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WWDC 2011 Conference Round Up: All major stuff in one place

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News by Debabrata Nath Contributor
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Apple's announced some major things during their WWDC 2011 conference and we've the most important stuff rounded up for you below.

Apple details new iOS 5 features, to release this fall

Scoot Forstall has revealed a bevy of new details about iOS 5. He discussed in detail about the changes and improvements that iOS 5 will bring.

He revealed a couple of new features, including an revamped notifications  system. It enables you to aggregate all your notfications into one and can be accessed by swiping down a menu from the top of the screen.

Get the entire lot below:

  • Notifications have also made their way into the lockscreen now, where swiping across a text message takes you right into it.
  • iOS 5 will also come with Twitter intregation, with a single sign-in allowing multiple apps to make use of your Twitter credentials.
  • Scott also revealed some sales figures, stating that Apple has sold more than 200 million iOS devices so far, with more than 25 million of those being iPads. They also revealed that there's been 14 billion downloads from the App store, with Apple paying over 2.5 billion to app developers. The iTunes store has sold over 15 billion songs till date.
  • Newsstand's another new feature coming to iOS, it basically a new place to keep all your magazine and newspaper subscriptions.
  • Safari browser is a new browser feature that will strip out distractions and present the text of a webpage without any excessive content. It can be accessed via a button next to the address bar. There's also a new Reading List added to the iOS browser, which basically accumulates a list of pages you want to read later. It can be accessed on multiple devices.
  • Tabbed browsing is making a debut on iOS 5, which is bound to please iPad and iPhone users alike. They've also added an Reminder to iOS 5.
  • There's a new camera button on your lockscreen.
  • A new headline feature's also been announced. It allows you cable-free syncing. Setting up and activating a new iOS device can be now done right on the device itself. That's right, no need to use a PC anymore.
  • Another interesting new feature is IMessage, which is basically a messaging service exclusive to iOS users (irrespective of which apple device they're using.) It comes with the ability to push messages to all your devices. You'll be able to send messages, photos, videos, and contacts. Group messaging is another feature it'll offer. It works over either WiFi or 3G.

iOS 5 is slated to ship in fall 2011 for the following devices: iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4, iPad 1 and 2, and iPod touch 3rd and 4th generation.

OS X Lion features detailed, launching in July

Apple's dropped a bunch of new details about OS X lion at WWDC. Dubbed a "major release" promising to deliver over 250 new features.

OS X Lion adds plenty of new features like lots of new multi-touch gestures and full screen apps (including iPhoto, iMovie, Safari, etc.), there's also an all new Mission Control, which unites Expose and Spaces, and there's also a new iOS-esque Launchpad application launcher.

It also features a new system-wide resume feature which lets you resume from exactly where you left off, there's also a new auto-save feature that automatically saves several different versions of documents, there's also a  new AirDrop peer-to-peer file sharing system, and a new version of Mail that also includes a conversation view.

They've also announced that OS X Lion will cost $29.99 for all your authorized Macs and can be download from the Mac App store. It's a 4 GB download.

iCloud and iTunes in the Cloud now official, first details revealed

Apple's finally revealed iCloud: a feature which allows you to store your content in the cloud and wirelessly push it to all your devices.

It automatically uploads your content, store it, and pushes it to all your devices. iCloud is integrated with your apps, so everything happens automatically. It won't have any ads as was rumoured before. It'll feature a calendar and mail. It's also sync free.

Every day content like purchased music, books, photos and videos, device settings, and app data will be automatically backed up over WiFi.

They've also announced its long-awaited cloud-based music service: iTunes in the Cloud. It will let you download any music you've purchased to all of your devices at no additional charge, which Steve Jobs notes is a first for the music industry.

Apple also confirmed that as of today, MobileMe will cease to exist.

Thanks, Engadget.

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