I thought I’d give a quick recap on today’s announcements since my friends are already ringing my phone off the hook anyway. 🙂 There certainly was no shortage of announcements from this morning’s Apple Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) keynote. Of course you can go to apple.com and get all the details of each and every item. This post is just serve as a quick recap for those that just want to know “what’s new?”
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Updated MacBooks/MacBook Pros
Apple updated the specs on the 15″ MacBook Pro, 13″ MacBook (now Pro) and MacBook Air while at the same time reducing the prices!
The 15″ MacBook Pro now gets the same built-in battery as it’s 17″ sibling, boasting 7 hours of battery life. It can be configured with up to 8GB of RAM as well as a 500GB hard drive. Probably the most controversial move here is that they removed the ExpressCard Slot and replaced it with an SD card slot instead and they replaced the removable battery with one that’s built-in. The new prices are $1,599, $1,899 and $2,099.
The New 13″ MacBook Pro. The MacBook has been upgraded to MacBook Pro status. It now features an SD slot as well, configurable up to 8GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive, and it now has a FIREWIRE port! Apple has seen the error of its ways in this regard. Probably the most exciting feature of the 13″ MacBook Pro is the price. The 7 hour battery is also built-in on this model. They start at $1,199 which is cheaper than the older model which had less features.
Lastly the MacBook Air gets a price reduction as well. Now the MacBook Air starts at $1,499.
See the new MacBook Pros here.
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Safari 4.0 Now Available
The Safari web browser had been in beta for the past couple of months and now it’s officially available in its release form. It was already available via the Software Updates when I ran it a few minutes ago. I’ll have to see if they fixed a couple of the bugs I was having in the beta. Namely, posting links on WordPress on this very blog. Apple bills it as the fastest web browser on any platform.
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Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard
As you might expect, the spotlight was on Snow Leopard today. Apple showed off a miriad of enhancements and the one that got me most excited was the Microsoft Exchange support which means that I’ll finally be able to say goodbye to Microsoft Entourage for work email. There were all kinds of other neat UI enhancements to the Finder and the OS in general. The big focus was on 64bit as well it should be. Lastly, Snow Leopard will be available in September for only $29 for existing Leopard users. That has to be the lowest OS price that Apple has ever charged since they’ve been charging for OS upgrades. Snow Leopard is only for Intel Macs!
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iPhone OS 3.0 Update
No surprises that Apple also showed more about the iPhone 3.0 update, which had already been previewed. It’s going to fill many of the gaps that the iPhone has had to date including MMS support, Tethering, Cut, Copy & Paste, background notification for 3rd party apps, Turn-by-Turn directions, peer-to-peer gaming, etc. This update will be FREE to existing iPhone users ($9.99 for iPod touch users) and available next week on June 17th! Yes, you know where I’ll be that day. 🙂
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New iPhone 3GS
The most anticipated news of course was the new iPhone hardware. Today Apple introduced the iPhone 3GS. The main points are:
- Faster processor
- 7.2 Mbps HSDPA
- 3MP Camera with better low light, auto focus and macro modes
- Video Capture, trimming on the iPhone, share via email, MMS, YouTube, or MobileMe
- Voice Control
- Compass App
- Nike+ support built-in
- Hardware Data Encryption
- Better battery life
Available Friday, June 19th – 16GB model (black or white) $199, 32GB model (black or white) $299
8GB iPhone 3G now only $99 and available today!
Terry,
What’s it going to cost you to upgrade your phone? If you are in a current contract period, it sounds like the upgrade price is ridiculous.
Terry,
The only thing that would convince me to upgrade from my current IPhone would be the tethering. Is there a list of providers? Do you think AT&T is going to become a provider. I’ll switch providers if they don’t.
I think New 13? MacBook Pro is very hot. It will be perfect for traveling photogs. I hope to get one soon 🙂
So Lynette is frantically trying to frantically figure which is best for her. A new macbook from the developer’s pricing or student. It looks like she may have to go for the 15 inch to take advantage of the developer pricing as it gets better the higher we go.
@ Dan, from Apple’s site: “For non-qualified customers, including existing AT&T customers who want to upgrade from another phone or replace an iPhone 3G, the price with a new two-year agreement is $499 (8GB), $599 (16GB), or $699 (32GB). Visit http://www.wireless.att.com for eligibility information.”
Looks like 3G owners need to wait for current contracts to expire (I have more than a year to go), or pony up the cash big time!
I think I bought all my goodies too early this year! I got a MacBook in Feb. and an iPhone in March. Thanks for all the updates.
{ho-hum}
Am I pleased I bought my 3G? You betcha.
Is it worth $600/$700 to extend my commitment? Not a chance.
Would it be worth the $200/$300 if I didn’t have a year to go on my commitment? mmmmm….*maybe*…barely.
It looks, to me, like I’ll upgrade my iPhone every 2 years max, maybe more.
To add features that “shoulda been there” (MMS, video, better camera, etc.) and charge what they’re asking for is, ummm, “interesting”.
To be saddled, in 2009, without tethering, is nutz.
It’s a nice upgrade, and a price drop. For Steve to complain about lack of tethering is funny – AT&T isn’t allowing it, while other providers in other countries are. It’s a bummer, sure, but nutz? Not really.
And to complain about features that “shoulda been there” implies that you “shouldna bought.” Dude, you bought. You’re implying your decision making processes aren’t to be trusted.
Me, I think the 3G is great, and the GS even better.
Well, I guess a lot of people are funny, as almost everywhere I go people aren’t happy about the lack of tethering — heck — watch the video and hear the laughs.
As for “shouldna bought” — well, no. I don’t think it’s a binary thing — as stated I’m pleased with my purchase; at the same time I think certain features should have been there to start with. Also, the point is made with regards to pricing — what are known as basic features these days are commanding top dollar in an upgrade. Me, I think that’s nutz; I respect your difference of opinion.