Apple has taken to the stage in San Francisco at its annual WWDC event to announce the next iteration of its mobile platform dubbed iOS 7.

Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, branded iOS 7 "the biggest change to iOS since the iPhone", which shows you just how important this update is to the company.

Taking over from iOS 6, the new software will find its way onto iPod, iPhone and iPad devices bringing with it the biggest design overhaul since its conception in 2007 - a change which has been led by Apple stalwart Sir Jonny Ive.

It overhauls the icons, as we saw earlier today, but also offers new elements like transparency throughout the apps, meaning you can see images slide up behind heading and keyboards, giving a more unified feel.

It may be a shock to the system for dedicated Apple users who have become accustomed to the way iOS looks and works, but it's a revamp that the aging system desperately needed.

The new platform brings not only a visual makeover, but also offers a host of new features too.

Control Center is one of the big ones; swiping up from anywhere on your iPhone or iPad will bring up the new hub for loads of control throughout the device. This means you can control music, screen brightness, turning off the radios and even flicking on the flashlight for when you need to stalk around a house in the dark.

Airdrop is also now available, allowing you to share anything from an app that supports Share Sheet, with a quick tap showing up the friends that are nearby - with Apple claiming that there's 'No need to wander around the room bumping your phone with others.'

It will allow iOS 7 to compete with Android, Windows Phone and BlackBerry in the coming years.

Apple has announced on stage at WWDC that it now has over 900,000 applications in its App Store, throwing down the gauntlet to its fierce rival Google, which at last count was around the 800,000 mark in Google Play.

An area where the App Store really does excel is in tablet-only apps, with Apple revealing it now has 375,000 applications dedicated to the iPad.

The Cupertino-based firm also made time on stage to gleefully announce that it has paid out over $10 billion (around $6.5 billion, AU$10.5 billion) to developers, $5 billion of that in the last 12 months - and its payout is almost three times that of all other platforms combined (74 per cent compared to Androids 20 and "others" at 6).

More blips!

With all this excitement why not check out more of our lovely blips!

• Apple Store goes down ahead of WWDC
• JJ Abrams hates your smartphone
• WWDC 2013 banners painted with '7' and 'X,' hint at what we're in for

The BlackBerry Q5 is here, and about time too as the Canadian firm launches its first "affordable" (the final price remains to be seen) BlackBerry 10 device.

Unveiled at the annual BlackBerry Live conference in Orlando the BlackBerry Q5 was almost completely leaked under the moniker BlackBery R10, so its design and specs come as no surprise.

There's a cheap plastic chassis, QWERTY-keyboard, 3.1-inch 720p display, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, 2MP front camera and 5MP rear facing snapper.

If those specs have whet your appetite then take a look below, as we've been around the town to find out who will be selling the BlackBerry Q5.

Phones4U

The first UK outfit to confirm it would be ranging the BlackBerry Q5 was Phones4U, storming out the gate a matter of minutes after Thorsten Heins announced the handset on stage in Orlando.

It hasn't revealed which networks it will be offering the Q5 on, nor whether you'll be able to pick it up SIM free, with a registration page all you have to go on for now.

Carphone Warehouse

Not wanting to be left behind Britain's other major high-street phone retailer has also confirmed it will stock the BlackBerry Q5, and you can pre-register your interest on its website.

Update: In terms of a release date Carphone originally said it expected the Q5 to arrive in June, but that has now been changed to July - and that date is still subject to change.

O2

Bad news for anyone who's on O2, as the bubbly network has confirmed to TechRadar that it won't be stocking the BlackBerry Q5.

EE, Three and Vodafone

The other UK carriers are all staying quiet on the BlackBerry Q5 for now, telling TechRadar they were unable to comment on the handset at this time.

Rest assured we're chasing them all, along with the likes of Tesco Mobile and TalkTalk, to bring you all the deals and availability.

Online retailers

Update: We have a price! Thanks to the folks over at Unlocked-Mobiles, a SIM-free BlackBerry Q5 will apparently set you back £349.98 - which really pushes the "affordable" tag the Canadian firm has slapped on the smartphone.

The site goes on to reveal the BlackBerry Q5 release date as July 15, but this could well be subject to change.

There's no clues to the BlackBerry Q5 price or release date on Expansys, as the only option you have is to pre-order blind, while over on Clove all you can do is ask the retailer to "Notify Me" once more information becomes available.

We've had our first sniff of a price for the BlackBerry Q5 and while it isn't as much as the extravagantly priced BlackBerry Q10, it's not exactly cheap.

BlackBerry said at launch the Q5 would be its first "affordable" handset to run the new BlackBerry 10 operating system, although your interpretation of affordable may differ to that of the Canadian firm.

According to Unlocked-Mobiles the BlackBerry Q5 will set you back £349.98 SIM-free, which is around the same prices as a Nokia Lumia 820, HTC One X+, Motorola Razr HD or iPhone 4 8GB.

Keyboard or bust

That's some pretty tough competition and with the BlackBerry Q5 packing a 3.1-inch 720p display, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, 2MP front camera and 5MP rear facing snapper it's not exactly got the specs to make it stand out from the crowd.

What it does have is BlackBerry's famed QWERTY keyboard, so anyone looking for a smartphone which won't set them back £600 and features physical keys below the screen should give the Q5 a look.

If you're champing at the bit to get hold of a BlackBerry Q5 then you've probably got a few more weeks of waiting ahead of you, as the online retailer cites July 15 as its expected Q5 release date.

• We've already had some time with this handset. Find out what we made of it in our hands on: BlackBerry Q5 review

Although he is probably a fan of the communicator, Star Trek and Star Wars director JJ Abrams is not especially happy with the impact of the humble smartphone.

"When you go out, you might as well be in the office, because [you have your mobile] phone," he said. "This technology connects you with everyone you are not with, and disconnects you from everyone you are with."

He's obviously had a bad experience in a cinema...

More blips!

We'll only give you more of our award winning* blips if you promise not to disconnect from those you are with....

• WWDC 2013 banners painted with '7' and 'X,' hint at what we're in for

• EE launches Glastonbury 2013 app with BBC-powered live streams

• Step off, snappers: new gadget promises to trash unwanted photos
• *Won best new idea in TechRadar's office April 2013.

The Sony Xperia ZU may be the official name for the much rumoured, super-sized handset Togari.

Apparently VR-Zone is in the position to exclusively reveal the name of Sony's next handset, along with a Xperia ZU release date of June 25.

Now Sony does have an event planned in Germany on that date and while details on this are thin on the ground sources have claimed the Japanese firm will use this forum to unveil its gigantic smartphone.

How big can you go?

The Xperia ZU is tipped to pack an eye-popping, palm-stretching 6.44-inch full HD screen which the sources also reckon will feature Sony's fancy new Triluminos display tech which already appears on some of the firm's TVs and laptops.

Water-resistant could also be present on the Xperia ZU, while under the hood the report suggests it will pack a meaty 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor.

We've contacted Sony to find out more information about the Xperia ZU and its event in Germany, although it's not really making a big deal of the German date which would suggest we may not see any new hardware after all.

A few times a year we are lucky enough to get a night in tech that make everybody sit up and notice - traditionally they Apple's iPhone and iPad launches and Samsung's Galaxy S announcements.

But on this Magnificent Monday we are getting not two but three major reveals from a triumvirate of the world's tech leviathans, and we couldn't be more excited.

In the San Francisco corner of this tech super slam is Apple - its WWDC 2013 keynote promises some major announcements. It kicks off at 10am PT / 6pm BST / 3am EST.

Not only are we expecting to see the latest version of its operating system for iPhone and iPad, a redesigned and overhauled iOS 7, we also expect a look at Mac's OS X update, OS X 10.9, and potentially new Macbook Pros and Mac Pros.

But the headliner may well prove to be a new service - with the much vaunted iRadio arriving to bring's Apple's music offering into an era where Spotify and Pandora have begun to eat into the old hand iTunes.

• Keep up with all the WWDC 2013 announcements from Apple

Even as Apple is announcing its latest kit, the tech world's attention will be flitting over to Las Vegas and the E3 2013 keynote from Microsoft which kicks off at 9.30am PT / 5.30pm BST / 2.30am EST.

We're hoping the event will reveal much, much more about what the Xbox One will be bringing to our living rooms.

The focus, after what can only be described as vitriolic response to the tech- and services-heavy Xbox One reveal, will thankfully be on gaming and what titles will be vying to attract the world to the Microsoft gaming world.

• Read all the latest on the Xbox One E3 announcements, or check out everything we know about Xbox One

A few hours later at 6pm PT / 2am BST / 11am EST, we'll see what Sony has got up its sleeve as we get our first proper glimpse at the PS4. In what proved to be the complete opposite of Microsoft's approach, Sony gave us a lot of gaming glimpses when it announced the PS4 but very little hardware.

In fact, in what has to be one of the most bizarre steps in recent tech history, Sony decided to keep the actual console out of sight, showing us the controller but not the box that will be sat under our television.

• You can follow all the PS4 and Sony E3 announcements with TechRadar.

Poor old Nintendo's Wii U will not be a part of Magnificent Monday, so we will not get the chance to compare all three of the big guns, but given the lack of impact from the Japanese giant's latest offering it's probably better that its on its own on Tepid Tech Tuesday where at least it gets a chance to have an impact.

With a bit of luck this will be a date that offers up some new innovations that will still be meaningful in the tech world in five year's time.

Until the announcements are made we're not really going to know which of Magnificent Monday's big three bags itself the most headlines, but the anticipation is a big part of the fun.

Over the weekend a press image appeared online claiming to depict the much rumoured Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom, and now further photos apparently showing the device in the flesh have surfaced.

The folks over at TechTastic reckon they've got their hands on "real" pictures of the Galaxy S4 Zoom, although it's not clear where these images came from - and that raises our suspicions slightly.

Unfortunately the Galaxy S4 Zoom hasn't got any prettier in this latest set of leaked pictures, with the clumsy "phone stuck on a camera" look still prevailing and making us, quite frankly, feel a little bit squiffy.

Un-spec-tacular

A range of specs also arrived alongside the dodgy shots, and it's claimed that the Galaxy S4 Zoom will feature a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED qHD display, 1.6GHz dual-core processor, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi and GPS.

It'll also supposedly pack 8GB of internal storage plus a microSD slot so you won't need to worry about running out of space as you snap away with the 16MP camera, featuring an optical zoom, bolted onto the rear of the Galaxy S4 Zoom.

Lastly it apparently comes running the latest version of Android Jelly Bean, 4.2.2, with the customary Samsung TouchWiz overlay applied on top.

Samsung hasn't officially announced the Galaxy S4 Zoom, but it's probably just a matter of time considering the recent unveiling of the Galaxy S4 Mini and Galaxy S4 Active - so watch this space.

Samsung's slipped yet another member of the Galaxy family our way, the Galaxy Ace 3, which lands exactly as we expected it to and in both 3G and 4G LTE forms.

The 4-inch 480 x 800 display is your first hint that this is pretty entry-level as far as Samsung handsets go. The phone will be running on a 1.2GHz dual-core processor with 1GB of RAM.

The handset's 5MP camera is accompanied by an LED flash, with Samsung also packing in a load of nifty new features, including S Translator and S Travel, which provide translations and travel information wherever you are. Obviously.

It's also nabbed the Smart Stay feature of the Samsung Galaxy S3, which is intended to help extend the life of the battery by monitoring your eyes and shutting off the display when you look away.

Aces high

Dimensions-wise, the Ace 3 comes in at 10mm thick and weighing 119.5g, with a 1800mAh Lithium-Ion battery under the hood.

And good news for OS-fans: the Galaxy Ace 3 is running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. However, there's only 8GB of storage, and Watchdog-fearful Samsung tells us that of that space only 5GB is user-accessible. The good news is this is expandable up to 64GB via microSD.

Samsung hasn't confirmed anything on date or price, but we expect to find out more at its June 20 launch event.

Having seen an increase in people checking the BBC Weather site on their phones over the past year, the BBC has launched a new dedicated weather app for iOS and Android users, presenting all that gloomy weather news in a lovely themed display.

Available now to download from the iOS and Android app stores, the app can put your GPS to good use or you can set your upcoming holiday destinations as you wish - or, if you prefer, you can set one option to Alaska just to make yourself feel better about the maudlin British summertime.

Android users can add the app as a widget on their home screens and, for some reason, share favourite locations over NFC by touching two phones together. We're not sure why you'd do this, but hey. Get involved.

More blips!

How very British of us to discuss the weather first thing on a Monday morning. Broaden your conversational horizons with a breakfast buffet of alternative blips:

• WWDC 2013 banners painted with '7' and 'X,' hint at what we're in for

• EE launches Glastonbury 2013 app with BBC-powered live streams

• Step off, snappers: new gadget promises to trash unwanted photos