CNET's Crave blog asks the question today, where did Ping's Facebook support disappear to? It would seem that the Facebook feature has mysteriously disappeared from iTunes' new Ping social networking feature, which Apple launched yesterday. According to Crave, when Ping was demoed to the press at yesterday's Apple media event, the screenshots clearly showed a Facebook feature, which did not appear to be there when people started using Ping today. As Crave says, having the facility to connect with friends via Facebook would greatly enhance the Ping experience, as the user would then be able to import Facebook friends as well as export Ping activity. Crave also notes Ping's lack of a Twitter connect facility.

Crave and many other websites and blogs have scratched their collective heads to come up with an explanation as to just exactly what did happen with Facebook and Ping. Apple CEO Steve Jobs apparently told All Things Digital that Apple had been negotiating with Facebook about Ping, but the two companies failed to come to an agreement regarding any sort of partnership, and they quote him as saying that Facebook demanded "onerous terms that we could not agree to."

Curiouser and curiouser!

The sorry tale of mysterious and inaccurate rogue data roaming charges hitting iPhone-owning O2 customers in the UK when they returned home from abroad came to light in July, after which it all seemed to go a bit quiet on the matter, but now CNET's Crave blog is reporting that the situation is still ongoing, and that customers are still being hit by strange and costly charges. According to Crave, the Apple forums are abuzz with O2 customers who say they have been hit with data roaming charges despite having disabled data roaming in their iPhone settings when they went abroad. A BBC News report said that O2 has been aware of the problem for four months, and is currently investigating it with Apple. No one has managed to work out whose fault it is yet! So far O2 seems to be the only network whose customers have been affected. Apple responded with the following statement:

"We are aware that some O2 customers have reported receiving unexpected data roaming charges and are investigating. To avoid unexpected data roaming charges while travelling outside the UK, O2 customers can turn off Cellular Data in their iPhone settings."

iPad owners have already been enjoying the leap-tastic Mirror's Edge for several months, and now it's the turn of iPhone owners to find out what all the fuss is about, as EA has announced that the game has been released to the iTunes App Store today for $4.99/£2.99. The game has been designed to maximise the visual intensity available with the iPhone 4 Retina Display, so that the amazing cityscape backdrops look better than ever. The plot is centered around the adventures of Faith Conners, a member of an underground group known as "Runners", who are essentially acrobatic messengers and the last source of free communication in the tightly controlled futuristic city in which the game is set.

When a deadly threat rises up from within Faith's group, it turns out that Faith is the only one who can deal with the threat, and she must then use all the acrobatic skills at her disposal to survive, including wall running, sliding down ramps, riding ziplines and leaping between rooftops, across 14 spectacular levels. Going by the early reviews on the app store, the extra wait while EA redesigned the game specifically for the Retina Display has been well worth it, as some are saying this could be the best looking iPhone game ever! See for yourself by downloading it from the App Store here.

Apple has been making exciting announcements all over the place at its media event in San Francisco today, with one of them being the launch of iTunes 10 with Ping, a new music-orientated social network for following your favourite artists and friends to discover what music they’re talking about, listening to and downloading. Users can use Ping to post their thoughts and opinions, details of their favourite albums and songs, as well as viewing concert listings and letting their friends know what upcoming concerts they’re going to. iTunes 10 will also feature commercial-free HD TV show rentals for 99 cents an episode from the likes of ABC, Fox and Disney, and AirPlay wireless music playback, which enables you to listen to your music on remote speakers using compatible speakers, receivers and stereo systems from companies such as JBL and Denon.

iTunes 10 is available immediately as a free download from www.itunes.com.

Looks like most of the recent speculation about the new generation of iPod touches has been right on the money, with Apple launching the new iPod touch range today at its media event in San Francisco. Engadget reports that the revamped device will have the iPhone 4's Retina Display, an Apple A4 processing chip, a 3-axis gyroscope, Game Center and FaceTime via the new front-facing camera and mic, and HD video via the new rear camera. The new touch will also feature up to 40 hours of music playback and seven hours of video playback on a single battery charge. Here's Apple CEO Steve Jobs talking about all the new iPod touch goodness:

"We've put our most advanced technology inside the new iPod touch. Whether you're listening to music, playing games, making FaceTime video calls, browsing the web, capturing HD video or watching TV shows and movies, the new iPod touch with its Retina display, A4 chip and 3-axis gyro is more fun than ever."

Pre-orders start today and the new iPod touch will be available next week for an SRP of $229 for the 8GB model, $299 for the 32GB model and $399 for the 64GB model.

Apple has announced that iOS 4.1 is coming as soon as next week as a free download for iPhone and iPod touch. The announcement came at Apple's massive media event being held at Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco, California. Reporting on the event, AppleInsider said that according to Apple, iOS 4.1 has one big surprise, a new feature called High Dynamic Range (HDR) photos. As you might expect, Steve Jobs was very happy to demonstrate the new feature at the event, explaining that HDR involves the camera taking three different photos in rapid succession - one normal, one underexposed and one overexposed, which then combine to make an HDR photo. Both photos will appear in your Photo roll, so that you can compare and contrast.

Also reporting on the event, Engadget said that the update will have bug fixes for the proximity sensor, Bluetooth and iPhone 3G issues, and that other exciting new features will include HD video uploads over Wi-Fi, TV show rentals and the long-awaited multiplayer and social gaming service, Game Center.

Pocket Gamer reports today that the most addictive game ever, Angry Birds, has just been updated to version 1.4.1. The latest version, which is compatible with both iPhone and iPad editions of the game, includes 15 reconstructed levels, whereby the laughing pigs are trying to fix old levels so that you can go back and fire more birds at them and destroy them! The new update also includes a new golden egg to look for, which opens up another mini-level when you find it, as well as new achievements that can be earned via Chillingo's Crystal online service. Here's the development team at Rovio expressing their thanks to the fans for the game's well-earned success:

"We'd like to take this opportunity to extend our infinite gratitude to friends of our fierce bird everywhere. We thank you sincerely from the bottom of our fluffy hearts for making Angry Birds the highest rated app we know of on iTunes!"

Aah! Angry Birds full version can be downloaded here for $0.99/£0.59, from which point onwards you can kiss all your free time and sanity goodbye!

According to a fun report based on the findings of Coupons.com, iPhone users are feminine-smelling, chicken-eating, entertainment-reading fish owners, whereas Android users are manly-scented, pork-eating, news-reading, bird lovers! And how has Coupons.com come up with this rather silly stuff? Wel, they analysed the differences in coupons selected by iPhone users and Android users, using their Grocery IQ shopping list app for the period January 1, 2010 to July 31, 2010. The free app is available for iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Android, and aside from allowing users to create, organise and manage shopping lists, it also integrates digital coupons from Coupons.com. Users can browse available offers and then either print out the coupons to use in-store, or load them directly onto their store loyalty cards for automatic, at-the-register savings. Now Coupons.com has analysed that data to come up with two tables that show the top coupons used by Android and iPhone owners in eight different categories. It's all just a bit of lighthearted fun really more than anything scientific, but I like knowing the fact that some Android users prefer Disposable Swim Pants for their babies rather than the more usual Disposable Diapers preferred by some iPhone owners!

The Guardian reports today on an iPhone app called the iStethoscope which it says has already been downloaded by more than three million doctors. The app was the brainchild of Peter Bentley, a researcher at University College London, and was originally only intended to be used as a toy. According to the Guardian though, the app has turned out to be much more than a toy, and is now being downloaded by over 500 users a day. Experts are already saying that the app has saved lives in remote areas.

The iStethoscope uses the iPhone's built-in microphone to monitor a patient's heartbeat when the iPhone is held against their chest. The iPhone is then shaken so that the user can listen to the last eight seconds of the recording, while on the phone screen they can view a phonocardiograph display and a spectogram, which can then be saved and sent to a specialist doctor.

"Smartphones are incredibly powerful devices packed full of sensors, cameras, high-quality microphones with amazing displays," Bentley told the Guardian. "They are capable of saving lives, saving money and improving healthcare in a dramatic fashion – and we carry these massively powerful computers in our pockets."

Click here to view the embedded video.

The iStethoscope Pro app costs $0.99/£0.59, and you can download it here.

With the start of the US Open tennis tournament in New York today, the US Tennis Association has launched an updated version of the official free tournament app, which is now fully iOS 4 compatible. The app, which is available for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, is designed to service both fans who are physically attending the event over the next two weeks, and those who are following the championship from home. The app features, among other things, live scores and completed match results, latest news updates from on and off the court throughout the tournament, and the augmented reality feature -"Around Me"- which is a "camera-driven experience" that lets the user see through walls at the National Tennis Center and helps attendees to find the nearest live matches, concessions, or even the next train home. Live streaming radio is also included in the app, courtesy of USOpen.org Radio, as well as On Demand video, which includes highlights, "Around the Grounds" and American Express insider player profiles. Fans can even use the app to view Tweets from the US Open official Twitter stream and those of featured players.

You can download the app for free from the Apple iTunes App Store here.