The Apple website summed it up this way…”Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius…his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.”

Indeed, the world has lost an amazing human being. Steve Jobs has passed away at age 56, after years of suffering through pancreatic cancer, and a liver transplant in 2009. He had just resigned as Apple’s CEO in August, and turned the company’s leadership over to Tim Cook.

Some mainstream media are comparing the contributions of Steve Jobs to Thomas Edison or Leonardo da Vinci, whose inventions and innovations created a huge impact on modern culture.

Consider Steve Job’s lifetime of achievements, which brought form and function together in elegant consumer products. He made technology cool, and more importantly, he made it work.

1976: Apple Corp. founded with Stephen Wozniak
1977: Apple II personal computer
1980: Apple III
1984: Macintosh personal computer & Mac OS graphical operating system
1985: NeXT Computer Inc.
1986: Pixar Animation Studios
1998: iMac desktop computer
2001: iPod media player & iTunes software
2003: iTunes online digital media store & Safari web browser
2005: Mac mini, iPod Nano & iPod Shuffle
2006: MacBook & MacBook Pro notebooks
2007: iPhone & iPod Touch
2008: iPhone 3G & MacBook Air ultra-thin notebook
2009: iPhone 3GS
2010: iPhone 4 & iPad media tablet
2011: iPad 2 & iPhone 4S

ABC News has assembled a short video tribute to Steve Jobs’ life and legacy.

CNN has a well produced collection of video clips and MacWorld highlights
with Steve Jobs introducing some of Apple’s coolest products…

New features of the iPhone 4S include…

A dual core A5 processor that delivers up to seven times faster graphics and is more power efficient, extending battery life.  Talk time is up to eight hours, with nine hours of Wi-Fi browsing on a full charge.

Twin Antennas; iPhone 4S is the first phone that switches between two antennas to transmit and receive, so call quality is better. It also doubles the maximum HSDPA data speeds to 14.4 Mbps.

An eight-megapixel camera provides better resolution with flash, or what Apple is calling an improved backside illumination sensor. Apple also claims that the update will allow users to print out 8 x 10 photos.

All new optics allow for 1080p HD Video recording, and you can edit video right on the iPhone.

An updated operating system, iOS 5 features a number of important updates, including the messaging center and camera, which you can access right from the screen lock.

Retina Display makes for a sharper display, so the new iPhone 4S has the highest resolution screen ever.

Siri is an personal assistant that you talk to like another person, use it to make calls, send messages or set reminders. It will even read your messages back to you!

iCloud stores all your data in the internet cloud; that includes your music, photos, contacts, calendar events, mail, documents, and even apps.  iCloud syncs your data to all your wireless devices, which is pretty handy for backups.  You can also use the FindMyiPhone app on iCloud to locate your lost phone, remotely set a passcode lock, or initiate a remote wipe to delete your data.

FaceTime will make a video and voice calls between iPhones, iPad2, iPod touch or Mac over WiFi connections.

iPhone 4S will be available in both black and white versions, with a list price of $199 for 16GB, $299 for the 32GB, and a new version with 64GB of storage for $399.  You can pre-order the iPhone 4S starting Friday October 7th, and the device will start shipping on Friday October 14th in the U.S., Canada, Australia, the UK, France, Germany, and Japan.

Starting October 14th, Sprint Nextel, the number three wireless provider in the U.S., will join AT&T and Verizon Wireless as the three major wireless carriers authorized to sell the iPhone.

Official Website Apple.com

Check this list out – you might find a useful app for your phone:

USA.gov – Federal, state, and local government in the palm of your hand.

America.gov Mobile – Information about the U.S. for international audiences.

USAJOBS – Information and services on USAJOBS from U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Product Recalls – Stay informed, stay safe, check for product recalls.

My TSA – Travel wisely with this mobile app from the TSA.

Alternative Fuel Locator – Find alternative fueling stations nearby.

The White House – Up-to-date news and information from the White House.

BMI Calculator – Check your percentage of body fat with the mobile BMI calculator.

EPA Mobile – Information and services from the Environmental Protection Agency.

FBI’s Most Wanted – View the Ten Most Wanted, Most Wanted Terrorists, Missing Children, and more.

FCC Mobile Broadband Test – Test the upload & download speed and latency of your mobile connection and share the results.

FEMA Mobile – Respond to and recover from emergency situations.

Find Your Embassy – Find and contact the nearest U.S. Embassy anywhere in the world.

Fuel Economy.gov – Make sure your car is environmentally friendly.

Library of Congress – Experience a virtual tour of the world’s largest library.

MedlinePlus Mobile – Health information from the government.

My Food-a-Pedia – Count calories and compare foods for healthier choices.

NASA App – Current mission information, images, videos, satellite tracking, and more.

State Department Mobile – Mobile version of the U.S. State Department website.

U.S. Army News & Information – Official news and information from the US Army now available on your iPhone.

U.S. Postal Service Tools – Everything you need to stay connected when you’re on the go.

Veterans Affairs Mobile – Services for veterans from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

I first saw it on thenextweb.com who brought up a good point. Use it handsfree in your car on long commutes, so your attention is on driving and not on your phone.

The BuzzVoice blog blog.buzzvoice.com has more information, but here’s the basics…

BuzzVoice 3.0 has 6 new features:
• Playlist Manager: Choose from 1,600+ sources & personalize it with 20 of your favorites
• Custom Streaming Player: Listen to breaking stories, while viewing text, images & video
• Hands-free Continuous Listening: New BuzzRadio features, plus ”Auto-Stream” for PRO users
• Saved Searches: Track your favorite topics, whether it’s “Lady Gaga, bacon, or astrophysics”
• Trending Topics: Hear what’s trending right now on the web’s top sources
• Batch Select: Build custom playlists of all the stories you care about on-the-fly

At this early point, there’s still more hype than reviews and the App Store lists BuzzVoice for $4.99, but it sounds useful to take advantage of those long hours of commuting, and stay safe on the road.

The next version of iPhone is coming out soon, in fact Best Buy is offering pre-sale orders starting June 15th.

Gizmodo and Engadget have the details (like below.)  The iPhone 4 arrives in Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores June 24th.

iPhone 4 ~ What’s New/Improved:

• 16GB & 32GB in both Black & White
• 9.3MM thick, 25% Thinner than existing iPhone
• 4X Better Screen Resolution than current iPhone (Retina Display)
• Scratch Proof Glass on front & back of phone
• Improved Processor (A4)
• Quad Band HSDPA 7.2
• 802.11n WiFi
• Dual Microphones
• 2 Cameras (one front facing) with 5MP, LED Flash & 5x Digital Zoom
• 720HD Video Recording at 30fps, Tap to Focus, Built-in Video Editing, One-Click Sharing
• Multitasking with New 4.0 Software
• Micro Sim
• 7 Hours of Talk Time
• Video Conference calling over WiFi

By the same token, we’re familiar with browser plug-ins that extend the capability of our web browsers.

Google Extensions do the same for Google Chrome, they add more features and functionality to the browser.

Extensions let you customize Google Chrome with features you like, while keeping your browser free of clutter that you don’t use. Source: google.com/support/chrome/

Try Google Extensions at: chrome.google.com/extensions

PayPal Mobile enables you to check your PayPal balance, view past transactions, send money, or shop eBay.

You can also use it via text messaging by using basic or advanced keywords.

PayPal Mobile is secure because every payment is confirmed by your PIN or password.

Visit m.paypal.com on your phone or the
iTunes App Store.

PayPal Mobile @ paypal.com/mobile

Apple’s YouTube video says the release date is April 3rd, which is the word across the web.

The Wi-Fi version ships first, followed by the 3G model sometime later. Apple will be accepting pre-orders for both starting this Friday, March 12th.

Steve Jobs has said the iPad won’t support iPhone tethering, but there’s alot of people looking for just that option.

Engadget has a review that highlights several shortcomings; no camera, no multitasking, and still no Flash!

The iPad looks sleek and sexy, but I can’t justify the cost between $500 and $1000 when I can do the same things on my iPhone, albeit on a smaller screen.

Happy Owl Studio is making some good looking cases. They’re giving away an iPad on April 15.

A nice feature is the location finder, under the Accident option, which determines your current location using the GPS beacon on the iPhone to find nearby towing services.

Geico Glovebox also has tips for drivers involved in an auto accident, how to change a flat tire, a taxi and rental car finder, roadside services, and funny videos including the Geico Gecko.

Glovebox is available at the iTunes App Store.

The app opens to a landing page with top stories, featured videos, medal count, photos, and Team USA’s Twitter stream. @ApoloOhno has been pretty active with early Tweets.

The Social category also shows Tweets to the athletes in a Search Stream, like Shaun White, Apolo Ohno and Lindsey Vonn.

You can scroll through the current listings for top stories, videos and photos from Catagories: Now, Sports, Favorites, Social and Schedules.

All in all, pretty cool way to keep up with Olympic current events and winners, while waiting for the TV coverage.

More Olympic coverage on www.nbcolympics.com