By Evan Ackerman
The Apple Keynote video will be up on Apple.com around noon PST (here it is), but here’s the important stuff:
Time Capsule: AirPort Extreme Base Station with an internal HD; $299 for 500gb and $499 for 1tb
iPhone Updates: SDK releases in February. SMS multiple people. Maps now come with location derived from cell towers (no GPS). Software update available today for free.
iPod Touch Updates: 5 new apps, including stocks, mail, notes, weather, and maps. Free with new iPods, $20 upgrade for existing users.
iTunes: Rent movies online. All major studios. 1000+ first run titles available 30 days after DVD release. Watch instantly in any format. After renting, 30 days to start watching, 24 hours to finish watching after start. $3 rentals, $4 for new releases.
Apple TV Version 2: No computer required; integrates directly with your TV. Also syncs with iTunes. DVD or HD quality, 5.1 channel sound. $4 rentals, $5 for HD. Entry price for Apple TV now $229, ships in 2 weeks.
Macbook Air: “World’s thinnest notebook.” 0.16 inches to 0.76 inches thick, 13.3 inch LED backlit widescreen display with iSight camera. 3.0 pounds. Fullsize keyboard. “Thinner than the thinnest part of a Sony Vaio TZ.” Multi-touch trackpad. 1.8″ HD (same as iPod) in either 80gb or 64gb SSD. 1.6 Ghz or 1.8 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo, chips are “thick as a nickle, wide as a dime.” One USB port. Micro DVI out, audio out. Wireless N, Bluetooth. No optical drive (external $99). 2gb ram standard. 5 hour battery. Flame retardant circuit boards and made with some eco-friendly/recycled components, including recyclable aluminum case. $1799 in base config. Pre-ordering today, ships in 2 weeks. Click here for more info on the Apple site. If you want the SSD and fast chip, $3098 (!). No ethernet jack.
(Image VIA Macrumorslive)
(Image VIA Ars Technica)
[ Macworld ]
Wow, terrible… unless your a faithful mac zealot what a disappointing keynote. Aside from the cool (yet overpriced) macbook air this keynote offered nothing spectacular. All of these updates could have been made during the regular course of the year and were not worthy of keynote presentation.
I’m dismayed by the number of software upgrades that require new hardware. Why do I need to replace my Airport Extreme which was just released a few months ago and takes an external disk with this Time Capsule which has identical functionality, just to take advantage of a remote disk software update to Time Machine?!?
And why won’t the new trackpad gestures be available on older Macbooks? They’re multitouch-capable.
I can understand actual hardware upgrades that obsolete older hardware, but these software enhancements should be backported to at least the last round of existing hardware.