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