The London 2012 Summer Olympics have begun and with all the different events going on, it's no easy task to keep track of all the results -- if you don't have an iPhone or iPad, that is! We've rounded up some of the best apps to keep track of this world event, including some that let you keep up with the results, watch live events, view beautiful photography, and even a game that lets you experience being an Olympian.

London 2012: Official Results App for the Olympic and Paralympic Games

With the Official Results App you will be able to see results, live updates, calendar schedule, details of sports, medal tables, athlete profiles, and more. It also includes an up-to-date list of all athletes participating in the Olympic Games, including individual biographies, related news stories and their personal performance at London 2012.

• Free for iPhone and iPad - Download Now

London 2012: Official Join In App for the Olympic and Paralympic Games

If you're one of the lucky people who get to physically attend the Olympics, the Official Join In App is an essential planning too. From the start of the Olympic Torch Relay to the Olympics and Paralympics, the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, plus all the cultural, city and community celebrations happening across the UK.You can also plan the best route to get to competition venues, view detailed maps, news, photos and social commentary from the Games, and more.

• Free - Download Now

NBC Olympics

NBC is official broadcaster of the the Olympics in the US and you can follow every event from London, including real-time results & schedules, medal counts and TV & Online listings with their free NBC Olympics app. And during the nightly Primetime Show televised on NBC, the app will feature a second screen experience that makes a great companion to the on-air broadcast! Unfortunately, this isn't the greatest, most well-designed app in the world, but it's something.

• Free - Download Now

NBC Olympics Live Extra

In addition to the NBC app we just mentioned, there is also the NBC Olympics Live Extra iPhone and iPad app. With this app you can watch the 2012 London Olympic Summer Games live. This includes alternate camera views, plus full replays. You can also follow your favorite events and receive push notifications for event start times. Just as with NBC's other app, this one isn't anything amazing, but the US is unfortunately restricted to have no other choice. You must have a cable or satellite subscription to login to NBC Olympics Live Extra.

• Free - Download Now

Reuters Olympics London 2012

Looking for some awesome Olympic photography? The Reuters Olympics London 2012 iPhone and iPad app does just that! All the photographs are taken by Reuters award-winning photographers and can be searched by sport or simply browsed through in the daily stream.

• Free - Download Now

London 2012 - Official Mobile Game

Do the Olympic games make you dream of Olympian? With the London 2012 - Official Mobile Game, you can! It features really good graphics, smooth gameplay, and medals! The 9 included Olympic events are 100M, 110M Hurdles, 100m Freestyle, Double Trap, Triple Jump, Pole Vault, 100m Butterfly, Kayak (K1) and Archery. It's easy to play, yet challenging -- fun for the entire family!

• Free - Download Now

Apple aired three new style commercials during the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games; which is currently being held in London. The new style commercials are quite cheeky and unlike anything we have seen from Apple before. They are quite tongue in cheek and show a blue shirted Apple genius in each advertisement, coming to the rescue of customers.

The first ad shown is called "Basically" and shows the Apple Genius laughing at PC's and showing the customer all the add on value of using a Mac. The second ad is called "Labor Day" and shows an expectant Father knocking up the Genius at 4am; asking for assistance with a birth announcement card. Finally the last new ad is called "May Day" and is set on a plane; a customer has forgotten his anniversary and asks for help making an iMovie.

The new style ads with a touch of humor are certainly different to the recent ads we have seen from Apple. Having said that, Apple has often tried to inject a bit of humor into its commercials; the "Get a Mac" commercials were hugely successful when they were aired.

The new ads are all embedded below for your viewing pleasure. When you have watched them, let us know what you think of this new style of ad.

Source: YouTube

Apple is rumored to be considering a rather large investment in the popular social network, Twitter. The investment would be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, and could push Twitter from an $8.5 billion valuation to $10. Evelyn M. Rusli and Nick Bilton, writing for the The New York Times, report:

There is no guarantee that the two companies, which are not in negotiations at the moment, will come to an agreement. But the earlier talks are a sign that they may form a stronger partnership amid intensifying competition from the likes of Google and Facebook.

Never the less, the Times also reports that the Apple relationship is so important to Twitter, they've appointed a vice-president, Kevin Thau, to work with Apple full time. Twitter integration was brought to the iPhone and iPad with iOS 5 and increased with iOS 6, which also added Twitter to Notification, and added Facebook integration into the mix. Just this week Twitter also debuted on the Mac with OS X Mountain Lion update's deeper social media integration.

Given that level of integration, it only makes sense for Apple to explore a stake in Twitter. Apple traditionally doesn't like being dependent on technology it doesn't control. It only makes sense Apple would want influence over Twitter's direction -- especially if any competitor ever looked like they might be making a move towards a similar investment, or a buyout.

Likewise, Apple has proven less than adept at trying to spawn their own social media network, namely Ping and integrated a successful network like Ping could be a better strategy, just as Apple CEO, Tim Cook suggested during Apple's Q2 2012 earning call.

Apple doesn't have to own a social network, but does Apple need to be social? Yes.

Apple's relationship with Facebook has been up and down over the years, though Facebook integration is coming to both OS X and iOS this fall. Google has been making a huge push into social with Google+, yet they also compete with Apple in smartphone and tablets, namely, Android.

Would a more intertwined Apple and Twitter be a good thing? It probably wouldn't prevent Twitter working with rival platforms any more than Microsoft's investment in Facebook prevents Facebook from working with Apple. With $117 billion in the bank, Apple wouldn't miss a few hundred million for Twitter. Would it make you feel more secure about Twitter features not going anywhere? Or should Apple keep trying to do their own social thing?

What do you guys think of Apple investing in Twitter? Are there certain social media features you'd like built deep into iOS that just aren't there yet?

UPDATE: Apple's talks with Twitter apparently occurred over a year ago, no talks are currently underway. That, according to Shira Ovide and Jessica E. Vascellaro at The Wall Street Journal and their "little birdies".

People close to Twitter have said the San Francisco company is ahead of 2012 revenue projections laid out last year. Twitter has largely ruled out acquisitions as it builds its business for a potential initial public offering in a year or so.

Source: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal

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