Apple Touts Refreshed iPods, iPhone iOS 4.1

Apple CEO says the company “couldn’t be happier about the progress of iOS.” Read on about the new iPhone OS release and other key developments.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs detailed a slew of new releases that bring more features, lower price points and more interconnectivity between all of the company’s wildly popular mobile devices, along with a redesigned Apple TV device for streaming movies, TV shows and user-generated content.

Most of the rumors about Apple’s plans for today’s news event were basically on target, but Jobs decided to begin with an announcement that Apple’s much-anticipated iOS 4.1 release for the iPhone will be available for free on iTunes and from its Web site beginning next week.

The revamped offering promises to resolve a nagging issue with the iPhone 4’s proximity sensor — which deactivates the touchscreen while in use as a phone — as well as Bluetooth connectivity problems and performance issues customers have complained about with the older iPhone 3G. He did not indicate whether the update would also address the persistent and perhaps overblown complaints about the so-called “death grip” lost-signal issue, which Apple in July sought to mitigate by offering free plastic “bumpers” to new buyers.

Read the rest at Hardware Central.