AirDrop is a new feature Apple will be including in Mac OS X Lion that will allow you to wirelessly transfer files to anyone around you as long as they’re also running OS X Lion with AirDrop. Here’s a quick description of how AirDrop will work:

With AirDrop in Mac OS X Lion, you can send files to anyone around you — wirelessly. AirDrop doesn't require setup or special settings. Just click the AirDrop icon in the Finder sidebar, and your Mac automatically discovers other people nearby who are using AirDrop. You'll even see contact photos for those who are already in your Address Book. To share a file, simply drag it to someone's name. Once accepted, the file transfers directly to the person's Downloads folder. When you're done with AirDrop, close the Finder and your Mac is no longer visible to others.

If that sounds to you like AirPlay or AirPrint for files, well it does to us as well. However Apple hasn’t mentioned anything about extending AirDrop to iOS (yet). In theory this would work great for transferring photos, documents, and even media from your Mac to an iPhone or iPad.

We don’t know if Apple will be talking about iOS 5 during their iPad 2 announcement next week, but it sure would be nice to see this feature included in iOS at some point.

Wouldn’t it?

[Apple]

Will AirDrop for Mac OS X Lion be coming to iOS? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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What do you get for the man who mainstreamed the command-line with the Apple II, the GUI with the Mac, multitouch with iPhone, the tablet with iPad, digital music with iTunes, MP3 players with iPod, 3D animation with Pixar, etc. etc. incredibly etc.?

Our thanks and best wishes on the occasion of his 56th birthday. He’s wishing Steve Jobs peace, prosperity, health and happiness!

Happy Birthday Steve Jobs! is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Will the iPad 2 event also be the iOS 5 preview event? 2 years ago Apple did Macworld in January and the iPhone 3.0 (iOS 3) preview event in mid March. Last year Apple did the iPad event in late January an the iPhone 4.0 (iOS 4) preview in early April. This year the iPad 2 event is on March 2…

…so does that leave time for an iOS 5 event in April or will Apple have them share the spotlight next week?

If iPad 2 doesn’t have a lot of new features and iOS 4.3 doesn’t have any big surprises left maybe sharing the stage is a good thing. Otherwise it seems like Apple prefers to let their big product announcements get the individual attention they deserve.

We know you want everything and want it now but what do you think Apple will do? iPad 2 now and iOS 5 next month or everything on Wednesday?

TiPb Asks: Will the iPad 2 event also be the iOS 5 preview event? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Apple has already started preparations for the highly anticipated iPad 2 launch event. The event takes place next Wednesday, March 2^nd at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco.

This is the same location that Apple used for the first unveiling of the iPad last year; the theme being used this time is very similar too with splashes of color on a white background.

Nobody knows for sure what the iPad 2 will bring, we have heard thousands of rumors , some probably accurate but most way off. Now it is getting so near, it is going to be very very exciting to find out how Apple is going to improve the iPad!

[9to5 Mac]

Apple starting preparations for the iPad 2 launch event is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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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!

• SpeechTrans Ultimate Powered By Nuance: Magically speak and understand different languages within a matter of seconds with 99% speech recognition accuracy and even have Facebook chat translated! [$19.99 - iTunes link]

• Budget Planner Lite: An app that helps you forecast your balance on a calendar and sync your budget between your family, friends and partners on their iPhone, iPod & iPad. [Free - iTunes link]

• GoodReader for iPhone/iPad: Both version have received many improvements to PDF annotations. [GoodReader for iPhone, $2.99 - iTunes link] [GoodReader for iPad, $2.99 - iTunes link]

• MailShot: Create special contact entries in your address book for your sports or work teams and family or friends groups. Updated with improved compatibility with Exchange, MobileMe and other popular mail servers. [Free - iTunes link]

• MyPad: Previously Facepad, this Facebook app for iPad now has a photo uploader and new page designs. [Free - iTunes link]

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

New and updated iPhone and iPad apps for Thursday, February 24 is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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BGR, who was accurately tipped about the last iOS 4.3 beta release data and build, has heard that the Gold Master release for iOS 4.3 (8F190) is done and could go out to developers at any time, with the full release version possible for next week’s iPad 2 event.

Certainly sounds reasonable. We’ll know the first part when the GM hits developer.apple.com, and the second part when Apple execs take the stage on Wednesday.

We know a lot about iOS 4.3 already (see our iOS 4.3 walkthrough) so what I’m more curious about is whether or not there will be any previously well hidden, iPad 2 specific features still to be announced? (Other than Photobooth for iOS…) Any guesses?

[BGR]

iOS 4.3 GM seed incoming, general release next week? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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TiPb readers jumping on new MacBook Pros today have let us know that Apple is no longer offering discounted MobileMe boxes as an option along with a new Mac purchase. A quick check shows you can’t buy it from store.apple.com at all anymore either.

MacRumors confirms that Apple has notified resellers that they won’t be producing the boxes for retail anymore either.

Could this be the first sign a revamp is really on its way? Could we — dare I say it — see a new MobileMe at next Wednesday’s iPad 2 event?

[Thanks everyone, MacRumors]

MobileMe no longer available from Apple.com, revamp coming? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Apple announced today that the next version of their desktop operating system, Mac OS X Lion — the one that takes iPhone and iPad features back to the Mac — is now available for developers to preview.

"The iPad has inspired a new generation of innovative features in Lion," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "Developers are going to love Mission Control and Launchpad, and can now start adding great new Lion features like full screen, gestures, Versions and Auto Save to their own apps."

There are the features they’ve mentioned before, including the Mission Control system that replaces/unifies Spaces and Exposé, Launchpad which lets you have a grid of apps like iOS, full screen apps also like iOS, more multitouch gestures like iOS (sensing a trend?), and some new ones like a new, iPad-inspired version of Mail, AirDrop which sounds like AirPlay for files, Resume which is saved-state for Mac OS, Auto-Save, a new File Vault, and more.

No mention of 10.7, does that mean Apple thinks version numbers aren’t even developer-facing information anymore? Press release after the break and feel free to speculate if we’ll see things AirDrop show up for iOS at next week’s iPad event…

[Apple.com]

CUPERTINO, California—February 24, 2011—Apple® today released a developer preview of Mac OS® X Lion, which takes some of the best ideas from iPad™ and brings them back to the Mac® for the eighth major release of the world's most advanced operating system. Lion features Mission Control, an innovative new view of everything running on your Mac; Launchpad, a new home for all your Mac apps; full screen apps that use the entire Mac display; and new Multi-Touch™ gestures. Lion also includes the Mac App Store℠, the best place to discover, install and automatically update Mac apps. The Lion preview is available to Mac Developer Program members through the Mac App Store today, and the final version of Lion will ship to customers this summer.

"The iPad has inspired a new generation of innovative features in Lion," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "Developers are going to love Mission Control and Launchpad, and can now start adding great new Lion features like full screen, gestures, Versions and Auto Save to their own apps."

Mission Control is a powerful, entirely new feature that unifies Exposé®, Dashboard, Spaces®, and full screen apps to give you a bird's eye view of every app and window running on your Mac. With a simple swipe, your desktop zooms out to display your open windows grouped by app, thumbnails of your full screen apps as well as your Dashboard, and allows you to instantly navigate anywhere with a click.

Launchpad makes it easier than ever to find and launch any app. With a single click, Launchpad displays all your Mac apps in a stunning full screen layout where you can launch, re-order or organize apps into folders. You can also arrange apps into multiple pages and swipe between them.

Lion brings the full screen experience that iPad users love to the Mac. With one click, your application window goes full screen, taking advantage of your Mac's brilliant display. You can swipe from one full screen window to another and even back to your Desktop or Dashboard.

New Multi-Touch gestures and fluid animations give you a natural and intuitive way to interact with your Mac. New gestures include pinching your fingers to zoom in on a web page or image, swiping left or right to turn a page or switch between full screen apps and swiping up to enter Mission Control.

Lion also includes the Mac App Store, where you can find great new apps, buy them with your iTunes® account, and download and install them in just one step. Apps purchased from the Mac App Store are installed directly into Launchpad.

Additional features in Lion include:

• a new version of Mail, with an elegant, widescreen layout inspired by the iPad; Conversations, which automatically groups related messages into one easy to read timeline; more powerful search; and support for Microsoft Exchange 2010;
• AirDrop, a remarkably simple way to copy files wirelessly from one Mac to another with no setup;
• Versions, which automatically saves successive versions of your document as you create it, and gives you an easy way to browse, edit and even revert to previous versions;
• Resume, which conveniently brings your apps back exactly how you left them when you restart your Mac or quit and relaunch an app;
• Auto Save, which automatically saves your documents as you work; the all new FileVault, that provides high performance full disk encryption for local and external drives, and the ability to wipe data from your Mac instantaneously; and
• Mac OS X Lion Server, which makes setting up a server easier than ever and adds support for managing Mac OS X Lion, iPhone®, iPad and iPod touch® devices.

Apple releases Mac OS X Lion developer preview is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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As rumored, Apple has released new MacBook Pros this morning in 13 inch, 15 inch and 17 inch form factors featuring quad-core Intel Core i7 processors at the high end and a couple of features that might just be of interest to the TiPb faithful — FaceTime HD and Thunderbolt I/O.

"The new MacBook Pro brings next generation dual and quad Core processors, high performance graphics, Thunderbolt technology and FaceTime HD to the great design loved by our pro customers," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "Thunderbolt is a revolutionary new I/O technology that delivers an amazing 10 gigabits per second and can support every important I/O standard which is ideal for the new MacBook Pro."

More on the new tech:

Get more of your friends in the picture with crisp, widescreen HD video. The new FaceTime HD camera gives you three times the resolution of the previous camera — perfect for the brilliant LED-backlit display — along with improved low-light performance. You and your friends can make 720p HD calls from one new MacBook Pro to another. You can also make video calls to other Intel-based Mac computers,4 iPhone 4, or the new iPod touch.

Like I said on the podcast last night I’m not sure I need to see people — or be seen by people! — in HD unless Apple provides some flattering Hollywood filters but at least having the option for FaceTime HD on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch would be nice, wouldn’t it?

The Thunderbolt port will give you plug-and-play performance with a whole new world of Thunderbolt peripherals, as well as with the Apple LED Cinema Display and other Mini DisplayPort peripherals. You can daisy-chain as many as six devices, including your display. And with support for video and eight-channel audio, it's easy to connect HDMI-compatible devices — like your TV and home stereo — using the HDMI adapter you already have. Current VGA, DVI, and DisplayPort adapters are also supported.

12 times faster than FireWire 800 and 20 times faster than USB 2.0, could our iPhone, iPod touch and iPad get the same love starting next week?

Anyone getting a new MacBook Pro? Anyone really want these new features on their iOS devices too?

[Apple.com]

Apple releases new MacBook Pros with FaceTime HD, Thunderbolt I/O is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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FaceTime for Mac has just come out of beta and is now available in full release form for $0.99 in the Mac App Store. Originally pre-released during Apple’s Back to the Mac event it’s interesting to see it go on official sale right before the rumored MacBook Pro update which could occur as early as today — with FaceTime HD being a rumored feature.

FaceTime for Mac makes it easy to talk, smile and laugh with friends and family on their iPhone 4, iPod touch or Mac. Getting started is quick and easy — simply enter your Apple ID and you’re ready to go. Whether you’re talking to someone on an iPhone or on another Mac, video calls with FaceTime look great. There’s no better way to stay in touch with all your favorite faces.

Still no word on a Windows version but if you want to talk over FaceTime from your iPhone 4 or iPod touch 4 to your Mac using friends and family, you’re good to go! Anyone try it out yet and notice anything different from the beta? Let us know!

UPDATE: Dan Moran of Macworld tweets :

Apple told me that the FaceTime $1 charge for existing Mac users is regulatory related (remember the $2 802.11n patch circa 2007?).

Our guess is it goes free with Lion…

[Mac Store link - $0.99]

FaceTime for Mac comes out of beta, goes $0.99 on Mac App Store is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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