Pocket Picks round-up: June 4th - WWDC rumours, Nokia launches new Symbian phones, ASUS baffles everyone with the Padfone, HTC eases stance on bootloading

With WWDC just a few days away now, most people following mobiles and mobile gaming have their eye trained on San Francisco to see what exactly Apple is going to pull out of its hat this time around.

The company has traditionally used this event to reveal the latest iteration of the iPhone, but all the signs appear to suggest this won’t be the case.

That doesn’t mean Steve Jobs (if he’s around) or Tim Cook will take to the stage and have nothing to show, however, as our first story of the week demonstrates.

Apple to unveil iOS 5 and iCloud at WWDC

No, this isn’t a rumour. Uncharacteristically for Apple, the company revealed two of the main items on the agenda for next week’s WWDC a week early.

There weren’t many details beyond the two subjects in question, though, with iCloud’s name not even mentioned (instead it was called merely an ‘upcoming cloud services offering’).

We’d be highly surprised if Apple wasn’t planning something big for iOS 5, however, especially given the advances made by its competitors (like Google, Windows, and HP) in terms of the UI and functionality.

Still no word on whether the iPhone 5 will make an appearance next week, so there may still be a surprise in store at the event.

ASUS lauches the Padfone to much bemusement

You can’t accuse ASUS of trying, at least. Undeterred by its relative lack of success in breaking into the tablet market, the hardware firm is attempting to create its own unique niche with the Padfone - a tablet that can hide an actual phone inside.

Yes, it’s as bizarre as it sounds.

The Padfone was unveiled this week in one of the most awkward moments of showmanship we’ve seen for a long time. Check out the video below to see what we mean.

Nokia starts shipping first Symbian Anna handsets Nokia launched the first two handsets - the X7 and E6 - that come pre-loaded with the new Symbian Anna OS this week. The new OS carries a number of improvements over the one that shipped with the N8 et al., with most apparently taken directly from feedback received by the community.

In terms of hardware, the two handsets are just riffs on existing models, which isn’t so exciting - the E6 is the BlackBerry-alike QWERTY business phone, while the X7 could be mistaken for an N8 if the lights are low.

Nokia has previously said that it will continue to support Symbian right up until 2016, so expect more incremental updates to the platform over the next few years.

HTC eases stance on bootloading

HTC’s CEO Peter Chou has announced that the Taiwanese company will no longer be locking people out of the bootloader on future HTC phones, allowing for custom firmwares to be installed without having to find a workaround on the net.

While it may not sound that appealing to the normal phone user, it’s good news for those of us who enjoy fiddling around with custom settings on our phones and trying to make the device do more than Google or the manufacturer initially designed it to (like overclocking).

The move comes as a result of a Facebook campaign that saw angry customers upset about being constantly locked out by phone companies.

It also follows on from a similar move by Sony Ericsson the other month, in which the company provided the tools to boot up into the underbelly of its Xperia phones.

NFC being added to MicroSD cards

There’s a distinct lack of devices out there that support Near-Field Communications technology - the ability to pay for stuff by using your mobile as a credit/debit card.

This means there are an awful lot of companies attempting to create something that allows non-NFC phones to use the system, one of which being Netcom in China.

The company has come up with a very novel solution to the problem - equipping the tech to the SD Card that slots inside your phone.

It doesn’t, however, address the fact that there just aren't enough shops or services around the world that actually supports the format yet, despite tech firms pushing hard to have the standard installed.