.

4G LTE

For this next generation iPad, Apple decided to take the plunge and integrate 4G LTE. With several networks across the bulk of North America they connected up, with AT&T and Verizon down here in the USA and Rogers, Telus, and Bell up in Canada. This new iPad will also work on a global scale, turning to 3G internationally while the whole unit has more connectivity bands than ever before. This iPad works with 4G LTE as well as 3G HSPA+ and DC-HSDPA and is able to give you a personal hotspot if you want to use your iPad’s data connection on a laptop on the go.

Battery Life

The new iPad will have a lovely batch of new features, each of them demanding in any other case to the system they’re working on – however, as Apple notes near the end of the presentation of this device, the battery power will still be immense. With a 10 hour battery life under normal conditions (with wi-fi) and 9 hours with LTE, this may well be the most impressively tuned tablet connected to LTE yet.

Pricing

The price on this next generation device that Apple is calling The new iPad is set to start at just $499 for the wi-fi 16GB edition, this price jumping to $599 and $699 based on if you’d like 32GB of storage or 64GB of storage. More pricing details are available in our big pricing post, but get this: the iPad 2 is now just $399 in its 16GB with Wi-fi edition – quite a steal!

Follow our whole set of coverage through our Apple portal and stick with us as additional details unfold!

The news isn’t too surprising, since many had speculated that Apple had this coming. The price drop could really cut into competitors with tablets that are vying for the budget-minded market. The reduced price will also help extend the reach of the iPad into hands of students, schools, and other users that may not have been able to buy in previously due to cost.

Therefore, the iPad 2 will now be priced starting at $399 for the 16GB WiFi-only model and $529 for the WiFi plus 3G model. The iPad 3, or “The new iPad” as Apple is calling it, is priced at $499 for the 16GB WiFi-only model and $629 for the WiFi plus 4G LTE model. This is Apple’s biggest rollout of iPad SKUs to date.

To use the feature to dictate to your iPad 3, you simply tap on the button and speak. The tablet will then dictate what you’ve said, although it can’t fetch any queries or respond with spunk like Siri does on the iPhone 4S. But this certainly hints at more voice-activated integration in the future.

The voice dictation feature will be available initially with support only for US, UK, and Australian English along with the languages French, German, and Japanese. It’s very likely that Korean, Chinese, Italian, and Spanish, which Apple promised to arrive on Siri by the end of this year, will also be hitting voice-dictation on the iPad 3. Japanese language support was just announced for Siri on iOS 5.1 this morning.

With this update, Apple will be joining the likes of 4G device connectivity on Verizon and AT&T as well as Canada’s Bell, Rogers, and Telus. This connection speed will be working with two different versions in the USA along, both of these versions also 3G world-ready. This version of the iPad also has, as Cue noted, “software to make it a personal hotspot if your carrier supports the personal hotspot feature.”

This iPad 3rd generation has the most available connectivity bands of any iPad in the line’s short history, with both AT&T and Verizon getting a version right out of the gate. Though we’ve heard in the past that Apple may move past 4G LTE because of battery life, they’re noting today, through Cue,

“You may be thinking, a lot of these technologies consume a fair amount of power. So how does it do on battery life? You may recall we claim 10 hours of battery life, and 9 hours on 3G. The new iPad delivers the same 10 hours of battery life, and 4G is 9 hours.” – Cue

Pretty impressive stuff! Continue to follow along with today’s news in the liveblogging stream at http://live.slashgear.com/ we’ve got up as well as through our Apple portal, new this week!

As usual, Apple isn’t hiking up the prices but keeping them about the same as with the iPad 2. Hence, the iPad 3 will start at $499 for the 16GB model and then go up to $599 for the 32GB and $699 for the 64GB. Both white and black versions will be available at launch.

If you’d like to step it up a notch with 4G LTE support, Apple has separate versions for that. The 4G LTE model will be available on both AT&T and Verizon, but priced slightly higher. The 16GB model starts at $629, the 32GB model at $729, and the 64GB model at $829. All models, however, will be 3G-ready for international use.

The new camera setup will now also support 1080p video recording as many have suspected. You can now take great pictures and video using the new iPad, complete with auto-exposure, auto-focus, white balance, face detection, and image stabilization software.

As for video recording, besides 1080p support, which will be perfect for the new Retina-like display, there’s also video stabilization along with temporal noise reduction

This display is essentially what you’re getting already with the iPhone 4S, it having the ability to trick your eye into not being able to discern individual pixels – they’re so small that your normal human eye can’t detect them. This is 44% greater saturation than the past model, all of this backed up by A5X quad-core graphics – that’s also an improvement over the past model iPad with its A5 chip.

Continue to follow along with today’s news in the liveblogging stream at http://live.slashgear.com/ we’ve got up as well as through our Apple portal, new this week!

“The momentum behind iPad has been incredible and it has surprised virtually everyone,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook. “When we set out to create the iPad we set out to create not just a new product but a new category. In order to do that the iPad had to be the best device for doing some of the things that you do most often.”

In less than two years time, there are now more than 200,000 custom apps specifically designed for the iPad. These apps are “gorgeous and groundbreaking” says Cook and he adds that you won’t be able to find these apps on any other tablet, despite there being over 100 competing tablets launched in the last year.

There’s also going to be TV show updates the day after they air, sent right to your Apple TV, said Apple’s Eddie Cue. This refresh is set to work as a real update to the cloud interface, the iCloud if you will, with Photo stream support as well. As Cue noted: “Now when I take a photo on my iPhone it automatically appears on my Apple TV without my having to do anything at all.”

The new interface also has “Genius”, a feature you should be familiar with from iTunes music interface, and the whole interface will be live right out of the box. This refresh for the Apple TV will continue to cost just $99 as the original did, and it will be available starting next week. Grab one online today!

Continue to follow along with today’s news in the liveblogging stream at http://live.slashgear.com/ we’ve got up as well as through our Apple portal, new this week!

Showing off how impressive their latest store, the New York City Grand Central Station store, has been and continues to be. With 74% of Apple’s revenues set in the three products listed above, Cook’s words “Apple has it feet firmly planted in the post-PC future” never rang truer. Numbers such as 172 million devices sold, with 62 million sold just this past quarter show Apple to be a company with so much invested in this world of mobile that it’s easy to forget that they still work with desktop computers as well.

Then there’s Siri, an application integrated into the basic fiber of the newest iPhone device, the iPhone 4S, Cook noting that in addition to Japan getting this service starting today, they’ll be getting the newest version of the Apple mobile operating system today as well, iOS 5.1. We can expect similar upgrade numbers across the USA and Europe soon, though with which upgraded bits we cannot know at the present – we’ve already got Siri, after all.

Cook of course also went through the 25 billion downloads mark that the iOS App Store went through this past week, noting that

“This is a mind-boggling number we couldn’t have even imagined when we launched the App Store.” – Cook

Continue to follow along with today’s news in the liveblogging stream at http://live.slashgear.com/ we’ve got up as well as through our Apple portal, new this week!

For more information on what we know so far as well as what we’re hearing we’re about to see, head to the timeline below, full of rumors, tips, and leaks from the whole Apple world! There’s going to be a new tablet, we must guess heartily, and Apple TV is certainly due for an update – so lets get started! Don’t forget to join in on the liveblog as well to get fully integrated in the action!

This device will more than likely come in one size, with rumors ranging from one to three models being released inside a month after the big announcement tomorrow. The iPad HD would be the most high-definition of the triad and is the most likely candidate for an actual real-world product. There’s also an iPad mini in the rumor mill with a 7-inch display as well as the iPad 4S which would be released as a slight upgrade to the iPad 2 while the iPad 3 would be released alongside with the bonus of an improved display. Again more than likely we’ll be seeing one model by the name of iPad HD, and that’s it.

NOTE: Remember to join us LIVE at live.slashgear.com for the whole rundown of this device official with Apple as we take on the iPad 3 event. Also join us here in the main SlashGear news feed as well, all of this starting at 10AM PST on Wednesday the 7th of March 2012.

The high definition display that is also amongst the rumors that sit very close to the realm of reality is an IPS LCD display with Retina technology, this display having twice the amount of pixels in the same space the iPad 2 and 1 had. This new model would have the same size display as previous models but would also require slightly more power due to the larger amount of pixels packed into the same space. Because of this, a new version of iOS, perhaps iOS 6, may be in the works, it having upgrades specifically for optimizing the iPad HD for battery life. This upgrade could also be incremental and hit on iPad 5.5 or something similar.

We know that the iPad HD will have an extremely similar size to the previous model iPad, the iPad 2, and will likely be able to fit accessories made for the second-generation slate. Apple has been known to stick with one model for extremely long periods of time, this done not only because it creates a sort of trust in that perfected shape, but because manufacturers of accessories can then take the time to make high-quality cases and physical add-ons galore without fear of being left behind.

This model iPad HD has been tipped as having 4G LTE capabilities for data speed, but this also is likely still set to sit in the rumor category for a bit longer due to the still massive battery drain 4G LTE has on modern devices. Apple is less likely to drain their battery for data speed and more likely to stick with 3G, a tried and true system already laid down in bulk. Along these same lines, Apple is likely to stick with a dual-core processor, likely a slight upgrade to the A5 processor currently in the iPad 2, a tip just this past week showing up with an image of an A5X chip which, again, could have better optimization for the device’s battery life.

Have a peek in our timeline below to see some of the highlights from the tips and leaks we’ve seen thus far, and join us tomorrow for the big show! The iPad 3 event is set to take place at 10AM PST and you can join us live through our liveblogging portal at live.slashgear.com as well through our main news feed where we’ll be delivering you stories as fast and as comprehensive as humanly possible – stay tuned!

Predictions for a retina display seemed downright certain, with 1/8 odds for and 9 to 2 against. More fanciful features, like a Thunderbolt port (5 to 1 for, 1/50 against) and an SD card slot (12 to 1 for, 8/13 against) got better returns if they actually panned out. Interestingly, most of the participating gamplers believed that the iPad 3 wouldn’t get the name we’ve all assumed that it will have, instead copying the iPhone’s nomenclature and going by “iPad 2s”. This option had the same odds as the retina display prediction.

SkyBet didn’t say why they removed the portal, or if the bets already made would be honored. We won’t have to wait long to find out the truth, in any case – Apple’s San Francisco event is exactly one week from today. In a fit of corporate rivalry, Apple sent out invitations to the event during Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s keynote speech at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Next Wednesday you can head over to live.slashgear.com to catch our on-location liveblog. At 10:00 AM Pacific time, all bets are off.

[via Crave]

Teachers will be able to work with iBooks notes added by students working with the iBooks 2 app, work with full courses complete with videos, documents, apps, and Textbooks from the iBookstore, and more. The best thing about this app is that it’s free, of course. What Apple is doing here is giving the teachers and the students the tools they need to get into the interactive iPad-based world of the future, all of it for free.

In this way, this is the same model that’s been being used by video game console manufacturers, for example, for many years, where the actual tool is cheap, but the games cost a bit more. On the other hand, the iBooks Textbooks spoken about here and earlier today are only $14.99 apiece, tops. So let’s get into the future of education on the iPad, shall we? As Apple’s Phil Schiller says,

“We’re really proud of what the teams have done. They’ve worked so hard on this. They do it because all of us here at Apple know you can empower people through learning. And tech has a role to play in that, that’s one of the best things that’s built into the culture.” – Schiller

We’ll be checking out each of the applications that have been shown off at Apple’s NYC eduction event this week in turn, but note this: all of them are also available for you to download from iTunes or the Mac App Store today, most of this content completely for free – so have at it!

Books at every level of education have been revealed in the iBookstore this week, Textbooks with full interactive abilities and workings for the iPad specifically. What Apple is attempting to do here is to take the “dark ages” of education and turn them into a full future-headed world where interactive elements are the norm and you only need one device in the classroom: the iPad. There’s even exclusive books that are made to bring in the average student such as E.O. Wilson’s Life on Earth, of which the first two chapters will be made free at first.

This is all part of a grander scheme, of course, to bring the classroom further into the tech-minded fold, a great thing for generations in the future where textbooks have, perhaps, become outmoded to the point of extinction. We’ll see how that all pans out in the coming months! Follow along with us for the rest of this event at http://live.slashgear.com/ – still going on now!

You begin with a template, creating a new document that will eventually turn into a book. You’re able to add elements by dragging and dropping pieces of content into the pages that make up the bulk of the book. Galleries, media, reviews, keynotes, interactive images, 3D images, and straight up HTML code are allowed here, you able to switch from Layout mode or Interaction mode to Preview to check out how your pages are turning out as you go. Auto-formatting on the fly keeps the pages uniform, but completely customizable if you’d like with Javascript and HTML5.

You, the author of these fine books made with iBooks Author, are able to add a glossary, check your work at any time, bring forth the content you wish at a snap, and publish these books directly to the store. Anyone can create stunning, interactive books, they say, and with multi-touch widgets, photos, videos, and instant publishing to iBookstore, why not? This application is available today in the Mac App Store for free!

Follow along with the rest of our by-the-second updates to this event at http://live.slashgear.com/.

Authors will soon be able to easily create content for this platform, complete with total freedom for laying out text and graphics as well as integrating interactive elements from top to bottom. Books in iBooks 2 will be able to be read in a traditional way, but will also be able to have interactive elements in each page that can either be worked with or skipped over. The entirety of the book you’re working with will be able to be accessed from any point in the book with gestures, and what’s more: Q and A sections at the ends of chapters, for example, for the teacher to work directly with the student.

Highlighting and notetaking is included in the basic experience in iBooks 2, a rather simple interface allowing you to swipe, change colors, and leave notes. You can leave notes throughout a book with your on-screen keyboard, and it all happens within the book. Saves happen inside each book connected to iBooks 2, and it’s all contained within the iPad itself. To get these books, you’ve only to go to the iBookstore and check out the brand new Textbooks category.

Follow the rest of our coverage for this Apple education event at http://live.slashgear.com/ live, as it happens!

Apple’s iPad sits at the head of students minds in every level of education, said Schiller, students from k-8 all the way up to highschool, college, and more. But education is still “in the dark ages.” A video shown with teachers from across the United States shows teachers and professors speaking about how the technology they need is not what they have, classrooms are too large, students are not graduating. Schiller returned to the stage and said what we knew was coming: “these teachers need help, and we try to figure out what we can do at Apple to help.”

This year during the holidays, the iPad, says Schiller, was the number one most wanted item on teen’s lists. This can be tied to the thin and light nature of the device, how its powerful and has an all-day battery life, and is affordable on top of that. The iPad also has 20k education apps built specifically for it, including iBookstore which will be working, we’re sure into the rest of the announcements Apple has for this week – Reinventing Textbooks. Stick with us the rest of the week (especially today) to see what Apple has in store for students through the iPad.

Continue to follow along today with http://live.slashgear.com/ as well for up to the second updates on this event!

At many large universities across the country now, classes are hooked up to the publishers directly already through student fees [tuition] and are able to access articles through the web instead of having to purchase an entire textbook. At the moment, teachers are not allowed to download and print these articles up, but they can tell students to head to the website to download PDF files for themselves. Should Apple make a move to simplify this process, it’d more than likely be that the teacher sends out an email with a link to the iTunes-connected store of choice which then allows you, the student, to download the correct article.

These articles will then be available for printing if you wish, but will be much more valuable to you on your iPad, for example, where you can work with them in a large variety of ways. You’ll be able to highlight, circle, copy, paste, and all the normal bigs, but you’ll also be able to work with videos, interactive panels – and have the whole thing read out loud to you if you’re on the bus and don’t want the iPad making you a target for theft, if you know what I mean. It’s doubtful, but I suppose PERHAPS possible that this is where the inexpensive iPad comes into play – that being the original iPad discounted to near-free status in the face of the upcoming third generation iPad 3, this the same situation as what’s happened with the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 3GS which is also now free on contract wherever fine phones are sold.

Publishers will be at essentially the same point they are now, working with professors to push text to students, but will have to adopt (eventually) a much different model for how they’re going to bring in the cash. Where before they were able to add it up and knock it out on the creation process through printers, now they’ll have to focus even more on the writers themselves. Perhaps Apple’s move into the textbook industry will be the end of the textbook format – let’s hope!

Note also that we’ll be LIVEBLOGGING at the event, that’s January 19th in the morning – so be here and bring your apples for the teacher!

We were live-blogging the entire event at live.slashgear.com just like many others and you can see all that coverage by clicking our iPhone portal. Today Apple has announced the new iPhone 4S with its new dual-core processor and more, and set the older sibling down to the low low price of free. Who didn’t see that coming?

Pictured above and below are a few official pictures of the new iPhone 4S, a world phone with dual CDMA / GSM and more, as well as the first official presentation video. Powered by that dual-core and voice-controlled by Siri Apple is calling this the “Best iPhone yet!”, and “picking up where amazing left off”.

For all the pricing and information you can head here. You can snatch up this “S” upgrade of the iPhone in both black and white come October 14th in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB configurations for $199, $299 and $399. Check out the pictures below thanks to Apple.