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Apple 2009 WWDC introduces new toys

by on09 June 2009

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No tablet and no netbook, but some lower prices

As expected during the keynote presentation during the opening of the Apple World Wide Developer Conference, attendees were treated to a few new toys, a couple of surprises, and something we don’t normally see from Apple, a lowering of prices.

As anticipated, Apple launched the new iPhone 3G S, and the “S” fills the need for speed. The speedy new iPhone will be available in 16GB and 32GB configurations, as expected with the features that we previously let you know about. No real surprises here. Apple will continue to extend the iPhone in an attempt to reach the masses with the last generation of the iPhone 3G in an 8GB configuration that will be offered for $99, likely with a two-year contract. The new iPhone 3G S will officially launch on June 19th, but orders are being taken starting today.

The 3.0 version of the iPhone and iPod Touch OS will be available officially on June 17th. It will be free for iPhone owners, but iPod Touch owners will be paying $9.95 for the ability to upgrade their iPod Touch. The new OS will offer MMS, Internet Tethering, and the new Find My Phone features, plus a number of other upgrades and bug fixes. From our understanding, U.S. iPhone exclusive carrier AT&T will not be offering some of the features at launch and hopes to offer them by late summer. AT&T, according to our sources, has no intention to support Internet Tethering at this time, but will likely offer it at some point in the future. (According to what we hear the tethering will be offered with a $70 data plan once AT&T gets it rolled out.) Good job to AT&T for again demonstrating its inability to get things out the door on time.

The Mac OS X update, otherwise known as version 10.6 or codename “Snow Leopard” if you prefer, will finally launch in September. It will offer a lot of innovative new features as well as some much needed bug fixes. The choice of the launch time frame is interesting, given that Windows 7 will launch a month later. The best news was perhaps the price, which will be $29 for a single computer or $49 for the family pack.

Safari 4 arrived today, which was a bit unexpected. Version 4 of Safari has been in open public beta since February. The number of new enhancements almost number too many to count, but the support for HTML 5 as well as CSS Effects seem to be the things that give Safari a much needed edge moving forward. The speed and performance have improved, and the fact that it is here today for both Mac and Windows could equal some much needed attention for Safari moving forward.

New updated 15” and 17” MacBook Pro notebooks were announced. The 13” model was rebranded as the MacBook Pro. All of the models received price drops, and in some cases the price drops were significant. The MacBook Air also received a price drop to $1,499 for the base configuration. Oh, Apple does say that their new versions of the notebooks feature the best battery life yet and the most green construction possible.

While no new tablet or touch screen netbook were announced, it is pretty clear from the rumblings we hear that it is, in fact, on the radar and they are working on something. Whispers also indicate that we should expect something more on Apple TV going forward during the iPod launch that will be in the back-to-school time frame. As for the rumors of an Apple gaming console, we don’t think that it will be just a gaming console, but it is clear that the company is planning something big for the holiday season; and we suggest again that it will be tied to Apple TV, according to what our sources are telling us.

Last modified on 09 June 2009
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