The official Twitter client for iPad is now available to download, and it’s pretty impressive. Centered around consumption, it features panes that allow for easy viewing of photos, news stories, tweets, and even a built-in media player that allows you to watch videos directly in the app either within a floating window or fullscreen. It’s still sort of shocking to me that the screenshot above is a Twitter client, certainly doesn’t look like what you imagine when you think of Twitter does it?

Naturally the iPad client supports touch gestures and interestingly enough, they made the iPad Twitter client not require a login initially, meaning you can start consuming without signing up for anything.

This is a pretty interesting direction for Twitter to go, the iPad client is now more full featured than their website… what’s that tell you? You can download the iPad version directly from iTunes, it’s free.

I think it’s safe to say that this is the best Twitter client for iPad at this point. Perhaps not for its simplicity, since it’s a pretty complex client, but for raw consumption of media and link sharing in the Twitter world it’s pretty amazing. If you have an iPad, don’t miss it.

Some users are experiencing problems trying to download iTunes 10, and there’s even a few rumors circulating that iTunes 10 will not be available to download yet – these are not true, iTunes 10 is available to download now. If you encounter problems with downloading iTunes 10 from Apple’s iTunes site, you can try one of these direct download links from Apple:

iTunes 10 Direct Download links

These direct download links have been verified to work as of 7:20PM PST, the files are on Apple’s servers and are not rehosted or mirrored elsewhere yet.

iTunes 10 for Mac OS X – Download now

iTunes 10 for Windows 64-bit – Download now

iTunes 10 for Windows 32-bit – Download now

Announced at the September 1 media event, iOS 4.1 for iPhone and iPod Touch is now available to download from Apple. Well, for developers anyway. The iOS 4.1 GM seed is listed on the iPhone developer page for immediately download for developers, but everyone else will have to wait until next week to get the full release.

Version 4.1 of iOS includes several important bug fixes as well as a couple new features:

• Proximity sensor issue fixed for iPhone 4 owners
• Bluetooth problems fixed
• iOS 4 slowness problems with iPhone 3G fixed – this is a big one for iPhone 3G owners
• HDR photo features
• HD video upload over WiFi
• TV show rentals
• Game Center

Download iOS 4.1

Developers can access and download the iOS 4.1 GM from the iPhone Developer home page right now.

Everyone else will have to wait for next week where to get the iOS software update, you’ll open up iTunes and click on “Check for Update” if a manual notification doesn’t inform you of the available download on it’s own. You can then choose to just download the update or download and install the update. Presumably you will need iTunes 10 before everyone else can download and install the iOS 4.1 update.

iOS 4.1 for iPad?

iOS 4.1 will not be released for iPad, but iOS 4.2 will be available on the iPad in November which will bring all the iOS 4 software features to iPad.

Apple has announced that iOS 4.2 for the iPad will be available in November when it is also released for iPhone and iPod touch. This is in line with previous rumors suggesting iOS 4.2 would unify all the versions of iOS across the i-device product lineup. This also fits into Apple saying that iOS 4 for iPad would be available in the fall.

iOS 4.2 features for iPad

iOS 4.2 will bring all the existing features of iOS 4.1 to the iPad plus new features that are exclusive to iOS 4.2:

• Multitasking
• Folders
• AirPlay wireless music, movie, and photo streaming
• Printing support over wireless networks
• Game Center for multiplayer and social gaming
• Unified and improved Mail inbox
• Search text within Safari
• Enhanced enterprise support
• Accessibility enhancements
• Keyboard and dictionary enhancements

Of course the most anticipated features are multitasking and folders, but some of the other additions look to be great as well. Airplay looks promising, which will allow you to stream music and video to and from the iPad over WiFi, and Print center, will allow you to wirelessly print and manage documents from the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. The total new features and improvements count over 100, which will make the iPad function almost as if it’s a new device.

The exact release date isn’t known but November isn’t too far off, we’ll let you know when you can download the update. You can read more about the upcoming iOS 4.2 update for iPad at Apple.com

iTunes 10 has been announced and will be available to download starting today via Software Update. Featuring a fancy new icon that finally ditches the CD, iTunes 10 also has a more attractive album management system and a built in social network.

iTunes 10 Ping

Perhaps the most interesting feature of iTunes 10 is Ping, the new social music discovery network from Apple. Built directly into the iTunes app, Ping allows iTunes users to follow artists and other users, get concert listings, discuss music, share your music preferences, and more. With 160 million existing iTunes users and the ability to access Ping on your Mac, PC, iPhone, and iPod Touch, Ping is looking to quickly dominate the social music scene. Ping’s feed looks a lot like Facebook and I’d expect a way to cross-publish between the two shortly. Ping will only be accessible via iTunes 10.

iTunes 10 download

To get the newest version of iTunes 10, go to either Apples iTunes download website or load up Software Update from the Apple menu, it will appear as an available download.

Apple’s iTunes download website is here, you do not need to enter your email address, you can just click on ‘Download Now’ and the download will start.

Update: Some people are reporting problems downloading iTunes 10 or that they can’t download iTunes 10. If you are having troubles downloading iTunes 10, refresh the iTunes download page and try clearing your cache. I can confirm that it is available for download.

The eagerly awaited AutoCAD for Mac is due to ship again in October of this year, this is the first Mac version of AutoCAD since 1992. Alongside the upcoming Mac version will be AutoCAD WS for iPhone and iPad, which will allow users to share, view, and make small changes to their designs remotely.

The Mac OS X release of AutoCAD will feature a very Mac-friendly user interface with Cover Flow style file browsing, multi-touch gestures, and full cross-platform support, as well as the usual AutoCAD feature set.

AutoCAD is the leading industrial design software for 2D and 3D drafting, with over 10 million active users. Pre-orders will be available starting September 1, but the software won’t ship for another month. The Mac version will be priced the same as the Windows release at $4,000, but will be made available for free to students and teachers through an education program. AutoCAD WS for iPhone and iPad is expected to be released for free.

The long awaited Netflix app for iPhone is finally here. It’s a free download and you can sign up for a free trial membership to watch movies, but to really enjoy the perks of Netflix you’ll need to sign up for a membership which runs about $9/month.

As expected you can manager your queue and other essential Netflix tasks, but the app is especially cool because it will remember where you left a movie off, allowing you to resume watching it later from your TV, computer, or even iPad. I am a complete Netflix addict so it’s great to finally have it on the iPhone in addition to the iPad (the app also runs on the iPod touch).

You can grab Netflix for iPhone from the iTunes app store, no surprise but it is currently the #1 app on the App Store.

Apple has scheduled an event for next week at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco, California. What’s the occasion? Nobody knows for sure but given the image they provided with the press release (shown above) you can expect it to be about the iPod and iTunes. Recent hardware leaks suggest their will be a new iPod touch released at the event that will have features similar to the iPhone 4, including a higher resolution screen and dual cameras for FaceTime video chat.

The rumor mill also suggests that the upcoming Apple event will be used to unleash a revised AppleTV with access to the App Store and TV show rentals, at least according to a recent Bloomberg article:

[TV] Episodes will be available to Apple’s rental service within 24 hours of their air dates and will be commercial-free, one of the people said. Apple plans to hold a San Francisco event Sept. 1, the company said today in an e-mailed statement. The event, which comes three weeks ahead of the new prime-time TV season, is where Apple will unveil the service and an updated line of entertainment products…

September 1 certainly looks to be an interesting day.

Apple looks like they’ll be jumping full force into the touch screen market sometime in the future. An uncovered patent application shows an iMac Touch that runs both Mac OS X and iOS, which seamlessly switches between the two operating systems depending on how the screen is orientated.

In this image, the iMac screen is tilted upright to be used as a traditional Mac with a keyboard. In this orientation the iMac runs Mac OS X and would appear as any other iMac.

Here’s where things get interesting:

This image shows the same iMac slanted down, and when orientated horizontally the iMac looks to seamlessly switch to running the touch based iOS. Amazing! The patent application also describes touchable areas on the screen that would activate iOS, suggesting that iOS will run on a layer atop Mac OS X, almost like a super powerful touch version of Dashboard.

The patent also describes similar OS switching functionality on a laptop. This is fresh off the heals of the MacBook Touch patent discovery that clearly demonstrates an Apple laptop with a high resolution touch screen.

If you’ve been were wondering what Apple plans to do with the future of their hardware and dual operating systems, this should give you some great insight. Mac OS X and iOS look to be integrated on the same hardware when applicable, allowing a user to either use the simplified touch GUI or the more powerful and traditional computing environment of Mac OS X. Will we see these features in Mac OS X 10.7 and iOS 5? Time will tell!

Head over to Patently Apple for more pictures and a good walkthrough of the patent. How many years off are these features and hardware? Who knows. Will we ever see touchscreen Macs that switch between OS on the fly? It’s as good as a patent and rumor at this point, but hopefully! This is really exciting stuff.

Apple may be working on a MacBook Touch, and will integrate high resolution touch screens into future Apple hardware, according to a recently discovered Apple patent. The information is pretty straightforward, as Patently Apple puts it “There’s no wishy-washy lingo about it” since the patent specifically names a MacBook, MacBook Pro, and the MacBook Air:

one of the prime target products for such a new display is a touchscreen based MacBook as shown below in patent FIG.3. Later in the patent under patent point 46, Apple clarifies that FIG. 3 could be a MacBook, MacBook Pro and/or MacBook Air.

The patent also suggests that the MacBook and MacBook Pro will soon have the same high-resolution IPS display that is featured on the iPad, iPhone 4, and the latest iMac. Upgrading the screens seems like a no brainer to me, but it’s the touch screen and it’s applications that make this news. Perhaps even more interesting than just a MacBook Touch (yes I just made up this name), the patent also indicates that the touchscreen technology could apply to a television and gaming system.

Of course this is all speculative and should certainly be branded as a rumor for now, but it sounds like Apple has a lot up there sleeves! You have to imagine something like this is quite a ways off from release (if ever) considering the current versions of Mac OS X are not nearly as touch friendly as iOS. Maybe we’ll start to see touch features in Mac OS X 10.7?

If you’re a patent geek or you just want to see the full scoop, head over to Patently Apple where you can see all the details, some more drawings, and all the abstract patent application details.