SwiftKey and Mobile Nations (hey, that's us!) are giving you the chance to win a phone or tablet of your choice. SwiftKey is one of the leading aftermarket keyboard for Android, and in return for letting the SwiftKey guys know how you use your phones and tablets, you could bag the device of your choice, up to a value of $800.

Head over to swiftkey.com/survey to begin, complete the survey. If you're one of the lucky three (yes, three) winners, you could get your hands on your dream phone or tablet, even if it doesn't run Android. In fact, even if you don't currently own a device that supports their kick-ass keyboard, SwiftKey still wants to hear from you, and you could still be a winner.

The survey is open internationally for smartphone and tablet owners aged 18 and over, and it runs until midnight on Wednesday, June 6. Be sure to check SwiftKey's site for the full terms and conditions.

Head over to SwiftKey's survey page to get started!

The annual Millward Brown BrandZ survey was released recently, with Apple holding fast to its number one spot. Apple's brand worth for 2012 actually grew 19% since last year to $183 billion, followed by IBM with $116 billion brand worth, and Google which dropped a down a rank. It's worth noting that telecom and tech brands claimed about 44% of the top 100 chart's value, compared to a third in 2006. Among the carriers, AT&T still claimed a higher brand value than Verizon, but Verizon has a lot more forward momentum. The Brandz survey spanned over 380 categories, and was generated after over 65,000 different brand measurements in 41 countries.

It's not a huge surprise to see Apple's brand value so high, and one would expect the trend to continue well into next year. In fact, the effectiveness of Apple's branding has gotten to the point where competitors can't help but attack the cult-ish mindset in courts. Apple has created an iconic brand with no small help from their marketing efforts, retail locations, and not to mention world-class products. In fact, at this point it's hard to imagine many other companies being able to command the same clout among the masses as Apple has. Seriously, what could other manufacturers even do to  recreate the same kind of mystique as Apple without just looking like a copycat?

Brand value has real tangible returns, and isn't just an indicator of how good Apple is at marketing itself; UBS Research showed not long ago that iPhone users are overwhelmingly the most likely to stick with Apple for their next device out of every smartphone manufacturer. That's part and parcel of having a strong brand.

You can download the full BrandZ 2012 report here, which is actually really, really detailed. Included are a bunch of interesting editorials on marketing across a variety of industries and regional trends.

Source: Reuters

Special Operations Apps has announced a new lineup of gun accessories and iOS software that allow soldiers to use iPhones and iPads as heads-up displays, complete with nightvision, target information, infra-red, laser range finders, and video recording. The [SOA]2 system uses scopes from another manufacturer, US NightVision. Special Operations Apps hopes to get this working on Android, the Lumia 900, and the Nokia PureView (which would be a good fit given its insane camera).  Down the road, they hope to include object recognition, facial recognition, and motion tracking.

We've already seen the U.S. military get pretty heavily involved in mobile, but they've been focusing primarily on the app side of things. I'd be curious to see how many other third parties start finding ways to put these devices on the field, since it seems like SOA is fairly specialized. It still seems weird to me that consumer-grade electronics can be considered secure and reliable enough for military use, but hey, if it generates cool (and likely expensive) smartphone gear like this, I'm all for it.  One of the product managers, Jonathan Springer, put the relationship between soldier and smartphone in a pretty clear context.

Bottom line up front, this joint teaming alliance is about integrating the best uses of technology we have right now and putting this technology into the hands of our combat soldiers downrange. The soldier already knows these mobile smart devices. It's already in his pocket, and he's already an expert at using it.

Any military folks in the house? How useful does your iPhone or iPad come in your line of work?

Source: SlashGear

A stolen iPhone is helping its owner close the net on the thief thanks to Apple's iCloud Photo Stream. We assume that Find My iPhone was either not enabled, or was disabled by the thief, but it seems the thief was unaware that Photo Stream was running and cataloging every photograph

Katy McCaffrey had her iPhone stolen on a cruise ship last month. She had lost hope in recovering her smartphone, but then photos started showing up in her Photo Stream. The handy iCloud service automatically uploads photos taken on an iOS device to a feed that can be viewed on other authenticated devices.

Photo Stream started to reveal some interesting information about the person that had her iPhone. It turns out he is an employee of the Disney Cruise Line that she was on vacation with when the phone went missing. The man named Nelson took pictures of his pregnant girlfriend who also works aboard the same ship as well as drinking buddies and some nice sunset shots. Kate set up a Facebook Album and publicly displayed all the pictures from the stolen iPhone.

Kate has now informed Disney Cruise Line and sent them copies of the photographs; she hopes to get her iPhone returned and maybe some free passes to Disneyland too.

Source: Facebook via Cult of Mac

For today only, the iMore iPhone case store has the OtterBox Defender Series with Realtree Camo for iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 on sale for only $34.95! That's a whopping 42% off! Get yours before they're gone!

The OtterBox Camo Defender Series Case for the iPhone 4S, AT&T iPhone 4, or Verizon iPhone 4 offers rugged protection for your smartphone. The Defender Series case will help keep your phone protected from drops, bumps, dust and shock.

All features, keys and ports are accessible through the case, providing you with a unique, interactive safeguard. Included with this case is a holster style swivel belt clip.

Features:

• Layer 1: Thermal formed protective clear membrane. Protects keypad against scratching, as well as dust intrusion (layer optional depending on the level of protection desired)
• Layer 2: Hi-impact polycarbonate shell for an added guard against drops and shocks
• Layer 3: High quality silicone skin to absorb bump and shock
• Full access to all keys, ports and functions

OtterBox Defender Series with Realtree Camo iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 now!

Jonathan Ive, known as Jony, is Apple's Senior Vice President of Design and the man responsible for turning Steve Jobs' iMac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad into real, physical objects with just exactly the right feel, in perfectly the right color. And when asked in a two-part interview with The Telegraph which Apple design he'd most liked to be remembered for, he says we haven't seen it yet.

. "It's a really tough one. A lot does seem to come back to the fact that what we're working on now feels like the most important and the best work we've done, and so it would be what we're working on right now, which of course I can't tell you about."

Apple is famous for its secrecy about future products. I ask what will happen if the Queen asks about the new iPhone today. Will he have to say, "I'm sorry Your Majesty, we don't comment on forthcoming products"?

"That would be funny," he laughs.

But I notice he doesn't say no.

Ive is in England to receive his knighthood for services to design and enterprise.

Born in Chingford, Essex in 1967 to a furniture and silverware maker who helped inspire Ive's attention to detail, after studying at Newcastle Polytechnic he ended up at Apple just prior to Steve Jobs' return, and became head of design at Apple shortly after Jobs' return. The rest, very literally, is history.

When asked about "focus" Ive re-interates a sentiment we've heard from him before, but should always be kept in mind in the months and weeks before Apple device launches.

"We try to develop products that seem somehow inevitable. That leave you with the sense that that's the only possible solution that makes sense," he explains. "Our products are tools and we don't want design to get in the way. We're trying to bring simplicity and clarity, we're trying to order the products.

"I think subconsciously people are remarkably discerning. I think that they can sense care."

Ive also repeats his belief that design shouldn't be obvious, that a designer should sweat and fret the details, figure out the complex problems, and present the end user only with the simplicity and elegance of the solution.

Interestingly, when asked about the visual complexity of skeuomorphism in software -- the stitched leather in Calendar specifically -- Ive claims his areas of responsibility are not connected to to those elements.

Both parts of the interview are worth a read.

Source: The Telegraph, x2

If you work for IBM, you are welcome to bring your iPhone 4S to work with you but forget about using Apple's voice driven digital assistant, Siri. IBM has banned the use of Siri on all of its networks due to concerns over privacy. Siri works by sending anything you ask it to a data center in North Carolina; after that, no one really knows exactly what happens with that data once it has been dealt with. Is it deleted once it has been dealt with, is it stored temporarily or is it kept forever?

IBM CIO Jeanette Horan told MIT's Technology Review this week that her company has banned Siri outright because, according to the magazine, "The company worries that the spoken queries might be stored somewhere." It turns out that Horan is right to worry. In fact, Apple's iPhone Software License Agreement spells this out: "When you use Siri or Dictation, the things you say will be recorded and sent to Apple in order to convert what you say into text," Apple says. Siri collects a bunch of other information — names of people from your address book and other unspecified user data, all to help Siri do a better job.

No one knows how long this data is kept by Apple or who has access to it, Apple doesn't say either, its user agreement only states "By using Siri or Dictation, you agree and consent to Apple's and its subsidiaries' and agents' transmission, collection, maintenance, processing, and use of this information, including your voice input and User Data, to provide and improve Siri, Dictation, and other Apple products and services."

Siri's original lead developer Edward Wrenbeck confirms that privacy was always a big concern and the fact that Siri could provide information on your location alone could be enough to violate a non-disclosure agreement. Of course this in no different to many other apps currently available or in fact,  the internet in general.

Do you think IBM is right to be concerned over who can gain access to this information and do you have privacy concerns of your own while using Siri?

Source: Wired

The SuperTooth DISCO is a stereo Bluetooth (A2DP) speaker system for the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Mac and similar devices that promises bigger, better, and more booming sound than the Jawbone JAMBOX. But is the increase in size worth the reduction in portability?

Because the iPhone and iPad aren't exactly renowned for the quality of their speakers, many of us have come to rely on external audio devices to give our iOS devices a much-needed kick in the bass (among other things). While there are plenty of options, including AirPlay speakers, it's convenient to have a sound solution that's as mobile as our mobile devices. Something we can use both when we're at home on Wi-Fi and when we're out and about with no Wi-Fi in sight. That makes Bluetooth still a viable, useful option, and that makes something like the SuperTooth DISCO ideal.

And if it's a multitasker -- something you can hook your friend's non-Bluetooth iPod classic or nano up to via good, old-fashioned hardwire, so much the better.

According to SuperTooth, the DISCO features 28 Watt RMS audio power. That includes the internal Subwoofer amplifier power 12 Watt RMS, and the Internal Left and right audio power amplifier: 2 x 8 Watt RMS. The subwoofer speaker uses the Neodyne high efficiency system, and the left and right speakers are full range with parabolic membrane. All of the speakers magnetic shielded

A large, easy to use control wheel decorates the front of the SuperTooth DISCO. It includes a volume knob as well play/pause, skip back/rewind, skip ahead/fast-forward, a bass button, and an on/off/stop button. There's also a Bluetooth connection and battery level indicator.

Around the back is the charging port and charge level indicator, and a 3.5mm stereo line-in connector.

The nickel metal hydride battery life for the SuperTooth DISCO is rated at 3-4 hours on high volume and up to 10 hours on medium volume. Stand by time is rated at 1500 hours and charge time at 3 hours.

On the other hand, all of that performance comes at a price -- the size. The SuperTooth DISCO is 2.5 lbs, and 3.5 inches high, 2.75 inches thick, and just over a foot long.

That means those hoping to stash the SuperTooth DISCO in a purse or messenger bag may be disappointed. This is large bag or big backpack only.

Maybe for just that very reason, the SuperTooth DISCO comes with a protective carrying case with openings for the ports and the speaker.

The good

• Excellent sound
• Comes with protective case
• Works with both iOS and non-iOS audio devices

The bad

• Large size may limit portability

The conclusion

The SuperTooth DISCO isn't a Bluetooth speaker I can sneak into my jacket pocket, but it's absolutely what I want when I'm driving around in a jeep, or at home and just want the whole place flooded with music.

With great music comes great size, however, and that's not going to suit everyone. When I want massive music from my tiny iPhone, the SuperTooth DISCO is both big and beautiful.

$118.14 - Buy now

iMore's authoritative guide to the very best, absolutely free educational apps for iPhone and iPod touch

Looking for great educational app for your iPhone or iPod touch? The App Store is home to over half a million apps and games, and a surprising number of them are available for free. Some of the most beneficial free apps are free educational apps.

iTunes U

The free iTunes U app for iPhone gives you access to courses from universities and schools. These courses are completely free and even include assignments. iTunes U and the instructors provide course materials, including audio, video, books, documents & presentations, apps, and books. iTunes U includes over 500,000 free lectures, videos, books, and other resources on thousands of subjects from Algebra to Zoology.

• Download Now

Khan Archiver: KhanAcademy Educational Videos On The Go

Khan Academy is one of the best products of education and the internet, and with the Khan Archiver app for the iPhone, you will have free access videos on topics ranging from kindergarten, advanced science, humanities, history, and more. Even more, you can download the videos to watch offline.

• Download Now

SparkNotes

SparkNotes is one of the most popular study guides for literature, Shakespeare, poetry, philosophy, drama and short stories. With the free SparkNotes for iPhone app you can access 50 pre-installed study guides in your library and hundreds of study guides online. You can also check-in at the place you're studying and indicate what subject your studying which could then result in impromptu study sessions with other SparkNotes users studying the same subject at the same place at the same time.

• Download Now

Quick Graph

If you're a student taking a math class, there's a good chance you could benefit from a graphing calculator. Unfortunately, such devices are very expensive, but the good news is that there are several app solutions for your iPhone -- the best being Quick Graph. It lets you graph multiple equations at the same time, change their color, trace along them, and more. Quick supports both 2D and 3D graphing in rectangular and polar forms.

• Download Now

Flashcards+

With school comes lots of studying. One of the most common studying techniques is to use flashcards. With the free Flashcards+ app for iPhone, you can say goodbye to the stacks and stacks of flashcards that accumulate over the course of a semester and use electronic flashcards on your iPhone instead. The beauty of Flashcards+ is that you have your flash cards with you wherever you go, which means you'll likely squeeze in more mini study lessons throughout your day and end up with better grades as a result!

• Download Now

The Official SAT Question of the Day

The free Official SAT Question of the Day for iPhone app is exactly what its name implies -- an app that gives you a new official SAT question every day. You can also view the questions from the past 7 days. When checking your answer, The Official SAT Question of the Day will give you an explanation as well as give you a statistical breakdown of how many questions you've gotten correct in that category.

• Download Now

More free iPhone apps

For dozens of additional free iPhone apps, including free social networking apps, instant messenger and communications apps, entertainment apps, finance apps, fun and games apps, health and fitness apps, kids apps, music apps, navigation and location apps, news apps, photography apps, productivity apps, reading apps, shopping apps, sports apps, travel apps, and general utility apps, see here:

• Best free iPhone apps
• Best free iPhone games

Rene Ritchie contributed photographs to this article.

Siri isn't just another voice control system, it remembers context and it can understand relationships. That means, for example, you can tell Siri to call your wife's iPhone, and Siri will know who that is and which phone number to dial.

Not only that, Siri can send SMS or iMessages and even email any of your friends, family, or co-workers simply by speaking their name -- or their relationship to you -- before the command.

• How to establish contact relationships with Siri
• How to manually add relationship data to Contacts
• How to get Contact information with Siri
• How to phone call a contact with Siri
• How to send an SMS or iMessage with Siri
• How to send an group SMS or iMessage with Siri
• How to send an email using Siri
• How to send an email to multiple recipients using Siri
• How to find a friend with Siri

How to establish contact relationships with Siri

Siri will need to either learn who your wife, best friend, boss, or other relationships are before it can associate them with the proper contact. You can edit the Contact to enter that information, but what fun is that? The easier, faster way is simply to tell Siri what your relationships are.

1. Hold the Home button to activate Siri.

2. Tell Siri "Dad Mazo is my father". (You need to use the exact name in your address book, so if your brother's name is entered as "John Smith", that's what you need to say."
3. Siri will then ask if you want it to remember the relationship.

4. Say "Yes" or tap the Yes button and Siri will confirm that the relationship has been added.

Now, this works well for those "unique relationships" in your life such as mother, father, husband, wife, boss, etc. It is still not perfect when the relationship is not as unique – for example your child.

My wife and I have six kids. When I ask Siri to call my daughter, she again asks me who my daughter is. The difference is that there is no "daughter" in the relationship field in the iOS Contacts app – only "Child." So, my daughter gets put in the "Child" field.

If you have more than one child, or any multiple relationships, you will need to enter that data manually in your Contacts app.

How to manually add relationship data to Contacts

When Siri does get confused by multiple relationships, it is possible to manually add in the proper data in your Contact card so that Siri can make use of it.

1. Launch Phone and tap the Contacts tab, or launch the Contacts app
2. Scroll down and tap on your Contacts card (the one listed in Settings, General, Siri, My Info)
3. Tap the Edit button in the top right-hand corner.
4. Scroll down to the very bottom and tap the Add Field tab.
5. Choose from one of the relationships listed; mother, father, brother, sister, child, friend, spouse, partner, assistant, manager or other.
6. Type in the exact name or tap the Blue arrow to choose a Contact to put in that field.
7. When you are done, tap the Done button.
8. The contact is now stored as a relationship in your Contact card and you can ask Siri to "Call my mother" or whichever relationship you added.

This works like a charm EXCEPT for the Child category.  I found that if I said "Call my daughter," since she is listed as the first "Child" it works fine. But I have two daughters and there is no way to get Siri to call a specific daughter. The same goes for the sons. If I say "Call my son" it goes to the first male child listed – but there is no way to differentiate between the sons.

So, Siri is not perfect with that relationship, but with others, it is a nice way to "personalize" the experience.

Privacy warning

Any relationships you add to your Contact card are now part of that card which means that if you email or message someone your contact card, all of your relationships will be part of that information. You may want to create a second, relationship-free Contact card to share with others.

How to get Contact information with Siri

Siri can quickly find you the Contact information for anyone on your iPhone -- far more quickly than tapping, scrolling, and visually picking them out typically allows.

1. Hold the Home button to activate Siri.
2. Say "[Contact/relationship name]".
3. If you don't say the full name, and you have more than one Contact with the same first name or family name, Siri will ask you which one you want. You can save time by saying the full name to begin with.
4. Siri will then pull up a widget containing the Contact information.

How to phone call a contact with Siri

Siri can place calls to someone by name, or simply by relationship, and to any phone number you have. Especially when driving, and with a proper hands-free setup, it's incredibly easy to say "call my wife at home".

1. Hold the Home button to activate Siri.
2. Say "Call [Contact/relationship name]" or "Phone [Contact/relationship name]"
3. If the contact has more than one phone number, Siri will ask you which number you want to call. If you know you want to call to someone's work phone, you can make it faster by saying "Call [Contact/relationship] at work."
4. Siri will then place the call

How to send an SMS or iMessage with Siri

Composing an SMS or iMessage with Siri is very convenient; it is also the ONLY way anyone should ever send a text while driving – assuming you use a handsfree device to dictate the message.

1. Hold the Home button to activate Siri.
2. Say either "Send a text" or "Send a message." To make the process even faster, say "Send a text to [Contact/relationship name]" or "Send a message to [Contact/relationship name].(
3. If you don't say the Contact or relationship immediately, Siri will ask you for a phone number, contact name, or iMessage-associated email address.
4. Wait for Siri to ask you "What would you like to say?"
5. Dictate your message clearly.

6. When you stop talking, Siri assumes you are done and asks you if you are ready to "Send" it.
7. Just say "Yes" or "Send", or tap the equivalent button, and your message is sent to the recipient.

How to send an group SMS or iMessage with Siri

Siri can also send text messages to a group of people. All Siri needs is to hear the word "and" in between the names.

1. Hold the Home button to activate Siri.
2. Then I say "Send a text to [Contact/relationship name] and [Contact/relationship name] and..."
3. Siri adds them all into the recipient field of the text message.

4. Dictate the message and then tell Siri to "send" it.

How to send an email using Siri

Messaging with Siri is not limited to just sending text messages; Siri can also send emails, both to individuals and to multiple recipients.

1. Hold the Home button to activate Siri.
2. Say: "Send an Email to [Contact/relationship name]"
3. If the contact has more than one email address, Siri will ask you which address. If you know you are sending an email to someone's work address, you can make it faster by saying "Send an email to [Contact/relationship] work."
4. Wait for Siri to ask you the subject of the email.
6. Dictate the subject of the email
7. Wait for Siri to ask "What do you want to say"
8. Dictate the body of your email and then tell Siri to "Send" it.

How to send an email to multiple recipients using Siri

Like with SMS and iMessages, you can use Siri to send out group emails; you just need to know which email address to use if your Contacts have more than one email address.

1. Hold the Home button to activate Siri.
2. Say "Send and email to[Contact/relationship name] and [Contact/relationship name] and..."
3. If you have more than one email address for any of the Contacts, Siri will ask which address to use.
4. Dictate the subject and then the body of your email, and tell Siri to "Send".

Remember, Siri is only as smart as you set it up to be, so, if you have three email addresses for one person, don't label them all "work" in Contacts or Siri will say: "Which address, work, work or work?"

If you intend to use Siri, take the time to make sure your Contacts are set up properly -– that is all Siri has to go on.

How to find a friend with Siri

Find my Friends is a free from Apple and available on the App Store.

Free - Download now

In order for Find my Friends to work with Siri, you have to have set it up and added contacts to the Find my Friends system. Once that's done, simply ask away.

Hold the Home button to activate Siri.

Say "Find [Contact/relationship name]

Siri will launch the Find my Friends and show you the location of your friend, family member, co-worker, etc. right on the map.

How to get more help with Siri

If you still need help with setting up or using Siri with your iPhone Contacts, or any other Siri feature, head on over to our Siri Forum and ask away!

• How to set up, configure, secure, and start using Siri

Rene Ritchie and Georgia contributed sections of this guide.

The Photos app has provided a centralized iOS image repository for years. A Files app would bring the same functionality to iOS documents.

For a couple of years now, before every major release of iOS, I've begged and pleaded for a native iOS documents repository. Not a file system like OS X, but something that would do for documents what Photos.app and the photo picker do for images.

Right now, even absent a file system and hierarchy, it's still too complex, confusing, and unwieldy for users to remember, find, and attach documents in iOS. iOS 6 is a chance for Apple to change that, and a Files app and documents picker are simple, consistent, convenient ways to do it.

The problem. Times iCloud.

If I have a text document in iOS, I have no way to directly access that text document. I have to go to an app and hope that I can access the document from that app. If I created a text document in Simple Note, I have to remember I created it in Simple Note because chances are I can't easily open it in Drafts, much less in Apple's Notes app. If I have a Document in the Cloud, it's the same problem only worse. I can't just see Documents in the Cloud. I have to keep a mental list of what I've created over time and their associations, which is a lot of overhead for something that's supposed to be simple.

Conversely, if I have a text document in Dropbox, I can open the Dropbox app, see a list, pick the document I want, and send it to any iOS app capable of handling it. It's not elegant, but it works, and it fills a void left by Apple.

Frankly, I'd rather Apple fill it. They already do it with Photos. They already do it with Music. They already do it with videos. Files deserve equal status under the OS. Since Apple has has already done a lot of interface work for Documents in the Cloud, the material is all their. They just have to give it a face.

Mapping Photos to Files

As I've argued before, the template for a useful Files.app and documents picker is already present in iOS with Photos.app and the image picker. On the iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad, you can launch the Photos app and see a list of Albums, one of which is your local album, Camera Roll, another of which is your iCloud album, Photo Stream, and the rest of which are any albums you've manually created and moved images into.

Tap an album and you see a scrollable grid of the photos contained inside it. Tap a photo, you see the photo. With the Action, Edit, and Trash buttons, you can perform various image management, modification, and sharing tasks.

Now imagine you could launch the Files app a see a list of Folders, one of which is your local folder, Documents, another of which is your iCloud folder, Documents in the Cloud, and the rest of which are any folders you've manually created and moved documents into.

Tap a folder and you see a scrollable grid of the documents contained inside it. Tap a document, you open it in QuickView. With the Action, Edit, and Trash buttons, you can perform various file management, modification, and sharing tasks.

Mapping image picker to document picker

Photos.app isn't the only way to access your pictures in iOS. There's also the image picture. It's an iOS controller that allows other apps, built-in and App Store apps, to access your photos. You can use it to both open images in apps, and save images from apps. It functions as a central image repository for iOS.

Launch Messages, tap the camera button, and the image picker lets you attach pictures to an iMessage or MMS. Launch Instagram, tap the pictures button, and the image picker lets you choose a photo to apply filters to and share. Launch AutoStitch, build a panorama, tap the Action button, tap Save to Camera Roll, and your composite becomes available in the image picker for any other app.

(Vexingly, while Mail.app can save images from an email, there's still no Messages-style camera button so you can add images to an email on-the-fly.)

Now imagine there was a documents picker controller that allowed other apps, built in and App Store, to access your documents. You could use it to both open documents in apps, and save documents from apps. It would function as a central document repository for iOS.

Launch Mail, tap the Files button, and the documents picker would let you attach a document to an email. (I can dream, can't I?) Launch Elements, tap the Files button, and the documents picker would let you open and edit any plaintext file on your device or in Documents in the Cloud. Launch Notes, create a document, tap Save to Files, and your document becomes available in the documents picker for any other app.

iOS already knows which files can be opened in which apps -- it shows you a list of compatible apps in the "Open In" Action (see the Dropbox cloud store example at the top). To keep things simple for users, it could only show compatible documents when the documents picker is called.

Also, it wouldn't replace the auto-save feature of apps like Notes. Those could still be saved within the and even synced the way they are now, utterly transparently. Document picker would just add the option to move a document to the central repository, the way photo editing apps can move a local image to the Camera Roll for universal access.

Mapping Photo Stream to Documents in the Cloud

With Photo Stream, if you've chosen to enable it, any photo you take or image you save to Camera Roll gets automatically copied to the Photo Stream album, stored up on iCloud, and pushed to every other iOS device on your Apple ID (for one month or until 1000 other photos have pushed it off, whichever comes first), as well as iPhoto and/or Aperture (until and unless you deleted) on OS X, and the iCloud directory on Windows.

That's incredible from a backup and accessibility standpoint.

Take a photo of your child playing soccer at the game, your family can see it near instantly at home on the Apple TV. Take a screenshot on your iPhone and almost immediately drag it from iPhoto to Photoshop on your Mac.

Documents in the Cloud already ties into iCloud, but it lacks a user accessible interface on iOS like Photo Stream has with Photos.app.

It lacks Files.app.

Conclusion

iOS has become a mature operating system with text editing, multitasking, better notifications, and more. When it comes to file access, however, it's still in its infancy. Basic, needful things like attachments are still inconsistent between built-in apps like Message and Mail. Worse, Apple desire to abstract file systems to make things simpler for users has resulted in different, rather than less, mental overhead.

A unified document repository, modeled after the existing unified image repository, rounded out with more consistent attachment options, could be the best of all worlds. Users wouldn't have to remember which folder a document was in, nor which app. They wouldn't have to jump around to edit or share. Users could simply open any app capable of editing or sharing a certain type of app and go to work.

Having everything handled by a central Files repository and document picker would also keep Apple's sandboxed security model intact, at least as intact as letting email attachments or cloud store files open in compatible apps, or having a Photos app and image picker. It isn't as open or as useful, but is more secure, that full inter-app communication. It's not even Windows Phone contracts. But is far more useful than the model we have today.

I've wanted a Files app for two years running. Hopefully third time will be the charm.

Additional resources

• The 4 inch iPhone
• iOS 6 wants: The opposite of widgets
• iOS 6: Is it time for Apple to revamp the Home screen?
• The challenge of bringing Siri to the iPad
• iOS 6 and privacy: How Apple should draw inspiration from Android for better app