As everyone no doubt knows there was an Apple event this week, most of which was spent talking smack to Google and boasting about how they have a veritable army of users ready and waiting to take over the world.  But aside from stating that they have amassed a sizeable force of techno troops they also revealed some tasty updates that are in the pipeline for iPhone and iPod touch.

Aside from the standard bug fixes the new update promises beefed up photography and also something called ‘Game Center’.  ‘Game Center’ seems to be a pretty big deal as it’s Apple’s version of Xbox Live.  It provides high score tables, friend lists, achievements and multiplayer match-ups among other all singing all dancing features.  This doesn’t seem to be a white elephant as ‘Game Center’ is going to be incorporated into a whole host of different games.  At the event the insanely popular Angry Birds was demoed.  So you would think that iOS 4.1 would be the last update for a while right?  Wrong!

The big surprise was that Mr.Jobs also unveiled iOS 4.2 which is set to go live in November for iPhone, iPod touch and even iPad.  So iPad users can have the joy of folders, the all new ‘Game Center’, multi-tasking and other iOS 4 features.  This update will also include wireless printing as well as something called ‘AirPlay’.  ‘AirPlay’ will let you stream music, videos and photos from your iOS device to your TV.  To do this you will of course need another Apple product which this time comes in the shape of Apple’s new set-top box, which was also announced.

So with all these updates and new features it seems like Apple have not been resting on their laurels following the launch of the iPhone 4 juggernaut.  The new updates seem to actually be filled with new features that could make using your Apple device a more fulfilling experience.  Or you could ignore them!

Communications provider TalkTalk is set to enter the mobile broadband arena later this year.

The company is set to put its new dongles on the market and is using a cross-country charity bike ride to test out the new devices.

Mobile broadband customers in the UK could now look to compare the market to see if switching to one of TalkTalk’s new plans could save them money or improve their internet access.

Senior physiotherapist Sarah Beckingsale and consultant surgeon Steve Mitchell are taking time off work to cycle the famous Land’s End to John o’Groats route in order to raise funds for the Great Western Air Ambulance and TalkTalk is to follow them in order to provide mobile broadband internet.

The exercise will see TalkTalk carry out a series of tests to ensure the dongles are primed and ready for release later this year.

“As part of our sponsorship of the bike ride, the intrepid duo will get to beta test our new TalkTalk mobile internet dongles ahead of their official launch later this year and will be able to keep their fans abreast of their progress – whether they’re in Bristol or the Borders – via their blog,” the company said.

The 910-mile journey will follow a particular route, which will see the dongles tested in a number of towns, cities and remote location including Exeter, Bristol, Shrewsbury, Lancaster, Dumfries, Alexandria, Spean Bridge and Dornoch.

Are you happy with the service and price offered by your current mobile broadband provider or will TalkTalk’s entry to the market inspire you to consider switching?

Statistics are not very exciting things.  Using them is usually the preserve of a politician attempting to justify the latest round of savage cuts or a scheme to tax sunshine.  But some interesting stats regarding Apple and Android phones have surfaced over the last few days as Google and Apple go into a public ‘mine’s bigger than yours’ row.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt said recently that his company is activating around 200,000 smartphones and other devices running the Android system every day.  According to Reuters, smartphones running Google’s green robot topped the list among U.S. consumers in the second quarter.  In the period of April to June Google powered a third of all smartphones with RIM sliding into second place.

Not to be outdone by anyone, Techno saint Steve Jobs hit back.  He revealed that Apple is currently activating 230,000 new iOS devices every day.  “People are throwing around a lot of numbers as to how many devices their operating systems are activating every day,” he feverishly revealed.  Jobs also threw a cheeky hand grenade by suggesting that Google’s figure includes upgrades whereas Apple’s data does not.

Some other hefty numbers were dropped by Apple’s recent event too.  The company say that they have sold 120 million iOS devices since the launch of the now forgotten first iPhone and the App Store has now passed the whopping 6.5 billion downloads mark with 200 apps being downloaded every second.  Apparently the store overall has 250,000 apps available, while 25,000 of those are iPad apps.  The actual iTunes store has now done 11.7 billion song downloads, 450 million TV show downloads, 100 million movies and 35 million e-books.  The most impressive stat is that 160 million people have registered for an iTunes account.

So, pretty big numbers then.  It appears that Apple is still steaming ahead with iTunes and the rest of the market is playing catch up.  But there are signs that Android could actually become a credible threat to Apple’s dominance in the near future.  Fasten your seat belts folks.  The next few years could get interesting.

As anyone with an iPhone knows most iPhone apps are rather cheap and pointless things. Some are downright awful and could be said to be almost fraudulent.  For instance there is an app called ‘phone tracker’ that is perhaps the most pointless app that has ever been conceived.  But some apps gladden the heart and manage to excite us, banishing our jaded cynicism for a few brief moments.  Vader yourself is one of those apps.

Just about everyone of a certain age has been in the pub and performed a usually hideous Darth Vader impression.  We’ve pressed an empty pint glass to our mouth and said the immortal words ‘no Luke, I am your father’ on several occasions.  But now with Star Wars: Vader Yourself for the iPhone you can revel in your inner sith lord.  Now we have to advise that this sort of behaviour is extremely geeky and is unlikely to endear you to so called ‘normal people’ but we really don’t care.

The app itself is fantastic.  There are various options to adjust settings for pitch, speed and tempo and you can add those trademark wheezy Vader breathing sounds to your recordings.  You can even share your Vader voice creations with your friends and family and use them outside of the app.  The ’share’ function within the app allows you to send the files via email and you can also connect the application directly to Facebook so you can share your Vader creations with your Facebook friends.

This app is great fun on a night out and if you and your circle of friends are as obsessed with Star Wars as we are you’ll have great fun.  What we really want though is an Emperor app.  Now that would be something very special.

Star Wars: Vader Yourself is available from the Apple app store for £0.59.