Research In Motion has its work cut out for it. Apple and Samsung went from dominating the smartphone industry to completely owning it in the first quarter this year, and RIM’s struggles continued as its BlackBerry 7 smartphone lineup really started showing its age. All eyes are on BlackBerry 10 as industry watchers try to determine whether or not RIM has a real shot at a comeback, and RIM has to be especially impressive at this year’s BlackBerry World conference since its first BlackBerry 10 smartphone likely won’t even launch until some time in October. RIM president and CEO Thorsten Heins will take the stage in just a few minutes when RIM’s BlackBerry World keynote kicks off at 9:00 a.m. EDT / 6:00 a.m. PDT, so hit the break to follow all the action as it unfolds and don’t forget to refresh the page for the latest updates.

8:55AM:OK everyone, we're inside and seated, waiting for the last few seats to fill up before the show starts in a few minutes.

8:58AM:According to the announcement over the PA the presentation should begin shortly. I'm going to be very disappointed if it doesn't include everyone's favorite Futurist, will.i.am.

9:03AM:It's a packed house, all of the seats are full and folks are starting to stand at the back of the room. The excitement is palpable as attendees awkwardly rock out to some generic house music.

9:07AM:We're about to get started, starting off with some users describing how they use their BlackBerry devices.

9:07AM:

9:09AM:Thorsten Heins is taking the stage and welcoming the audience - the BlackBerry People. You can also watch the conference online at blackberryworld.com.

9:11AM:Thorsten is discussing his first three months as CEO, and the outreach to customers–business, enterprise, consumer–and his own employees he's done.

9:12AM:65% of smartphone users access organizational tools daily compared to 91% of BlackBerry People.

9:13AM:Thorsten is claiming that the BlackBerry has a great camera. We're not off to a great start.

9:13AM:"55 million BBM subscribers, and the best integration of LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook"

9:14AM:"BlackBerry is all about success. BlackBerry creates their success, BlackBerry empowers their success. [Users] are more productive with a BlackBerry."

9:15AM:"77 Million BlackBerry People. BlackBerry helps people save time."

9:16AM:Thorsten is emphasizing the simple interface, data efficiency for manageable bills, battery life and security. Cloud Computing is hot, and he's justly describing the BlackBerry as the BlackBerry Cloud.

9:16AM:"Everything we do now with the PlayBook and BlackBerry 10 is to help simplify your life and leverage this infrastructure".

9:17AM:Thorsten is welcoming Clarence So, Senior VP, Strateg of salesforce.com

9:18AM:salesforce.com has been using BlackBerry since 1999 with the pager models, and continues to run their company on BlackBerry today.

9:19AM:Clarence is referring to the "social enterprise" as a way to encompass the various channels of communication used by customers.

9:21AM:Welcome Chuck Robbins, Senior Vice President, The Americas, Cisco.

9:22AM:Chuck is giving a rundown of the Cisco applications that are running on the BlackBerry including WebEx, Jabber and MVS. His developers are excited to begin working with BlackBerry 10.

9:23AM:Cisco is working on several applications for BlackBerry 10 including WebEx and AnyConnect, Cisco's SSL-enabled VPN. This is huge for enterprise users, the PlayBook has relatively poor VPN options.

9:24AM:"We're taking our time to be sure we get this right" - Thorsten is asking what the platform for BlackBerry 10 should be.

9:24AM:"We're making incredible progress on BlackBerry 10", fueled by acquisitions such as RIM TAT, Gist, Tungle, and QNX.

9:25AM:He's introducing the BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha device. It looks familiar.

9:26AM:BGR will have an extensive hands-on with the BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha device shortly

9:26AM:Thorsten is emphasizing that the BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha device is not final hardware, it's a vehicle to get BlackBerry 10 into the hands of developers.

9:27AM:"It's critical that we get this into the hands of developers around the world so they can begin getting their content and applications to you".

9:27AM:RIM is doing a great job of reaching out to developers, and pre-release alpha hardware is a great way to generate excitement and enthusiasm.

9:28AM:This is definitely a new RIM. I can't say that anyone is missing the old familiar faces.

9:29AM:Vivek Bhardwaj, Head of Software Portfolio at RIM is taking the stage with Thorsten.

9:31AM:Vivek is showing off the the new Glance gestures that will be part of BlackBerry 10.

9:31AM:Emphasis on full, true, background multitasking.

9:32AM:"You just flow through [the feeds]. You have a flow across all of your applications".

9:32AM:Active and agile.

9:33AM:"This is why we invented push, and this is why we all love BBM". Someone is still a little bitter about the NTP patent lawsuit.

9:34AM:We're about to get a demo of the new keyboard in BlackBerry 10. Spoiler, flick gestures.

9:36AM:Two-thumb typing is key, but what if you need to type with one hand? A not so subtle shot at massive Android devices like the Galaxy Note.

9:36AM:As you're typing the autocomplete words pop-up on the keyboard, and you can flick them up into the main screen.

9:38AM:"Never miss a magic moment" – the camera allows you to go back in time!

9:39AM:"It's all about agility and being nimble" – Thorsten is reminding everyone that this is just a preview and there is more to come.

9:40AM:The keypad is adapting, and will adapt to your fingers, your style of typing. Just another reminder that the iOS autocorrect is utter shot.

9:41AM:The intent and objective of BlackBerry 10 is to build the next mobile computing platform. It's an engine, not just a smartphone OS.

9:42AM:Thorsten is showing off the connected QNX car with TVs, telemetrics and two other things I didn't catch.

9:43AM:60% of cars on the road are running QNX. Marketshare calculations will get very interesting in a few years.

9:43AM:Reliability and security are definitely important if my car's OS can be updated remotely.

9:45AM:The entire company is laser focused on delivering BlackBerry 10 on time, and exceeding customer expectations. And Thorsten is committed to keeping everyone up to date on the progress of BlackBerry 10 development.

9:45AM:Another quick peek at BlackBerry 10.

9:47AM:"Have a great BlackBerry World and let's rock and roll this!"

9:48AM:We're welcoming VP of Global Alliances and Business Development Martyn Mallick to the stage.

9:49AM:"RIM is 100% committed to application partners on [RIM's] platform". BlackBerry 10 is meant to be seen as proof of that commitment.

9:50AM:More emphasis on BlackBerry 10 as a platform. This is in line with their emphasis on developers and developer relations.

9:50AM:Platform, Tools, Distribution.

9:51AM:Performance, security, integration. The platform excels on tablets, smartphones and in cars.

9:52AM:RIM is building a set of core tools for native development and HTML5 and making them available to partners. Who are the partners though? Developers? Carriers? Alliance members?

9:53AM:Distribution - applications can be distributed in multiple ways. Mobile Fusion (formerly BES) allows direct distribution within the enterprise. App World allows global distribution, and supports multiple payment methods including credit cards, PayPal and carrier billing.

9:53AM:App World also allows enterprises to have their own tab in the store, similar to the carrier tabs found in Android Market.

9:54AM:It should be obvious by now the themes of the conference - Enterprise and Developers.

9:55AM:Jonas Norberg, Co-Founder and CEO of Pacemaker is joining Martyn on stage to discuss using Cascades to develop an application for the PlayBook.

9:56AM:Cascades allowed Pacemaker to easily connect their new interface to an incredible amount of legacy C++ code.

9:58AM:The Pacemaker DJ application will be available tomorrow at their booth on Wednesday between 1:00 PM and 2:30 PM EDT, for free. Attendees of BlackBerry World will be among the first in the world to have this app before it launches in June.

9:59AM:Candemir Orsan from Occipital is on the stage. Occipital created the Red Laser app for iOS, as well as 360 Pano, my personal favorite app for creating panoramic photos on my iPhone.

10:00AM:Candemir says his team was able to build a demo of 360 Pano for BlackBerry 10 in only 7 days.

10:02AM:For anyone wondering if the 360 Pano app for BlackBerry 10 uses the still camera or the video camera, it's the still camera. The entire audience was treated to a slew of shutter sounds as Candemir took the panoramic picture.

10:03AM:"Rovio launched Angry Birds Space a few weeks after it came out for iOS". Great, but why did it take them about 10 months to launch Angry Birds for PlayBook after Mike Lazaridis announced at BlackBerry World in 2011?

10:04AM:An enthused developer from Gameloft is taking the stage to discuss developing games for BlackBerry 10.

10:06AM:Gameloft is bringing 11 games to BlackBerry 10. Perhaps former Senior Director of Global Developer Relations Mike Kirkup didn't fully kill the platform by pushing game development for the PlayBook over everything else.

10:07AM:We're joined by Michael Schade, Co-Founder and CEO of Fishlabs. 70 million downloads of Fish Labs games to date. Another successful company with two founders, and only a single CEO.

10:09AM:Schade is demoing Galaxy on Fire 2 HD. I think he might have inadvertently leaked the next Samsung Android phone.

10:10AM:This is the most high-definition version of the game available. It actually looks like it'd be fun to play.

10:11AM:Brian and Mark from pixelmags are on stage to talk digital publishing.

10:12AM:The pixelmags ethos is "You create, we deliver". Publishers upload content to the CDS - Content Delivery System - and pixelmags handles the distribution to the desired channels.

10:13AM:Pixelmags is focusing on branded applications, so if a user downloads the Esquire application, it's actually a pixelmags app.

10:13AM:Pixelmags is releasing a News Stand application on BlackBerry 10. Every BlackBerry 10 will get 10 free minutes every month to read anything they want on the News Stand.

10:15AM:Users can upgrade to unlimited viewing for $9.99 per month whenever a data connection is active, or a mobile offline plan for $14.99 per month.

10:17AM:Nick Barnett from mippen is on stage, touting the performance of the BlackBerry app platform. BlackBerry downloads account for 70% of all downloads of apps created with the mippen application generator.

10:18AM:Mippen is releasing a BlackBerry App Generator in beta today, you can sign up at www.blackberryappgenerator.com

10:19AM:Mippen allows anyone to build a native app in less than 10 minutes. I'm glad to see the focus on quality apps remains.

10:21AM:Whoops, Titanium just showed an iPad in their demo.

10:23AM:Jeff Haynie, Co-Founder and single CEO of Appcelerator is on stage to talk about their Titanium development tool.

10:24AM:Haynie, "After talking with customers it's clear that they want BlackBerry. BlackBerry is definitely one of the top three platforms we support". So you're saying it's #3?

10:26AM:Embracing the cross-platform application generation tools is a giant shift for RIM. Several years ago there was a marked distaste for them, with RIM Developer Relations members being quite cold to developers using those tools.

10:26AM:App submissions are up 226% in the past year, and PlayBook app growth is up 240%.

10:28AM:"It's really important that we don't focus too much on consumer or just enterprise. We're seeing the industry beging to focus on enterprise, and we welcome that..."

10:28AM:RIM is looking to the partner community to make the platform a success. Developers, developers, developers?

10:31AM:Robin Bienfait, RIM CIO is taking the stage. I've had the honor of walking in late to a briefing she was running and having her interrupt her presentation to call me out for it.

10:32AM:"By next time this year for BlackBerry World, we will offer three solutions for Mobile Fusion"

10:33AM:Mobile Fusion will be available on-premise, hosted and managed, or fully in the cloud. In about a year. What was it Thorsten said about delivering in a timely fashion?

10:35AM:Alan Panezic, VP of Product Management at RIM is introducing Stephen Rollins, VP of IT at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.

10:36AM:Martha Stewart has two BlackBerry devices - one for email, and one for a phone. That's different.

10:37AM:Mobile Fusion has been out for about three weeks, and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia have had it fully in production for over a week.

10:44AM:Panezic says that securing enterprise data on at-rest for third-party devices is on the roadmap. For those of you keeping score, that's a shot at Visto, owners of the NTP patents, and Good Technologies who offer a secure email and PIM client for iOS and Android.

10:44AM:And we're done, thanks!

Research In Motion’s annual BlackBerry World conference kicks off Tuesday morning and new president and chief executive officer Thorsten Heins will take the stage to greet the thousands of show goers in attendance. Heins’s company has a daunting mountain to climb as its struggles continue, and this year’s show may be RIM’s most important to date as it looks to attract enough interest from developers and users to tide it over until its next-generation smartphone platform launches. RIM’s first BlackBerry 10-powered smartphone likely won’t be released until some time in October, but developers will get their first taste of a smartphone running PlayBook OS, the basis for BlackBerry 10, when RIM hands out thousands of prototype smartphones at the BlackBerry Jam conference that will run alongside BlackBerry World in Orlando, Florida. Will RIM make enough of a splash to instill faith in developers, users and investors that it can successfully re-enter a market not just dominated by, but completely owned by Apple and Samsung?

Bookmark this link, which will go live shortly before the event begins this morning, and make sure to head there for our live coverage of RIM’s keynote! Coverage will begin just before 9:00 a.m. EDT / 6:00 a.m. PDT.

During its press conference in San Francisco on Wednesday, Apple announced that it will continue selling the iPad 2 following the launch of its third-generation iPad tablet. The previous-generation model will see its price drop to $399 for the Wi-Fi-only version and $529 for the 3G model, and it will only be available with 16GB of memory.

Apple on Wednesday announced the release of iOS 5.1 during a press conference in San Francisco, California. Apple CEO Tim Cook stated that the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch combined to make up 76% of the company’s revenue in the fourth quarter last year. Apple sold a combined total of 315 million iOS devices in 2011, and 62 million in the fourth quarter alone. New features in iOS 5.1 include the addition of Japanese language support to Siri and more. iCloud has also been updated to support movies, which can be purchased once and then re-downloaded from iCloud in full-HD 1080p resolution. iOS 5.1 will become available for download on Wednesday in the U.S. and in the coming weeks in Japan.

With the biggest consumer electronics show of the year behind us, it’s now time to shift gears and and get ready for the biggest wireless show of the year: Mobile World Congress. This year’s show is shaping up to be a big one, with brand new devices on tap from HTC, Samsung, LG, Nokia, Sony and more. Samsung, the world’s top Android vendor, oddly doesn’t have an event planned for this year’s show, though it likely has something to do with the delayed launch of its flagship Galaxy S III smartphone. We still expect Samsung to have a number of new devices on hand though, possibly including the high-definition tablet BGR exclusively revealed in December. HTC will undoubtedly be one of the stars of this year’s MWC provided it still plans to announce the HTC Ville and HTC Edge/Endeavor we scooped last year, and Nokia should have some new devices in store as well. LG, ViewSonic, ZTE and other companies have already started announcing new phones, and we’ll definitely be taking a closer look at them next week as well. To start things off, BGR will be providing live coverage of three press conferences starting Sunday afternoon into early Monday morning. Here’s the schedule:

• Sony press conference: Sunday, February 26th — 12:00 p.m. EST / 9:00 a.m. PST (6:00 p.m. local time in Barcelona)
• HTC press conference: Sunday, February 26th — 2:30 p.m. EST / 11:30 a.m. PST (8:30 p.m. local time in Barcelona)
• Nokia press conference: Monday, February 27th — 2:30 a.m. EST / 11:30 p.m. PST (8:30 a.m. local time in Barcelona)

Feel free to bookmark the links above, which will go live shortly before each event kicks off. We’ll also be providing hands-on looks at all of the devices announced during each press conference, so be sure to tune in!

The Consumer Electronics show is always a massive event for the home entertainment industry, and 2012 is shaping up to be the biggest year yet. Hundreds of companies will showcase thousands of products, but among the companies that managed to generate some real buzz ahead of the show, LG really looks like it has some gems on its hands this year. The company previewed its new nearly borderless 55-inch OLED HDTV last week and it has a few Cinema Screen 3D models with just a 1-millimeter bezel surrounding its gorgeous display panels. LG surely has plenty more gear in store for us — including at least one smartphone and next-generation Google TV devices — so hit the break to watch all the action unfold in our live coverage.

11:05AM:Alright we're here and seated, huge line lots of people. President of LG Electronics USA is on the stage going over the year and LG's ability to increase its revenues by nearly 8% during a difficult economy.

11:05AM:LG had record breaking US sales last year, especially in LG TV with its LG Cinema 3G line.

11:07AM:In mobile phones, US says it is continuing to grow its U.S. business, including the first dual-core smartphone, a glasse-free smartphone and a trueHD device with an IPS display. "We advanced our US brand to an all time high and led the industry in consumer satisfaction."

11:07AM:LG increased sales of energy star rated products by 30%

11:08AM:"Despite the challenging business environment in 2011, life is still good at LG and the best is yet to come." LG will focus on its core product categories. "Today we invite you to experience the latest LG innovations.. As we have said before, LG is committed to building a future with innovative products."

11:10AM:Master of Innovation Dr. Scott Ahn is taking the stage to give us a taste of LG's newest products. "I have a lot to talk about today, and I hope we agree that it has been worthwhile getting up so early." He will go over smart TVs, smartphones and smart appliances and how the tech is tied together across each product category.

11:13AM:"We have been able to create thinner panels, unlike some of our competitors," with unique LED technology. The Cinema Screen Design allowed LG to create thinner TVs without sacrificing picture quality. It has just a 1.0mm bezel and 28mm thickness. Last year LG introduced a new way to interact with TVs with the Magic Remote. This year LG will use voice recognition for text input.

11:14AM:In addition to voice recognition, we are introducing a 3D gesture interface using a 3D camera. Sounds a lot like what the Microsoft Kinect offers.

11:15AM:LG's smart TV will be the first in the industry to feature Intel WiDi technology.

11:16AM:"We now support more than 80 countries and offer more than 1,200 applications. Since the start of the smart TV revolution, we have felt that industry chipsets have held us back from providing high performance and powerful solutions on our TVs. After a few years of development we are announcing our own chipset, the L-Line, it features a dual-core ARM architecture. This will be applied to our premium line this year."

11:18AM:2D to 3D conversion has also been improved. 3D depth control and 3D zooming will also be added as new features to LG's TVs this year. For single user viewing, we've created 3D monitors and laptops. Before we move on to the next product category, I'd like to introduce another new product.

11:18AM:So, this year at CES we will be showcasing our own series of Google TVs with the latest Google TV software. Our technology coupled with the Google TV platform will form the basis of future relationships with Google. Now, let's move on to the smartphones.

11:19AM:As you've probably heard, we've invested heavily in LTE during the past few years. We believe this gives us a form foundation for future growth in today's competitive mobile industry. We have launched the Optimus LTE smartphone (Nitro HD on AT&T), this smartphone is currently our flagship model and it's the first to integrate the true HD IPS display.

11:21AM:We are introducing the first enterprise smartphone with VMWare Verizon mobile manager. It will be discussed more during Mobile World Congress next month.

11:23AM:Last year, we introduced smart diagnosis and another of appliance-related technology. Now we're giving it a new name, smart manager. Users can record food items stored in the refrigerator with voice recognition or by scanning receipts with a smartphones. The fridge can download the full inventory.

11:24AM:LG is introducing blast chiller which allows you to quickly chill soda or any other warm can of soda in less than 5 minutes. Sounds awesome.

11:26AM:I'd like to unveil one final product.

11:26AM:Well, your enthusiasm has not gone unnoticed. This year we have a much larger version for you. This is our 55-inch OLED TV. At just 4mm thin and weighing only 7.5 kilograms it's the world's thinnest, largest and lightest OLED TV.

11:27AM:The picture quality is super. It is really capable and 100% compatible with other LG 3D glasses.

11:28AM:Now three speakers are taking the stage to discuss a detailed US product launch schedule. Tim Elessi from Home Entertainment in the U.S. is on stage.

11:29AM:Good morning everyone. It's hard to believe another year has passed since we introduced Cinema 3D technology. We were a lone voice in discussing passive technology but we were armed with consumer research that showed a strong preference when compared to active shutter glass. We had the confidence to create a marketing campaign about passive technology.

11:29AM:95% of the market is using active shutter glasses (3D) and more consumers are adopting the technology.

11:33AM:LG is going over design and sound technology that currently exists in its models and is encouraging CES attendees visiting the booth to check it out first-hand which, of course, we will be doing.

11:34AM:"For the second year in a row at CES, LG is showcasing its home appliance technology. This year we have Ellis Mass, LG's director of home appliances."

11:38AM:LG is discussing custom wash cycles for washing machines and an awesome technology that allows users to use their fridge to follow a diet, follow its inventory and more all from a touchscreen or from their smartphones. Another homebot device can roam the house with a build-in camera. "We're quite excited to expand our line of super capacity of french door refrigerators." A four-door version will be available this year. Each model will have the blast chiller, which we discussed earlier, which chills a can in 5 minutes or a bottle of wine in 8 minutes.

11:39AM:Today LG is unveiling a turbo wash ultracycle feature for its washing machines. It cleans clothes faster so you can get more out the door quickly. In 2012 LG will add its largest capacity washer available. It anticipates that all will meet the DOE Energy Star standard.

11:40AM:Tim O'Brien the vice president of marketing for mobile phones is taking the stage.

11:42AM:We feel really good about what we accomplished in 2011. Globally we introduced the world's first dual-core processor in a smartphone. The first glasses-free 3D smartphone and now the first HD IPS display on a smartphone. Looking ahead we will focus on the high-end LTE market. The first device is the LG Spectrum exclusively for Verizon. 1.5GHz dual-core processor, Android 2.3 Gingerbread upgradeable to ICS. It has an 8-megapixel camera, 1.3MP front-facing and can record video in 1080P HD Video.

11:45AM:The Spectrum has a 4.5-inch display with a 1280 x 720-pixel resolution. It will launch exclusively on Verizon Wireless by the end of this month, although pricing was not discussed.

11:48AM:ESPN will exclusively provide HD video for the LG Spectrum in partnership with Verizon. Stuart Scott is on a video talking about the phone. Kind of cheesy.

11:49AM:HD video will be included in ESPN's Score Center application on the Spectrum.

11:50AM:"We think this device is the ultimate mobile trifecta. Incredible hardware, LG LTE and the most coveted HD content." The spectrum will launch on January 19th for $199.99 with a two-year contract.

11:51AM:We just saw a brief commercial LG will be airing in partnership with ESPN and Verizon Wireless. We're winding down now and hope to get hands-on with the device as soon as possible. Thanks for joining us!

12:26PM:AT&T now has more than 3.6 million U-verse subscribers, and the U-verse APIs AT&T offers allow devs to build apps that will interact with U-verse services and stream media, control accounts and more on iOS, Android or on other platforms.

12:29PM:PacketVideo is an example of a company making use of the U-verse API. The firm's CEO is now on stage demoing its app, Twonky Video, which allows users to stream and share YouTube content and now, thanks to AT&T's APIs, it can stream videos from U-verse as well.

12:31PM:AT&T is working with a number of partner companies during the development of its APIs, including Microsoft, Heroku, StackMob and others.

12:36PM:As AT&T continues to roll our its LTE network, maintaining fast and reliable service across both HSPA+ and LTE is a huge priority.

12:38PM:AT&T also offers differentiated cloud solutions to consumers and businesses alike. AT&T is dedicated to working with businesses to create custom cloud-based enterprise solutions, but the company understands that developers have different needs than enterprise and AT&T announced "AT&T platform as a service" to address developer needs.

12:42PM:AT&T is also announcing that it is formally joining the OpenStack community. The carrier has already dedicated thousands of hours to OpenStack projects, and it is excited to continue its work more formally.

12:43PM:AT&T is the first carrier to join the OpenStack initiative.

12:45PM:AT&T is now going to walk us through its API roadmap.

12:49PM:AT&T is planning on adding new network APIs for speech-to-text this year, along with advertising, contacts, "storage as a service," about a dozen more.

12:50PM:AT&T's goal is to address the global market, and it intends to ensure that its tools are interoperable across a as many international networks as possible.

12:55PM:And the winner is... People Power.

12:59PM:People Power's winning app was an open source solution that helps users manage their power consumption, and it lets companies offer branded versions to their customers.

1:05PM:Execs from Pandora and Zynga are now on stage to discuss AT&T's testing and optimization tool, ARO.

1:11PM:AT&T is also announcing a new HTML5-based app distribution platform that will be included in its next-gen AppCenter.

1:15PM:The first app is a social app that let's users share images and notes about their sports injuries via various social networks. No, seriously.

1:18PM:The third and final app is Sleepbot, a mobile and web app that helps people improve their sleep habits.

To tech-obsessed consumers around the world, the start of a new year means more than watching the ball drop and having to hang a new calendar — it means the Consumer Electronics Show is right around the corner. CES is by far one of the biggest gear and gadget shows of the year, and CES 2012 is shaping up to be no exception. Smartphones ruled the connected world in 2011 and while 2012 is shaping up to be more of the same, CES will also see dozens of popular companies unveil hordes of new tablets, computers, TVs, home entertainment gear and plenty more. We’ll be in Las Vegas next week to bring you live coverage of all the press conferences and announcements you can handle, so be sure to tune in for all the latest CES news as it breaks.

We’re live from Barnes & Noble’s press conference here in New York City where the bookseller is expected to take the wraps off its sequel to the Nook Color tablet. Though the firm used a heavily customized, unrecognizable version of Google’s Android platform to power the original Nook Color, it is still one of the most popular Android tablets in the short history of the media tablet category. Barnes & Noble has reportedly shipped more than 3 million Nook Color slates to date, and with Amazon’s $199 Kindle Fire ready to heat things up beginning next week, we’re hoping B&N has a few surprises up its sleeve this morning to keep the space competitive. Hit the break for our live coverage and don’t forget to refresh the page often, or enable auto-refresh, for all the latest news as it breaks.

9:55AM:Ok guys, we're seated and people are still filing in. No 5-minute warning yet so we'll probably get started a few minutes late.

9:59AM:Ok! They just announced that the show is about to start.

10:00AM:B&N CEO William Lynch is now taking the stage.

10:01AM:No company in digital content has grown faster in the past 12 months has grown faster that B&N. They now sell 27% of eBooks.

10:02AM:The Nook Color was the first color eReader with tablet functionality. "We sold millions."

10:03AM:The Nook Color has access to the largest catalog of magazines and children's content. It's the number 2 tablet in the world behind the iPad.

10:04AM:Well that was fast! Lynch just announced the Nook tablet and we're watching a video.

10:05AM:As you can see, it looks just like the original Nook Color, and it's being billed as B&N's lightest, fastest tablet yet.

10:06AM:It's hands-down the best media tablet in the 7-inch class. 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM.

10:07AM:It weight under 1 pound and it can be held comfortably during extended periods of time. If features a "Vivid View" display built by LG that B&N is billing as a huge breakthrough in the tablet space.

10:07AM:The Nook Tablet gets free access to AT&T and B&N WiFi hotspots.

10:08AM:Battery life = up to 9 hours of video! It also supports up to 11.5 hours of reading time.

10:09AM:It supports video playback up to 1080p, and it comes pre-loaded with apps for Netflix and Hulu Plus. "It has the deepest Netflix integration of any tablet."

10:09AM:

10:10AM:The Nook bookstore is now home to over 2.5 million books.

10:11AM:The Nook Tablet supports a feature called "read and record," while allows parents to record themselves reading a book. The child can then play the recordings back at a later time.

10:12AM:B&N already has the largest library of top magazines, and they're expanding their library even further alongside the launch of the Nook Tablet.

10:13AM:B&N has been working with thousands of developers to build a huge catalog of apps for the Nook Tablet. Yup, Angry Birds will be there at launch...

10:14AM:It ships with 16GB of internal storage and it supports up 32GB of external storage as well

10:14AM:On top of all that storage, you also get Nook Cloud access for cloud-based storage.

10:16AM:Lynch says the Nook Tablet is clearly the better choice this holiday season versus the Kindle Fire.

10:17AM:The Nook Tablet features a better display with no air gap, double the storage plus expandable memory, and the Nook Tablet is also lighter.

10:17AM:"Nook tablet is lighter than Kindle Fire at under a pound."

10:17AM:The Nook Tablet was hand-designed while the Kindle Fire used the BlackBerry PlayBook design, and it sports twice the RAM.

10:18AM:"Content will look and render better on the Nook Tablet than on the Kindle Fire."

10:19AM:The Nook Tablet is also supported by people at Barnes & Noble stores. Kindle Fire? Good luck getting support...

10:19AM:The Nook tablet will cost 249. Pre-orders start now and it becomes available next week.

10:22AM:Jamie Iannone is now on stage to discuss B&N's digital portfolio. "The Nook Color is the best selling Android tablet in the world," and now the price is being cut to 199.

10:22AM:B&N is pushing out an update to the original Nook Color that features 100 new improvements.

10:23AM:"The Nook Color will have access to all of the content we announced with the Nook Tablet."

10:24AM:B&N is adding fast access to the web and email, along with tons of new content sources.

10:24AM:

10:24AM:The black and white Nook touch is being updated with a new E Ink display as well.

10:25AM:It will also feature a new Best-Text technology that renders text more clearly than any other E Ink display. Beyond that, it sports up to 2 months of battery life.

10:26AM:Starting today, the Nook SimpleTouch is just 99, down from its launch price of 149.

10:27AM:The Nook SimpleTouch (new name for the black and white reader) features a better display and twice the battery life of Amazon's competitive offerings.

10:28AM:"No annoying ads, whether the device is on or off." The crowd chuckled. Amazon charges an extra $40 to turn off ads.

10:29AM:The previous-gen black and white eReader is getting an update that will add the new page-turning tech from the updated SimpleTouch.

10:29AM:The Nook SimpleTouch is available today.

10:30AM:New Nook Digital Shops will be set up in B&N stores to show off and promote Nook products.

10:32AM:That's it! We're going to go try to get some hands-on time with the new Nook Tablet. Thanks for tuning in!

Following BGR’s exclusive report on Monday revealing that AT&T’s 4G LTE network has gone live in Chicago, we have received new images confirming that the network is alive and kicking in Atlanta as well. A source has provided BGR with multiple images of AT&T’s 4G LTE service in action, and we have verified that the tester is indeed located in Atlanta, Georgia. Our source in Chicago had trouble finding full service, but Atlanta seems to be blanketed a bit better at this pre-launch stage. Using an AT&T Elevate 4G LTE mobile hotspot, our tester in Atlanta saw download speeds approach 25Mbps and upload speeds in excess of 8Mbps — much faster than the already speedy tests we saw up north. Again, these pre-launch tests do not necessarily represent the data speeds AT&T subscribers will see when the 4G LTE network officially goes live this summer. And just as was the case in Chicago, it is unclear if AT&T’s 4G LTE network has been soft launched in Atlanta or if service will only appear intermittently while the network is being tested. Images showing AT&T 4G LTE speed tests in Atlanta can be seen in our photo gallery, which is linked below.

AT&T’s 4G LTE network went live this past weekend in the Chicago area, and initial speed tests reveal impressive download speeds. AT&T has yet to announce the availability of LTE service in Chicago or any other launch market, but BGR has obtained exclusive images and speed test results from a source who has tested the network there. Ahead of an official launch, AT&T 4G LTE service is likely to be available only intermittently during testing, though it is also possible that Chicago has been soft launched following the launch of AT&T’s first two 4G LTE devices last week. Read on for more.

Our source used an AT&T Elevate 4G LTE mobile hotspot to perform speed tests in the Chicago area. Using both an iPhone 4 and a MacBook connected to the Elevate via Wi-Fi, he found that download speeds topped out at around 13Mbps and upload speeds reached just over 2Mbps. It should be noted, however, that the speeds achieved during these tests do not necessarily represent the data speeds AT&T subscribers will see once the network officially goes live. In addition, our source said that the Elevate never had more than three bars of service during the tests, which is another indication that AT&T’s 4G LTE network is not in a launch-ready state. Images of 4G LTE speed test results on the iPhone 4 and MacBook can be seen in our photo gallery, which is linked above.

Microsoft released its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday and noted that its revenue of $17.73 billion was greater than any other fourth quarter in the company’s history. The Redmond-based firm also reported $69.94 billion in revenue for the fiscal year — also a record — up 12% from 2010. The company’s Entertainment & Devices division was particularly successful, reporting 30% growth in revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter and 45% for the entire year thanks to Xbox Live, the Xbox 360 game console, and the Kinect controller. “Throughout fiscal 2011, we delivered to market a strong lineup of products and services which translated into double-digit revenue growth, and operating margin expansion,” said Peter Klein, chief financial officer at Microsoft. “Our platform and cloud investments position us for long-term growth.” Read on for Microsoft’s full press release.

Microsoft Reports Record Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year Results

Microsoft Office, server products, and Xbox 360 drive $17.37 billion of fourth-quarter revenue

REDMOND, Wash. — Jul. 21, 2011 — Microsoft Corp. today announced record fourth-quarter revenue of $17.37 billion for the quarter ended June 30, 2011, an 8% increase from the same period of the prior year. Operating income, net income, and diluted earnings per share for the quarter were $6.17 billion, $5.87 billion, and $0.69 per share, which represented increases of 4%, 30%, and 35%, respectively, when compared with the prior year period.

For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011, Microsoft reported record revenue of $69.94 billion, a 12% increase from the prior year. Operating income, net income, and diluted earnings per share for the year were $27.16 billion, $23.15 billion, and $2.69, which represented increases of 13%, 23%, and 28%, respectively, when compared with the prior year.

“Throughout fiscal 2011, we delivered to market a strong lineup of products and services which translated into double-digit revenue growth, and operating margin expansion,” said Peter Klein, chief financial officer at Microsoft. “Our platform and cloud investments position us for long-term growth.”

Microsoft Business Division revenue for the fourth quarter grew 7% and 16% for the full year. Office 2010 continues to be the fastest-selling version of Microsoft Office in history with over 100 million licenses sold. In June, Microsoft released Office 365 with familiar Microsoft Office collaboration and productivity tools delivered through the cloud.

Server & Tools revenue grew 12% for the fourth quarter, the fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth, and grew 11% for the full year. Windows Server, System Center, and SQL Server continued to drive revenue growth in the segment.

Windows and Windows Live Division revenue declined 1% for the fourth quarter and revenue for the full year decreased 2%. Excluding the impact of the prior year Windows 7 launch and revenue deferral, we estimate full-year revenue growth was in line with PC market growth of 2% to 4%. Windows 7 has sold over 400 million licenses and business deployments continue to accelerate. During the quarter, Microsoft unveiled a preview of the next version of Windows, codenamed Windows 8, featuring a new user interface and application experience.

Online Services Division revenue grew 17% for the fourth quarter and 15% for the full year, primarily driven by increases in search revenue. Bing’s U.S. search share increased 340 basis points year-over-year to 14.4% this quarter. Microsoft also released new features that incorporate the Facebook social graph to help users make better decisions based on their social connections.

Entertainment & Devices Division revenue grew 30% for the fourth quarter and 45% for the full year, due to the ongoing momentum of the console, Kinect, and Xbox Live. Xbox 360 has been the top-selling game console in the U.S. over the past twelve months. At E3 in June, Microsoft highlighted its upcoming game lineup, Xbox Live content partnerships, and enhanced content discovery using Bing and Kinect.

“A strong year of double-digit increases in revenue and earnings is a real credit to all of our Microsoft employees and partners around the world. We continue to see strong business demand across all of our products, from small businesses all the way up to the largest global enterprises,” said Kevin Turner, chief operating officer at Microsoft. “Our move to cloud services continues with the release and momentum of Office 365 and growth in Windows Azure. We’re providing our customers seamless and powerful ways to move to the cloud, and we are well positioned for the coming year.”

Business Outlook

Microsoft reaffirms fiscal 2012 operating expense guidance of 3% to 5% growth from 2011, or $28.0 billion to $28.6 billion.

Webcast Details

Peter Klein, chief financial officer, Frank Brod, chief accounting officer, and Bill Koefoed, general manager of Investor Relations, will host a conference call and webcast at 2:30 p.m. PDT (5:30 p.m. EDT) today to discuss details of the company’s performance for the quarter and certain forward-looking information. The session may be accessed at http://www.microsoft.com/investor. The webcast will be available for replay through the close of business on Jul. 21, 2012.

In May BBC launched its official BBC News Android application, but unfortunately it was only available in the UK after its debut. Now Android users worldwide can download and install the application from the Android Market. We typically used to install third-party BBC News apps, but the official one blows those out of the water. Top stories are side-scrollable with beautiful headline thumbnails, and you can easily quickly listen to the World News Bulletin, the Live BBC World Service, or view a quick 1-minute global news summary — all from the home screen. There’s also an option to be notified of breaking news stories. If you’re a news fiend, this app is a must have.

[Via Android Central]

Read

We’re here live and in living color at Sprint and Motorola’s press event in New York City where Sprint CEO Dan Hesse and Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha will take the stage and presumably reveal what’s next from the two companies. Could there be some Android handsets introduced? Well, if you know Motorola, that’s probably a lock. The event is about to get under way, and all of our live coverage is after the break!

12:16PM:We're seated folks! Looks like the event will kick off around 12:30 p.m. People are munching on some food right now before the event.

12:19PM:The food looks good, but we don't want to risk losing our seat for a bowl of soup.

12:22PM:ok we cheated and grabbed a water

12:25PM:As you can see in the earlier picture, there's a shrouded podium on the stage. We assume there will be some devices being announced.

12:26PM:The event is beginning in 5 minutes!

12:29PM:The presentation will begin in 1 minute. We're being told to silence our phones.

12:30PM:Hesse is on stage!

12:31PM:Today Sprint is announcing two new Motorola devices, the Photon 4G ( the first international 4G device and dual-core Tegra 2 phone).

12:32PM:It runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread

12:32PM:The Motorola Triumph is the first Motorola Android device for Virgin. It has a 4-inch touchscreen, two cameras, HDMI-output and more.

12:33PM:The Triumph is also the first to come with Virgin Mobile Live social-network installed. Both phones will be available this summer.

12:33PM:Sprint will continue to collaborate and work on PTT devices.

12:35PM:Lots of laughs at "are you done" as we snap photos. One coming in just a second.

12:35PM:Motorola is thrilled to be working with Sprint. "We're showing the breadth of this partnership."

12:36PM:He's discussing recent PTT devices. Today Motorola and Sprint are delivering innovative devices for all of Sprint's customers. Consumers, small business owners, and enterprise customers.

12:37PM:Motorola has the right device for you. "With that, let's have a look at some of the features of Photon 4G."

12:39PM:We're watching a demo video, looks like a brand new version of BLUR is on the device. It looks pretty awesome! Product chief from Sprint Fared Adib and Alain Mutricy, senior vice president of Motorola, are on stage now.

12:41PM:Motorola and Sprint want to differentiate in this space. Today's announcement will build on the momentum has they add Motorola to Sprint's Androidn lineup.

12:41PM:The relationship is very important for enterprise base.

12:42PM:We see all this the same way as Motorola, that's why this relationship is so important. What make Photon so important is that no other device has these features and capabilities in one device. We have this amazing 4G network, and leveraging Motorola software - enterprise security, international device.

12:42PM:Powerful NVIDIA Tegra 2, Sprint ID

12:43PM:Very excited to introduce the Photon 4G, this is all about speed and power. Why? Consumers want large screen

12:43PM:Fast data delivery, most powerful smartphones like the Photon can leverage 4G and get an instant response that consumers expect.

12:44PM:HD camcorder, 1080p video capture and 16GB of storage.

12:44PM:2/3 of consumers want to choose their smartphone themselves and get the IT managers approval for work in the enterprise. To support this need we developed a leading enterprise capability — a ready for business suit available on Photon 4G.

12:44PM:For consumers this addresses their productivity needs, editing documents, setting up meetings, printing, etc.

12:45PM:The business suite includes on device and on SD card encryption, complex password management, remote wipe, etc.

12:45PM:Motorola is leveraging the 3LM technology

12:46PM:Last but not least, webtop.

12:46PM:When Motorola Photon 4G is connected to an accessory dock, a full PC-like Firefox browser launches automatically, and you can also edit and open Microsoft Office documents.

12:47PM:Photon was designed for speed and versatility for consumers. We delivered this device for all users and we're very excited, very excited.

12:48PM:Some of the other products: Motorola Triumph for Virgin Mobile. Moving from a traditional PAYG service to introducing smartphone handsets, 3rd Android, 1st Motorola. Best device in the prepaid market. Bringing this another example of multi-brand strategy.

12:48PM:Sleek and stylish smartphone packed with features, media consumption in mind. 4.1-inch touch screen display, great mobile internet experience.

12:49PM:Showing a slide of all the Motorola portfolio now including the Clutch, i412, Theory, Titanium, XPRT, XOOM Wi-Fi, etc

12:49PM:Over 10 Motorola devices by end of 2011

12:49PM:That's it! We're done, demo time. Make sure to check out hands on for both products!

Sprint and Motorola haven’t introduced a flagship product together in what seems like forever. Hopefully today, that will change. The companies are holding a joint press conference today and we’ll be covering it live from New York City at around 12:00 p.m. Eastern, so make sure to check back for our live coverage. Until then, feel free to let the rumors (and your imagination) run wild in the comments section below.

Bookmark this link and make sure to head there for our live coverage of Sprint and Motorola’s press conference! Coverage starts at or around 12:o0 p.m. EDT / 9:00 a.m. PDT.

Welcome one and all to BGR’s live coverage of Apple’s WWDC 2011 keynote! Apple CEO Steve Jobs is on hand to unveil the latest Apple has to offer, and we’re expecting a huge event despite the fact that Apple is not expected to reveal a new iPhone model at the show this year. Instead, Apple will focus on software, with the big addition being the company’s new iCloud service. Apple will also show off more OS X Lion details during the keynote, but we have to admit: we’re much more anxious to see Apple show off iOS 5 for the first time. We think iOS 5 is going to be the most significant update to the platform since Apple introduced the App Store alongside iOS 2.0. A completely rebuilt notification system, basic widget functionality, a new automatic app update delivery mechanism and deep social integration are among the changes we’ll be looking for, but we’re certain that Apple has a few surprises up its sleeve as well. Hit the break for our live coverage of Apple’s WWDC 2011 keynote for the latest updates!

12:28PM:We're heading in and should be seated soon!

12:40PM:Doors are finally opening.

12:45PM:Alright we're almost seating, there are still tons of people pouring in.

12:49PM:We have a feeling the event might be starting a little bit late as we are getting reports that WWDC attendees aren't even in the building yet, but still in line outside.

12:59PM:"Please turn all your devices on silent."

1:01PM:Pair of MacBook Pros on stage, for demo time, obviously!

1:02PM:Steve Jobs is out! Everyone is applauding!

1:03PM:There are over 5,200 people here today — the biggest place we have, sorry to everyone who couldn't make it.

1:03PM:over 100 hands on labs, 1,000 Apple engineers, and 120 sessions.

1:04PM:We're here to talk about 3 things today. And we're going to talk about software. Hardware is the brain, software is the soul.

1:04PM:We're starting with Lion. Phil Schiller is up on stage/

1:05PM:Ha — he's trying to get people riled up in Ballmer-esque fashion.

1:05PM:"We have over 54 million active Mac users."

1:05PM:Sorry guys, we're having major camera issues! Working on it!

1:06PM:PC market has shrank 1% this year, Mac has outgrown the industry. Products are incredible like the MacBook Air

1:06PM:Leading in notebooks, over 70% of Mac sales are notebooks

1:07PM:Entire PC industry wants to copy our hardware. We make the best, not just hardware, but software, too.

1:07PM:Showing off OS X 10 years ago.

1:08PM:Next up is Lion. There are over 250 new features, only have time to show 10.

1:08PM:Multitouch gestures. We have built multitouch trackpads into all our laptops

1:08PM:Kinetic scrolling, multitouch zoom and taps and swipes

1:10PM:Phil is talking about fullscreen apps and how in Lion there is a simple swipe to get in and out.

1:11PM:Mission control is up

1:13PM:We're now seeing full screen apps — three-finger swipe will take you from the full screen back to the desktop/dashboard.

1:14PM:The three-finger swipes will also switch from one app to the next. To exit full screen it just takes one click.

1:15PM:PhotoBooth looks awesome full screen — especially with effects being added in real time as you add/remove them.

1:15PM:Three-finger swipe up on the trackpad will bring mission control back into focus.

1:16PM:Spaces can bee added simply by clicking at the top corner of mission control, and windows can then be added to a new space by simply dragging and dropping.

1:17PM:When you close a space in mission control view, the windows within will slide back into the main windows — very smooth.

1:17PM:Spaces can bee added simply by clicking at the top corner of mission control, and windows can then be added to a new space by simply dragging and dropping.

1:18PM:Schiller is talking about the Mac App Store now, which is now the number one PC sales channel for software, passing Best Buy.

1:19PM:The Mac App Store is now built right into Lion. There are also push notifications to alert users of updates. Auto updates are also supported.

1:20PM:Launchpad — a simple pinch gesture brings up an iOS-like inteface where you can access all of your apps and launch them.

1:21PM:The next key feature is Resume — when you launch an application in Lion, it will bring you right back to where you were when you left the software. The feature even works after a reboot!

1:21PM:Applications, Spaces and settings are all covered by Resume.

1:22PM:Auto-save — Lion will automatically save documents in the background with no need for the user to do anything.

1:23PM:The feature can be enabled and/or disabled for each document individually. There's also a lock feature that will stop auto-saving at a certain point.

1:23PM:Versions — like Dropbox, Lion will make past versions of documents accessible in a document history.

1:24PM:The Versions interface is similar to Time Machine — you can scroll through every version of a document with a smooth animated interface.

1:24PM:Sorry again for the lack of photos guys... we're working on it!

1:26PM:Now we're watching a demo of these new features. Launchpad really is awesome — think of it as a giant iOS home screen that is automatically populated with all of the apps on your computer.

1:27PM:Auto-save also means there is no prompt to save a document if you're made changes just before closing a program. When you open it again, it will be exactly as you left it — including cursor position!

1:28PM:With Versions — and this is awesome — you can view multiple versions of a document in live windows. This means you can actually copy/paste things from one version of a doc to another!

1:29PM:Feature number 9: Airdrop — this basically a peer-to-peer Wifi-based network that lets you move files from one computer to another by simply dragging and dropping.

1:30PM:When you drag the doc to another person's PC — which will appear automatically in Finder — they get a pop up where they can accept the transfer.

1:30PM:The last feature is a completely redesigned Mail app. Needless to say, it looks A LOT like the iPad version.

1:32PM:The coolest feature of the new Mail app is easily conversation view. Think Gmail threads but a little sexier.

1:32PM:Craig is coming back up to demo the new Mail app now.

1:33PM:The message list runs down the left side in a column just like the iPad version. Folders are further to the left, and they're hidden when you don't need them.

1:33PM:The search is enhanced, and it suggests searches as you type based on your mail and your search history.

1:34PM:Users can also search for keywords and date-ranges with one string. Awesome!

1:35PM:Finally, conversation view will auto-hide everything but the new content within each message. Craig just poked Gmail for now doing that very well. Wink, wink.

1:36PM:Lion also features a new migration feature for users switching from Windows, not just another Mac. There are over 3,000 new APIs total in Lion. Get cracking, developers!

1:36PM:Lion will be available ONLY in the Mac App Store. No more discs!

1:37PM:Lion will be about a 4GB download and a single purchase can be installed on ALL of your authorized Macs.

1:37PM:Lion will cost... just 29.99 when it's released. WOW!

1:38PM:Lion developer preview will be available today, and the release version will be available in July.

1:38PM:Next up... iOS 5! Scott Forstall is coming up on stage

1:39PM:To date, Apple has sold over 200 million iOS devices total.

1:39PM:That makes iOS the No.1 mobile operating system with over 44% of the market.

1:40PM:In the first 14 months, Apple has sold more than 25 million iPads. That's iPad and iPad 2 combined.

1:40PM:Apple has sold more than 15 billion songs through the iTunes music store across all platforms.

1:41PM:More than 130 million books have been downloaded through iBooks.

1:41PM:There are now more than 425,000 apps in the App Store, with more than 90,000 of them built for the iPad.

1:42PM:The iOS App Store has served more than 14 billion downloads, and more than $2.5 billion has been paid out to devs.

1:43PM:Apple now holds more than 225 million accounts on file, all with credit cards and one-click purchasing enabled.

1:44PM:iOS 5 is a MAJOR release, Forestall stressed. There are more than 1,500 APIs and more than 200 new features!

1:44PM:The first new feature being covered... NOTIFICATIONS!

1:45PM:Apple has served more than 100 billion push notifications so far.

1:46PM:Apple has completely redesigned the push notification system for iOS. Notification Center is the big addition. It combines all over your notifications into one panel that is accessed by swiping down from the top. Oh hi, Android.

1:46PM:Stocks and weather sit at the top of the notification center.

1:46PM:Notifications are no longer disruptive — they appear at the top of the display and they do not interrupt usage.

1:47PM:The lock screen displays recent notifications as well, and a swipe on a notification will open the applicable app.

1:48PM:A swipe brings you right to the relevant message, by the way, as longer as the developer makes full use of the notifications APIs.

1:48PM:Second feature: Newsstand

1:50PM:Newsstand lets users access magazines through a new, separate interface. It is accessible in the App Store and there is a new newsstand on the home screen where all of the magazines are accessible (it works like a folder).

1:50PM:Background downloading is supported!

1:50PM:Newspapers and magazines can take advantage of newsstand.

1:51PM:Third feature... Twitter integration.

1:51PM:Twitter is now built into the Settings app in iOS. Every twitter app will work with the new single sign on feature!

1:52PM:Twitter is now integrated with the Camera and Photos apps in iOS. Photos can be tweeted from either app now.

1:53PM:Other apps that have twitter integration are Safari, Maps, and YouTube. Also, contacts features contact integration — contact photos will automatically be pulled from Twitter.

1:53PM:Next feature: Safari. Nearly 2/3 of all mobile web browsing is done with Safari.

1:54PM:Safari now has a Reader feature that takes the story you're reading and eliminates all of the noise around the story and just displays the images and text from the body.

1:54PM:Safari will also let users email a link AND story content right from within the browser.

1:55PM:There's also a new Reading List feature that lets users save stories to read later. Uh oh, Instapaper.

1:56PM:Safari will also now include full tabbed browsing. Tabs are displayed across the top and switching between them is lightning fast. We're watching a demo now.

1:57PM:The Read Later feature is accessible on the same button as bookmarks, and it will save items across all of your iOS devices and Mac computers.

1:58PM:Next feature: Reminders. 50,000 apps were just made obsolete.

1:59PM:Reminders is a reminder and task feature that lets you set time or location-based reminders.

1:59PM:In other words, a date and time can trigger a reminder, or a GPS location can trigger a reminder. Reminder also sync with Exchange which is nice.

1:59PM:Next new feature: camera.

2:00PM:The iPhone 4 is now the most popular camera phone used to take photos on flickr and second most popular over all.

2:01PM:The new camera app opens much, much, much faster. Camera is also accessible with a double-tap on the home button.

2:01PM:The volume up button can also be used to take shots. FINALLY!

2:02PM:The native camera app now also has grid lines available and pinch to zoom works in the UI. There's even a zoom-lock feature!

2:02PM:There are now integrated editing features as well. Cropping, red eye removal, and one-tap enhance are all supported.

2:03PM:The seventh new feature being covered is a redesigned Mail app.

2:03PM:Rich text formatting is now supported, indentations are supported, dragging addresses between cc and bcc is supported, and so is flagging!

2:04PM:Search now supports content searching on the server as well.

2:04PM:There's also added support for SMIME for enterprise users.

2:05PM:Now we're getting a demo. Flags can be added and removed with a single tap, and there's also an integrated dictionary that lets you look up words in emails with just a tap.

2:06PM:There's also a new system-wide thumb keyboard available. Users can now split the keyboard into two halves and thumb-type very easily. Not sure how the split keyboard will be received, but it's nifty.

2:07PM:Eight new feature: PC Free. Uh oh... Tons of applause.

2:08PM:With iOS 5, users will no longer need a PC to activate iOS devices. FINALLY! The "post-PC" marketing is slightly more realistic now...

2:08PM:Setup is now done right on the device, as is activation.

2:08PM:Software updates are now OTA (over the air)!!

2:09PM:Delta update are supported as well, so only changes to the OS will be updates and the entire OS doesn't need to be downloaded.

2:10PM:Ninth new feature: Game Center. That's still around?

2:11PM:iOS is by far the most popular gaming platform in the mobile world, and Apple currently has over 50 million registered Game Center users. That's 20 million more than Xbox Live.

2:11PM:Game Center now supports user photos, game recommendations, and game purchase support right within Game Center.

2:12PM:Turn-based game support is now supported as well (think Scrabble).

2:12PM:iMessage is the next iOS 5 feature being covered.

2:12PM:WOW. Apple is launching a new iOS-only messaging service called iMessage.

2:13PM:It supports text, photos, videos, contacts, group messaging, delivery receipts, read receipts, typing indications, and multi-device support so you can move from an iPhone to an iPad and not miss anything.

2:14PM:It is fully encrypted as well, and it works over Wi-Fi or cellular connections.

2:15PM:Poor, poor third-party messaging app devs. We're now seeing a demo and it really is BBM for iPhone. Multi-platform is all app like WhatsApp and Kik have going for them now...

2:16PM:We're now seeing how easy it is to send photos and videos — the interface, by the way, is the same as the Messaging app so it's beautiful and familiar.

2:17PM:Those are just 10 of the 200 new user features. Others include TV mirroring, which let's you mirror your iPad 2 to your TV to Apple TV.

2:18PM:Wi-Fi sync to iTunes is now supported as well! Your iOS device will back up and sync to iTunes automatically over Wi-Fi. FINALLY

2:19PM:iOS 5 is available to developers TODAY. Fire up those accounts, fellas!

2:19PM:iOS 5 will ship to end users this fall.

2:19PM:The iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, both iPads and the two latest iPod touch models are all supported.

2:20PM:Next up... Steve Jobs is coming back up on stage to unveil iCoud!

2:21PM:iCloud has been in the making for 10 years, when APple realized the PC was going to become your digital hub — one device to hold all of your media.

2:22PM:A new problem has risen lately though — multiple devices all need the same data and it's become necessary to sync them all separately. Wonder where this is going...

2:22PM:With iCloud, the digital hub is being moved to the cloud.

2:23PM:So now, photos (even new ones as you take them), music, etc are synced to the cloud automatically and they become available across all devices.

2:24PM:iCloud also is completely integrated with your apps — everything happens automatically. "It just works."

2:24PM:"Why should I believe them? They're the ones who brought me MobileMe?" Steve joked. Zing!

2:25PM:Contacts, calendar and Mail are no longer MobileMe apps — they're now iCloud apps. For example, a new contact will automatically be uploaded to the cloud and synched across all devices. Changes to existing contacts are handled the same way.

2:26PM:iCloud also supports calendar sharing, so changes you make on your calandar will automatically be visible by anyone you share your calendar with.

2:27PM:Jobs also highlighted the fact that there are no ads involved with this service... at all.

2:27PM:MobileMe was $99... Mail, Calendar and Contacts with iCloud are completely free!

2:28PM:There are also three new apps coming with iCloud that weren't in MobilMe. The first is the App Store.

2:28PM:Apps purchased on one devices can now be added to any other device through iCloud.

2:29PM:For future devices, all apps are automatically added to all devices.

2:30PM:The next app they added is iBooks — books purchased on one device can be downloaded to all devices. Also, your read history is synched between devices as well, as is reading position.

2:30PM:Finally, Apple added automatic cloud backup.

2:31PM:The service will back up your important data once daily, and when you get a new device, all of your data will sync wirelessly from the cloud.

2:31PM:Uh oh... there are three more apps being added to iCloud!

2:31PM:First... Documents in the Cloud.

2:32PM:Documents now sync automatically via the cloud from one device to all your other devices.

2:32PM:Pages, Numbers and Keynote are all supported as of the latest versions of the apps, which have already been released. Sneaky!

2:34PM:There is a new interface within the apps that lets you view all of the documents that are synced to the cloud, and they all sync automatically.

2:36PM:Apps can store documents to iCloud as well!

2:37PM:Developers have access to iCloud Documents in the Cloud APIs with the iOS 5 SDK.

2:37PM:Macs and PCs are supported as well! This is a huge ding for Dropbox and the like.

2:38PM:Next up, Photo Stream.

2:38PM:Photo Stream will sync photos taken on any device to the cloud, and then to all other devices.

2:39PM:The functionality is all built right into the apps, so there is nothing new to install or configure. It all just works.

2:40PM:Photo Stream is also built into Lion on Macs, and on PCs it will work with the Pictures folder. What's more, Photo Stream will work on Apple TV as well.

2:42PM:Another feature of Photo Stream is memory management. It will store the last 1,000 photos on each iOS devices, and all photos on Macs and PCs. In the cloud, photos will be stored for 30 days so they can be synced to all other devices before they are automatically removed.

2:42PM:Eddie Cue is on stage now to demo Photo Stream.

2:43PM:He just took two photos on stage with an iPhone and as soon as he launched the photos app on his iPad, the photos wer already there.

2:43PM:Since only the last 1,000 photos are saved with Photo Stream, users can drag any photos they want to keep permanently into an album.

2:44PM:Last up... iTunes in the Cloud!!

2:45PM:This is what we've all been waiting for — music purchased in iTunes will automatically be synced to all devices.

2:46PM:Songs you've already purchased pre-iTunes in the Cloud can be downloaded on other devices for free.

2:46PM:For future purchases, once this feature is enabled, a song purchased on one device will be pushed to all devices.

2:47PM:Eddie Cue is back up to demo the service. Unless they throw us a curveball, it looks like music purchased outside of iTunes will not be supported by the service. We'll know for sure in a few minutes.

2:48PM:In the demo, it looks like they just snuck in a redesigned iPad music app.

2:49PM:The service is amazingly seamless. Buy a song on one device and it's available everywhere else immediately.

2:49PM:iTunes in the Cloud supports up to 10 devices.

2:50PM:WOW. Everything relating to iCloud, including iTunes in the cloud, is completely free!

2:52PM:Awesome — to set up iCloud, all you need to do is log in with your Apple ID. What's more, users get 5GB of free storage... and that doesn't include music/etc purchased through iTunes.

2:52PM:iTunes in the Cloud becomes available today for iOS 4.3 as a beta — the full release will launch with iOS 5 in the fall.

2:52PM:ONE MORE THING

2:53PM:iTunes in the Cloud is just for songs purchased from iTunes... but you might have music you got elsewhere.

2:54PM:These other songs can be synced to the cloud one time, and they will become available everywhere.

2:55PM:Rather than syncing, there is also an "iTiunes Match" application that will scan your library and match songs with versions available through iTunes. These songs will then become accessible just like iTunes purchases!

2:55PM:In addition, iTunes Match will upgrade all of those songs to 256 AAC.

2:56PM:iTunes Match service will be $24.99 per year.

2:56PM:That yearly fee will support up to 20,000 songs!

2:57PM:"If you don't think we're serious about this, you're wrong," Steve said. He's talking about the new data center in NC now.

2:58PM:"It's a pretty large place and it's full of expensive stuff."

2:58PM:This facility will manage all iCloud services.

2:58PM:It looks like that's it folks — thanks for tuning in!