Greetings TiPB Nation!

This past summer we soft-launched “Mobile Nations”, initially using the name for our cross-site podcast that brings together the heads of state from AndroidCentral, CrackBerry, TiPb, PreCentral and WPCentral for discussion on all things mobile.

Today I have the pleasure of more formally introducing Mobile Nations as our new network brand, creating an umbrella under which all of our individual communities stand united. Take note of the new Mobile Nations top bar and footer on this site!

Though our history in operating the leading mobile-platform dedicated websites reaches back over a decade to the launch of VisorCentral in 1999, it feels like we are in start-up mode again, making aggressive plans and tackling our to-do lists with gusto. Forum regulars will have already noticed a number of recently introduced feature enhancements and podcast fans are now able to watch replays of their favorite shows in video. Over the weeks and months ahead you’ll see us pull the trigger on a number of other Mobile Nations initiatives currently in the works, all aimed at making your experiences on all of our communities even more engaging and fun.

Thanks for being part of the journey,

Nick Bilton of The New York Times has some quasi-informed speculation on the latest, greatest unicorn chase, a potentially Siri powered Apple television set in the future.

Several people, all speaking on condition of anonymity for obvious reasons, told me that nothing was actively being built, but — and this was a big but — I was told repeatedly that Apple would eventually make a television. "Absolutely, it is a guaranteed product for Apple," I was told by one individual. "Steve thinks the industry is totally broken."

He also thinks Siri is the interface crack Steve Jobs referred to in his biography. So there you have it. Nothing new, but with the NYT stamp on it.

Source: The New York Times

Michael Degusta from the understatement did a tremendous job putting together a breakdown on iPhone vs. Android phone device update and support history. [Click/tap on the thumbnail above to go to his site and see it in full.]

Just as LTE-support, user-changeable batteries, different form factors, etc. are legitimate points of consideration when it comes to choosing beteen iPhone 4S and the various Android phones, so is vendor support and their history of OS updates. Not just for consumers, but for developers as well.

Even if you upgrade your phone every year, it will influence your ability to repurposeold device, hand it down, or sell it.

Check out Degusta’s full chart and highly detailed post via the link below.

Source: the understatement

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Rene, Georgia, and Seth talk using iPhones at work, what apps make the home screen, the Siri ad, iCloud and battery life issues, camera improvements, celebrating Steve Jobs, and Hal 9000. This is iPhone Live!

Meta

• iPad Live 79: 4 geeks and a beard
• Iterate 9: Zhephree
• ZENandTECH 20: Communication
• TiPb Asks: What apps are on your main iPhone 4S home screen?
• Seth: How I use my iPhone as CIO of a web and app development company
• Ally: How I use my iPhone to run a small iOS device repair, development and consulting business

iOS 5, iPhone 4S, and iCloud

• Apple airs first iPhone 4S commercial, focuses on Siri
• How to fix battery life problems with iOS 5 or iPhone 4S
• Poll: How's iCloud working for you?
• How much has the iPhone camera improved over the years?
• Sprint working to fix slow iPhone 4S data speeds?
• T-Mobile US says they're waiting on Apple, AWS-capable iPhone

News

• Apple posts Celebrating Steve video from October 19 Event.
• 60 Minutes: Steve Jobs [Videos]
• Aaron Sorkin being courted for Steve Jobs biography, the movie?
• iCloud data center to be powered by the sun?

The competition

• 2009 iPhone 3GS gets iOS 5, 2010 Nexus One doesn't get Android 4.0
• Can Nokia + Microsoft's new Lumia give iPhone a run for its money?

Accessories

• Nest learning thermostat helps iPhone users save energy
• IRIS 9000 lets you use Siri from across the room, HAL 9000 style

Hosts

Credits

Our music comes from the following sources:

• I Called You — iPhone Remix by Pete Leidy
via Sneakmove iPhone Ringtone Challenge

Bloomberg Finance LP has released Bloomberg TV+ for the iPad. Some of the most notable features are the ability to watch live Bloomberg Television, download videos for offline viewing, and access to Bloomberg’s shows on demand.

Bloomberg Television is a 24-hour global business & financial news network that is watched by the most affluent and influential viewers in the world. It is supported by the world’s largest international news bureau network with 146 bureaus in 72 countries.

Watch:

• Live TV: Bloomberg Television Live 24-hours a day
• Featured videos: The biggest business stories right now prioritized by importance
• Last 24 Hours: All the important business stories from the last 24 hours
• Exclusive interviews with the most influential people in business, finance and investment
• Original content produced for mobile
• Bloomberg’s critically acclaimed shows on demand

Plus:

• Download videos for offline viewing
• Get extra content on people, companies and topics while watching
• Search our extensive library of video content
• Set and receive reminders for upcoming programs on Live TV
• Share videos via Twitter, Facebook and Email
• Customize your interactive scrolling ticker and get the latest news and market information
• Enjoy all of this in portrait or landscape; fully optimized for both

Shows available on demand include:

• Bloomberg West
• Charlie Rose
• Surveillance Midday with Tom Keene
• Tech Stars
• Bloomberg Rewind
• Sportfolio
• Innovators
• Bloomberg Enterprise
• Bloomberg Risk Takers
• Bloomberg Game Changers

Bloomberg TV+ is available on the iPad for free.

[App Store link]

Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.

Every day, TiPb gets flooded with announcements for new and updated iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad apps and games. So every day we pick just a few of the most interesting, the most notable, and simply the most awesome to share with you!

• Robots Activity Cards: It’s time for your little ones to explore the world of ROBOTS. Kids can enjoy this cool world using their creativity and skills. [$1.99 for iPad - App Store link]

• Aces Hearts: "Shoot the Moon" with this classic card game that is popular around the world. Aces Hearts brings the timeless game to iPhone with some extra flare. Play characters like Elouise, Vladmimir, and Drucilla. [$0.99 for iPhone and iPad - App Store link]

• Dark Incursion: A side scrolling, hack and slash game that combines the old school pixel art with the stereoscopic 3D experience. It takes place in an alternate reality in the late 1800's, amidst an industrial revolution and a world war. [$2.99 for iPhone and iPad - App Store link]

• BA DA BUMP: Destroy the fireballs and discover the dragon’s secrets. 100% fun for everyone! Start a new adventure for our little dragon, an adventure filled with balls to blow up, secrets to discover and goals to reach. [$0.99 for iPhone and iPad - App Store link]

• Fuzzball: A multiplayer game that combines billiards and soccer elements into an intense mind-wrenching experience. The instant multiplayer action will hook you up to other people so that every game will be a new thrill. Fight your way into the top rankings by out-smarting all the other Fuzzballs! [Free for iPhone - App Store link]

Any other big apps or game releases or updates today? If you pick any of these up, let us know what you think!

For today only, the TiPb Store has the BodyGuardz Armor Carbon Fiber for iPad 2 on sale for only $34.95!. That’s tough carbon fiber protection that’s still soft to the touch. Get them before they’re gone!

Shop BodyGuardz Armor Carbon Fiber for iPad 2 now!

While we know it isn’t going to happen, it is still fun to dream, so the question arises – would you like to have the option to download other keyboard options for iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad, like you can for Android? The iPhone keyboard is really good and a lot of people seem to type rather well on it, but wouldn’t it be nice to have the option to change it? To have something like Swype or Swiftkey as an option? Or to get them in pink or yellow, or themed after your favorite band or video game or TV show if you wanted? Wouldn’t it also be nice to have a custom layout, or different spacing?

Are you happy that there’s only one keyboard to rule them all on iOS devices, or do you wish Apple would let you change them up? Vote in the poll up top and let us know why you feel the way you do in the comments!

The Microsoft Office team has put out a video showing a vision of the future where edge-to-edge, interactive, multitouch and gesture-based panels are everywhere. We’ve seen things like this before in movies like Minority Report and Iron Man, and even ye old Bill Gates CES Keynotes of yore. Apple would never produce a video like this — they want to surprise us with “magical” technology shipping in weeks and month. That’s why it’s great we have more players in the market than just Apple. You have to make the future, you can’t dream it. But you can help inform and inspire it.

Now all that remains to be seen is whether most of those screens end up having Apple, Microsoft, or Google logos on the back of them…

Source: OfficeVideos via WinRumors via @stroughtonsmith

CNet reports that LG and Samsung may be met with production issues for Apple’s rumored iPad 3 Retina Display.

They have production plans for 2,048×1,536 displays. Starting in November. But those are only plans at this point,” said the source, referring to LG and Samsung. “It’s not a question of making just one. That, of course, can be done. The challenge is making lots of them,” the source said. “This is a quantum leap in pixel density. This hasn’t been done before.”

They refer to interim plans for a 1600×1200 resolution display, but given huge problems that would mean for developers, it seems unlikely.

TiPb previously heard that Apple was flirting with the idea of releasing an iPad 2 Pro or iPad 3 this year, but by August we heard production issues meant they were moving back to a spring 2012 schedule.

Source: CNet