iOS 5

Apple watchers have long known that the company integrated social networking service Twitter into its next generation mobile operating system iOS 5. What remains to be seen is whether or not Facebook will join Twitter and enjoy its own iOS 5 integration on iPhones and iPads. The screenshots below are from MacRumors however the site couldn't vouch for their authenticity.

For one thing, the word addresses is spelled wrong which points to these being a simple mockup or someone's independent dream. On the other hand, with Twitter hitting iOS 5 full force it's hard to imagine that Facebook doesn't want a piece of this attention from Apple users. Not only this, but Facebook is strangely said to be planning an iPad app announcement on the same day that Tim Cook is scheduled to announce the next generation iPhone.

Apple has blacked out employee vacations from October 9th through 12th and October 14th through 15th. A tipster told Apple Insider the first blackouts will coincide with the release of iOS 5, and the second block of dates are for the launch of Apple's fifth-generation iPhone.

"The first block of dates -- the 9th through the 12 -- could pertain to the release of iOS 5 for existing iOS device owners on Monday the 10th. As AppleInsider reported last week, certain segments of the company's AppleCare divisions have been told to prepare for an influx of iOS-related inquiries on that same day."

Sure it may not happen right away, but one developer has already found evidence pointing to a future compatibility between iMessage on iOS devices and iChat on Mac OS X computers. The snippet of code leading to this conclusion revealed two new properties in OS X Lion's version of iChat software.

These properties could be the beginning of Apple adding full support for iMessage to iChat instant messaging. The "time delivered" and "time read" fields are not used or needed in iChat, however they are already used by iMessage to track instant messaging. According to MacRumors Apple would have no other reason to add these lines of code.

The golden master version of iOS 5 is due for release on Friday September 23rd according to a recent report from BGR. The same inside source indicated that iOS 5 beta 8 will kick off on Friday September 16 to developers.

If Apple holds to this schedule, it's likely that the golden master of iOS 5 will be the version of firmware that gets installed onto already completed iPhone 5 hardware sitting at factories in China. Carriers must approve the software for use on their networks, and its possible this deadline would be Wednesday October 5th.

Apple plans to release iOS 5 sometime this fall, with over 200 new features and improvements. Although an iOS 5 release date has not been announced, several of the upcoming firmware improvements have been described in detail. Many of these features already exist and can be installed on your iPhone now. Why wait to get the most out of your mobile device?

Some of these additions require a jailbroken iPhone, but now thanks to JailbreakMe jailbreaking your iPhone is as simple as visiting a website in Safari. There are many useful apps available that will bring iOS 5 features to your phone for a few dollars or completely free of charge. Here's a list of 15 different iOS 5 features you can get right now using the Apple App Store or Cydia: