USA Today, based on sources who have previously worked at Apple, is contributing some more information to the increasingly large Apple television rumor pile.

Apple is said to be looking at a 42-inch or larger LCD TV with built-in Wi-Fi. Inside the locked-down studio of Jonathan Ive, senior vice president of industrial design at Apple, there's a slick 50-inch TV, according to the source who worked at Apple.

Previous speculation out of China suggested a 32 or 37-inch television with Siri controls.

Although this report mentions that talks with media executives have stalled, it's apparent that a 42 or even 50-inch model vs a smaller display would likely help Apple get a better foothold during their primary push into this new and already-crowded product segment. And with CES just around the corner, rumors of Apple making a television are only going to get more frequent.

Source: USA Today

Hit-or-miss rumor site Digitimes has additional speculation from "industry sources" that Apple may be looking to Foxconn to assemble orders of their upcoming Siri-powered Apple Television.

Following sources' claims that Samsung Electronics and Sharp will manufacture chips and displays, respectively, for the so-called Apple "iTV," others have suggested that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE) and Siliconware Precision Industries (SPIL) have the potential to win orders for Apple's smart TV.

The "sources" also added to conjecture that Apple is planning to release the Apple Television in late 2012, which may debut in 32 and 37-inch form.

Source: Digitimes

Randomly accurate rumor site, Digitimes has word from "industry sources" that suppliers are starting to build materials for 32 and 37-inch Apple Televisions for release in the second or third quarter of 2012.

Instead of a form of set-top box (STB) like the Apple TV launched in 2006, Apple's new products will be full TV sets, the sources added [...] The displays of the new iTV sets will focus on 32 and 37-inch sizes initially, noted sources in the supply chain.

Steve Jobs mentioned in his official biography that he'd finally "cracked" the television, and we've heard rumors that Apple was recently in talks with media executives about a television set product. However, Apple is no doubt working on a lot of new products in the lab, so keep this filed this in your "expect it when you see it" folder for now.

Source: Digitimes

As part of their Let's Talk iPhone event today, Apple showed off their SIRI acquisition as the new, artificially intelligent voice control system for iPhone 4S. It hooks into Wikipedia and Wolfram Alpha, and it's natural language interface will automatically perform a number of tasks, including:

• Tell my wife I'm running late
• Remind me to call the vet
• Any good burger joints around here?
• Call a taxi

It can converse with you:

• "I found a number of burger joints near here, I've organized them by rating." And you can even respond, "how about tacos instead?"

It can send and read messages, search the web, look up map locations, set reminders, tell you the weather, set a meeting or event, set alarms, and more.

English, French, and German at launch. In Beta at first. More languages and services to launch in the future.

This looks to be the killer feature Apple is counting on to move the externally not-redesigned iPhone 4S this year.

I'm really looking forward to the new, system-wide "Assistant" voice control system Apple's rumored to be including in iOS 5. From the leaks, it looks like it might be implemented similar to Android -- a microphone button on the keyboard that you press to tell your iPhone or iPad you want to talk to it, then it takes your voice command or text entry, sends it to Apple's servers, and either does what you told it to do or types the text you told it to type.

Currently iOS takes very simple commands like "call" or "play"... and I almost never use it. Holding down the home button for a few seconds then waiting for it to beep and be ready just seems... slow. I'm not sure if the microphone button will be any better, honestly. Now if Apple figured out some way for it to be quietly waiting for a special code phrase that I could say to make it wake up and start listening, that would be sweet, but the technology, especially the impact on battery life, probably isn't there yet.

It should at least be far more functional that the current system. With Apple's purchase of Siri and the rumors of their Nuance (the makers of Dragon Dictation) deal, I expect I'll be able to do much more, like:

"iPhone, get me a taxi at the corner of Sherbrooke and Crescent." "iPad, make me a dinner reservation at Gibby's at 8pm tomorrow." "iPod touch, take a note -- bug Seth on the podcast tonight. So say we all."

Will it work well enough and smoothly enough that I'll actually use it? That I don't know.

What are you looking for in iOS 5 "Assistant"? Would something like Android's existing implementation be enough? What's your realistic assessment of what Apple can deliver, and what's your totally unrealistic hope?

It looks as if iOS 5 may still be coming packed with the rumored Nuance VoiceOver technology even though it wasn't given an official mention during Monday's WWDC keynote.

If you look closely at the image above presented during the iOS 5 portion of the keynote, you'll notice a few interesting tidbits pertaining to iOS VoiceOver integration.

• VoiceOver action support
• VoiceOver item chooser
• Option to speak text selection

This implies that Apple and Nuance may not have been fully prepared to show off their iOS 5 VoiceOver system in time for the keynote, but that it's still in the pipeline and should be ready to go this fall when iOS 5 drops. It's unclear whether Apple will allow 3rd party apps to take advantage of these new features or if it will only extend to system apps.

What do you think, will we see Nuance/SIRI VoiceOver technology baked-in to iOS 5 or are we just wishful thinking?

TechCrunch has been told that Apple will be integrating system-wide voice control technology into iOS 5 derived from their purchase of Siri last year. Apple is reportedly putting the finishing touches on the feature which will be demoed at WWDC in June.

A year ago, Apple bought Siri, a virtual personal assistant startup that had released a very cool iPhone app. The Siri team and technology are now said to be a big part of iOS 5.

The use of Siri's artificial intelligence and assistance technology is said to be deeply integrated into the OS for all the different services offered. And the team is now putting the finishing touches on the elements that will be demoed at WWDC, we hear. This tech may also be opened to developers for use in third-party apps - though that information isn't quite as concrete.

Apple introduced a very basic VoiceControl feature in iOS 3 a couple of years ago, but it doesn't seem to enjoy widespread use (I hardly ever use it, do you?). The coolest thing you can do is play a song or make a call using your voice -- which is nice -- but you can't perform system-wide voice commands like launching an app or carry out a task such as adding a new calendar event. By contrast, Android gained far more integrated, far more useful voice control over a year ago.

We've all hoped for better voice integration in iOS for a while now, so this is great news if it turns out to be true. Would you use a SIRI-powered voice control system in iOS?

[TechCrunch]

Curious how to use the headset and mic controls that come with your new iPhone or iPod touch? With them, the stock Apple earbuds let you take calls and control music even while your iPhone or iPod is tucked away in your pocket. For some more information on how to use your headphones please stay with us after the break.

Below are a list of functions you can perform completely on your headset:

Single Click

• Answer an incoming call.
• Hang up a single call
• Swaps calls (multiple calls)
• Play/Pause Music

Double Click

• Reject an incoming call
• Skip Track (while playing music)

Triple Click

• Previous Track

Press Once and Hold

• Activate Voice Control (Only On iPhone 4, 3GS, and iPod Touch 3rd/4th)
• Hangs up current call (multiple calls)

Press Twice and Hold

• Fast Forward Music

Press Three Times and Hold

• Rewind Music

The new headset mics come with +/- buttons to adjust volume, for music or calls.

Did you find these controls useful? Are there any I've missed? If you know of any other mic controls, let us know and we'll add it to the list.

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you'd like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to dailytips@tipb.com. (If it's especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we'll even give ya a reward...)

The New York Times is weighing in on the previous rumors published by Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal saying Apple may working on less expensive device with better voice control and MobileMe, but not an iPhone nano.

Apple’s engineers are currently focused on finishing the next version of the iPhone, which is likely to be similar in size to the current iPhone 4, said one of the people. The person said Apple was not planning to introduce a smaller iPhone any time soon. Analysts expect the new iPhone to be ready this summer.

Another person who is in direct contact with Apple also said that the company would not make a smaller iPhone at this time, in part because a smaller device would not necessarily be much cheaper to manufacture and because it would be more difficult to operate.

More important, a phone with a smaller screen would force many developers to rewrite their apps, which Apple wants to avoid, the person said.

An Apple executive reportedly also said it wouldn't make sense to expand the iPhone family at this time, other than continuing the practice of dropping the price of the previous year's model (like the $49 iPhone 3GS still available on AT&T). And that N97 code name reportedly for the iPhone nano? Yeah, the NYT says that was for the Verizon iPhone. (Daring Fireball previously said the Verizon iPhone was N92.)

The voice commands (possibly leveraging Siri artificial intelligence?) sound especially interesting as the article suggests they'll be robust enough to replace virtual keyboards for some uses. Likewise, a more "versatile", perhaps cheaper version of MobileMe could finally allow the iPhone to lose its iTunes tether.

Google's Android platform has system-wide voice control and access to ever-growing, predominantly free Google services, so Apple will likely need to address that with iPhone 5 and iOS 5.

Anyone sad iPhone nano may not be a done deal? And does better voice control and MobileMe lessen the sting?

[MobileMe]

Jailbreak developer chpwn is at it again and plans on releasing his new tweak VoiceActivator hopefully this week. VoiceActivator will allow you to take full control of your iPhone or iPod touch's voice control feature. It will allow users to launch apps, open URLs, use Activator actions all within the standard voice control feature.

As of now all we can tell you is he plans on releasing it sometime this coming week through Cydia and we are yet to hear anything as far as pricing goes but it should be well worth the money if you are jailbroken and have a lot of apps and many things you do daily that causes you to tap through folders and menus. If you want to follow to the status of this tweak, follow @chpwn on Twitter.

We want to hear from all you jailbreakers on who is interested in this new tweak. Also do you think Apple should have already included this as part of iOS out of the box or do you think they will include it in the next generation of iOS? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below! Check out a video of this awesome new tweak after the break!

[ @chpwn ]

Curious how to use your voice to dial or control your iPhone 4 or iPhone 3GS? Apple has built Voice Control right into the phone and while it's still limited in functionality, it's very easy to use. We'll show you how after the break.

To activate Voice Control on your iPhone 4 or iPhone 3GS just press and hold the Home Button (or the middle button on your headphones or Bluetooth headset if you're using any). When you you hear a beep and the Voice Control UI appears on the screen, speak your command. Available commands include:

• Dial [Number]
• Dial [Contact Name] [Work, Home, Mobile, iPhone, etc.]
• Call [Contact Name] [Work, Home, Mobile, iPhone, etc.]

• FaceTime [Contact Name] [Work, Home, Mobile, iPhone, etc.] (iPhone 4 only)

• Play Music

• Play Playlist [Playlist Name]
• Play Album [Album Name]
• Play Artist [Artist Name]
• Pause
• Next Song/Track
• Previous Song/Track
• Shuffle
• Genius/Play More Songs Like This

• What's Currently Playing? What Song Is This? Who's Singing This?

• What Time Is It?

• Stop
• Help

So, for example, you could say:

• Call mom, home
• Dial Steve Jobs, mobile
• Play music, the Beatles

If you've made a mistake and the iPhone has recognised it wrong, it will ask you to clarify.

• Call Steven Jobs, Home

• Call Steven Jobs, Mobile, work, or Home?

You can say "No, Not That One, Wrong" or anything else of that nature that feels natural, and it will go back.

Bonus tip: The music and miscellaneous commands (everything that doesn't involve a phone call) also works on the 3rd and 4th generation iPod touch. (Though strangely not the iPad...?)

Voice Control works no matter where you are in the iPhone, Home Screen or app, and even when you're iPhone is locked. Now just imagine if Apple adds system wide, Siri-powered Voice Control throughout iOS 5...!

I hope this helped you guys with the Voice Control feature on your device in case you didn't know what the controls were. Test it out now, by just holding the home button and if you have any questions, let me know in comments.

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you’d like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to dailytips@tipb.com. (If it’s especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we’ll even give ya a reward…)

Early word from TiPb commenters and the Twitter show some new iPhone 3.1 features found already:

• Non-destructive video editing means trimming a clip no longer saves over the original video but gives you the option to "Save as copy..."
• Voice Control now works over Bluetooth
• iPhone vibrates when moving icons
• Updated AT&T profile to 4.2
• Updated modem firmware to 5.08.01

Behind the scenes changes abound as well:

• Improvements to OpenGL and Quartz.
• APIs to allow third party apps to access videos and edit them.

Update: Yes, MMS buttons appear to be back for AT&T users, but as with early iphone 3.0 Betas, they're non-functional on standard devices. Whether they survive to the official release this time (they were removed in 3.0 Beta 5), who knows?

[Thanks to Chris, Muero and WhenWillApple]

Throwing any last remnants of fragile self-consciousness to the four winds, I break out my subpar French and very rusty Italian and Mandarin Chinese (Aiya!) and see if, even under the onslaught of terrible accents, Apple's new iPhone 3G S Voice Control can still do as it's told.

Note: the accent appears to be key. If you say a command in French, you can't pronounce the following name English-style and expect good results (though Chinese seemed much more English name tolerant). However, I tried some (poorly rendered) regional accents at the very end and that didn't seem to be a problem.

If you're multilingual, or have a colorful twang to your speech, give it a try and let us know how Voice Control works for you!

In one of the more impressive demonstrations during the iPhone 3G S introduction, Apple showed off a new feature -- Voice Control.

To activate it, you hold down the "home" button (previously reserved for "force quit"). When you hear the sound, you're good to speak!

It can be used to make a call by saying either the name or number. Voice Control will repeat what you say for confirmation.

It can also be used to tell the iPod app to play a song, play a playlist, shuffle, activate Genius, or even tell you what song is currently playing.

Most impressive? It will be available in a ton of languages! (See full list after the break!)

• Chinese (Cantonese)
• Chinese (Mainland)
• Chinese (Taiwan)
• Czech
• Danish
• Dutch (Belgian)
• Dutch (Netherlands)
• English (Australian)
• English (UK)
• English (U.S.)
• Finnish
• French (Canada)
• French (France)
• German
• Greek
• Hungarian
• Indonesian
• Italian
• Japanese
• Korean
• Norwegian
• Polish
• Portuguese (Brazil)
• Portuguese (Portugal)
• Romanian
• Russian
• Slovak
• Spanish (Mexico)
• Spanish (Spain)
• Swedish
• Thai
• Turkish

Ars Technica has heard from those ever-enigmatic "sources familiar with" that there might just be more going on behind the rumored new Voice Control feature in iPhone 3.0 than we've seen so far:

Jibbler appears be an enhancement to the iPhone SpringBoard application, the Finder-esque app that acts as a launcher and will support the newly announced 3.0 Spotlight search. Jibbler may be controlled via the iPhone headset—button squeezes could be used to record short voice segments from the user, which Jibbler will then interpret. Voice synthesis can then be used to give the user a response, similar to the latest generation iPod shuffle, which can "read" playlists and track names—the difference being that the iPhone hardware itself could handle real-time voice synthesis.

Okay, so the code-name is worthy of a Microsoft de-branding exercise, but the technology is intriguing. Apple certainly has taken steps towards voice implementation with the latest iPod shuffle's VoiceOver and recent headsets have raised the bar (perhaps too much) on control clicks.

Many users have asked for simple voice dialing. Is Apple providing that and, in typical fashion, wondrously more with "Jibbler", or is it a case of breaking a simple function by stretching it too far?

When it rains, it pours, and when it's pouring, and leaking, that makes a flood. No sooner did some video-recording iPhone 3.0 screen shot confirmation get posted, than BGR whipped out a slew of their own.

Double confirmed now? And will it require that next gen iPhone hardware?

MacRumors has scored the scoop, showcasing what looks to be actual screen-shot caliber evidence of video recording in iPhone 3.0, and other information showing digital compass technology and voice control coming as well.

Most of these rumors have been around for a while, especially the camera and video recording bumps. A digital compass, like the Android G1 uses to automatically rotate Google Street View when you physically turn the device around, would likely require the next gen iPhone hardware pretty much everyone expects to see come WWDC in June anway. Voice control, especially voice dialing, would be another box checked off the old "missing features" straw-man we -- and everyone else -- likes to batter about.

With lots of exciting new features still being "discovered", what other goodies will 3.0 code diving reveal?