Apple has posted video of yesterday’s media event keynote. Steve Jobs made his first stage appearance in nearly a year. So if you like Steve Jobs, check it out.
If you don’t want to watch the live-stream, you can download Apple’s official Podcast here. (iTunes Link)
Today’s Rock and Roll Media event has ended. So what was announced?
iPods:
- iPod Touch now sells at $199/299/399 for 8GB/32GB/64GB. 32 and 64GB models have same faster processors the iPhone 3GS has.
- iPod Classic capacity increase from 120GB to 160GB for the same $249.
- iPod Shuffle now in five new colors. $59 for 2GB and $79 for 4GB models.
- iPod nano now has camera, speakers, FM radio, and a larger display. Built in pedometer for Nike+. 8GB for $149, 16GB for $179.
- Improved layout of iTunes Store.
- 30,000 ringtones $1.29 each.
- Genius database expanded to include “Genius Mixes”. More syncing options such as artists, genres, etc.
- Manage iPhone apps and arrange home screens right from iTunes.
- iTunes LP. Album packages that include bonus material such as lyrics, photos, videos.
- iTunes Extras. Movie bonus material, Similar to DVD bonus features, also comes with interactive material.
- Home sharing. Browse the iTunes libraries of up to five authorized computers in your house, import what you like, and automatically add new purchases made on any of the computers to your own library.
iPhone:
- iPhone 3.1 released. Brings “Genius” to apps.
Comparing this to my predictions I posted earlier, I scored fairly poorly. No mention of the Apple TV, no cameras in the iPod touch, and Steve Jobs got on stage.
Apple has very quietly reduced most iPod prices ahead of today’s “Rock and Roll” media event.
- iPod nano is now $129 for 8GB and $149 for 16GB.
- iPod classic is now $229.
- iPod touch is now $189 for 8GB, $249 for 16GB and $279 for 32GB.
There is currently no price change on the iPod Shuffle. There are also reports that these price changes aren’t showing up throughout the entire site. Some areas of the site show the new prices, other still show the old ones.
I suspect these are the price points for the new models, and not just price reductions to clear out old models.
UPDATE: Well, I was flat wrong about the prices wasn’t I?
Image courtesy of TUAW.
I am going to shamelessly copy John Gruber’s format, and tell you how much you should wager on certain rumors regarding tomorrow’s media event.
Wager heavily upon:
- At bare minimum, the announcement of camera equipped iPods. I can almost guarantee the nano and touch will have cameras, I can only assume the iPod classic will too. The evidence for the former is overwhelming, while evidence for the latter is scarce. I also expect the iPod touch to receive the same processor and RAM upgrades the iPhone 3GS received in June. Lastly, I suspect the camera on the iPod touch will be able to capture video.
- Price drops – I’ve heard both major and/or minor price drops are a possibility. This is to maintain Apple’s sales volumes while the iPhone continues to eat away at the iPod market.
Wager minimally upon:
- iTunes with social media integration, such as Facebook and Twitter.
- Apple TV updates. Modest updates such as new software or larger hard drives.
- Pre-cut ringtones.
- iTunes “Cocktails” – Albums packaged with interactive media such as iPhone apps.
Would wager agianst:
- Tablet announcement.
- Steve Jobs giving the keynote.
- Major Apple TV overhaul, such as built-in DVR or subscription services as recent rumors have suggested.
- Beatles announcement.
- Blu-Ray support in iTunes.
As a whole, I suspect tomorrow’s announcements will be pretty standard. Nothing ground breaking, just the next logical step in Apple’s media strategies.
Photos have sprung up around the web showing the banners Apple has hung outside of the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, where Wednesday’s “Rock and Roll” media event will be held.
In addition to these photos there have been recent rumors suggesting that the rumored iPods with cameras won’t be unveiled at this media event as previously suggested. HardMac claims the delay stems from production problems with the cameras.
According to one of our reliable source (however, it remains a rumor), Apple is facing problems with the production of the new iPod Touch. The issue would be linked to the new camera module. We did not get any further details, but the problem has been spotted in the first dozen of thousands units produced. Those units have been put aside.
I suspect Apple will announce these iPods as planned, but production will be delayed by a few weeks. That is, if any of this is credible.
Image courtesy of Brad Immanuel
DigiTimes is reporting that Apple has contracted OmniVision to supply them 3.2 megapixel cameras for upcoming iPod models. We’ve heard other similar reports claiming that Apple will equip the next-gen iPod touch, and Nano with cameras. This is however, the first time we have heard of the iPod Classic also receiving a camera.
OmniVision has secured CMOS image sensor (CIS) orders for upcoming Apple iPods, according to market sources.
OmniVision will be the sole supplier of 3.2-megapixel CIS products for new iPod nano, iPod classic and iPod Touch models which will be launched in September, the sources indicated.
Although no official date has been set by Apple, we have reason to believe this year’s music media event will be held on September 9th at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
I say the iPod Touch gets a camera, the other iPods don’t.
MediaMemo is reporting that music industry sources are claiming Apple will hold a keynote event during the week of September 7th:
Time to get the rumor mill kicked into high gear: Multiple music industry sources say Apple executives have told them the company is planning one of its famed keynote events for the week of Sept. 7.
But in true Apple fashion, the company has been noncommittal about the exact date of the event and what it will be showing off.
Why does the music industry know Apple’s schedule you ask? Well it appears that music execs were involved in the creation of the rumored iTunes “cocktails“.
Given that Apple has tipped off music industry executives, it?s a fair bet that the event will incorporate music in some way. Perhaps it will show off the new ?Cocktail? format that Apple has been working on, which bundles full-length albums with other goodies like album covers and interactive bells and whistles.
Some sort of iPod revisions are expected, with evidence of both iPod Touches and Nanos having built-in cameras. Blu-Ray and social media intergration are rumored to be included in a new release of iTunes.
Apple almost always has a “Music Event” in September, making this rumor very likely.
What about the tablet you ask? Well, there is a new report out today suggesting that the tablet will be released in 2010 and not this fall as previously suggested.
The Loop is reporting that “very reliable sources” are suggesting that Apple’s rumored tablet device will not be introduced in September and instead see the light of day some time next year.
The Loop:
Very reliable sources familiar with the product have said speculation of the tablet being introduced during the September event are flat out wrong. The Apple tablet, they said, would not see the light of day until the first part of 2010.
The event in September will be focused on music, which means we could see new iPods and perhaps some updates to iTunes. The tablet computer will not even be mentioned as part of the event, my sources said.
This tablet thing will be interesting to watch. Also, I would almost bet money that the event will be held during the week of September 7th.
Mock-up courtesy of htootayzar.com.
Apple has announced profits of $1.23 Billion for Q3 2009. Apple stated they had $8.34 billion in revenue and net quarterly profit of $1.23 billion, or $1.35 per diluted share. Compare this to the year-ago quarter results of $7.46 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.07 billion, or $1.19 per diluted share, and you see a substantial jump.
All of this money was generated from Apple shipping 2.6 million Macintosh computers (a 4% increase over the year-ago quarter), 10.2 million iPods (7% decline from year-ago quarter), and 5.2 million iPhones (a massive 626% increase over last year).
“We’re making our most innovative products ever and our customers are responding,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We’re thrilled to have sold over 5.2 million iPhones during the quarter and users have downloaded more than 1.5 billion applications from our App Store in its first year.”
Apple expects total revenue of $8.7 billion to $8.9 billion and earnings per diluted share of $1.18 to $1.23, for fiscal quarter 4 of 2009.
Several Apple patent applications were released today by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Two are particularly interesting.
The first is labeled “Multi-dimensional scroll wheel“. Filed in September of last year it describes the familiar iPod click wheel but witht the capability of multi-touch. Here’s an excerpt:
To improve the effectiveness of a touch-based scroll wheel, the present disclosure provides multi-touch scroll wheel circuitry capable of sensing input in multiple ways. For example, scroll wheel circuitry can sense a moving object, such as a finger, as it is moved not only in a rotational manner but also in a linear manner across the center of the scroll wheel. The scroll wheel circuitry can also sense more than one object at a time, such as multi-finger touch or motion. In this manner, the scroll wheel circuitry can enable a device to recognize a wider range of input. To be clear, a wheel can be circular, but can also have any shape that enables a closed loop type input.
The go as far as to suggest this new multi-touch click wheel could be used as a stand alone device similar to a mouse, or even built into a notebook.
The second patent worth mentioning today regards media sharing while on a call on the iPhone. This patent entitled “Methods and systems for mixing media with communications“, and describes several methods for sharing media during a current running communications connection. Here’s an excerpt from this application:
The present invention permits a user to initiate a communications operation with a recipient, or to receive a communications operation initiated by another individual, and to transmit a selected media item over the same communication path used for the communications operation without terminating the communications operation. This combined transmission can occur regardless of the type of media selected by the user to be added to the communications operation.
This application also makes reference to video conferencing which of course is not available in any of Apple’s current mobile device offerings which at least proves Apple is looking into video conferencing and other video capabilities.
I don’t know about you, but none of these come as a tremendous shock to me. Apple will need new ways to entice buyers to it’s lower end iPod sales, and what better way to do that than bring a buzzword like “multi-touch” to an iPod?
Also, I believe media sharing if not full blow video conferencing is a feature that will show up on the iPhone in a matter of time. Will it be here next week at WWDC? I strongly doubt it, but in future iteration? Yes.
Images courtesy of United States Patent and Trademark Office
Hardmac is reporting on finding that the new lineup of iPods this September may include cameras. Here’s what they have to say:
- The future iPhone models will have exactly the same shape and size than the current iPhone 3G, despite fakes and rumors circulating.
- Apple should refresh models for the iPod nano and Touch in September. Both should now include a camera, similarly to the iPhone.
AppleInsider explains logic behind this: with the new camera more apps will emerge with camera functionality. Yeah that’s it.
So let me get this straight. Apple is going to add to the expense of it’s products and risk the possibility of cannibalizing iPhone sales (in the off chance the camera is the sole reason you bought an iPhone) so developers can make more camera apps and present them to a wider audience?
Just remember that in the same breath other rumors published just today say Apple isn’t supposed to be making that much money off the App Store. Why do they care if you have a reason to build another app? I also doubt that the lack of a camera is going to slow iPod sales growth, it’s bound to slow anyway.
I’ve been wrong plenty of times before (note my Mac OS X 10.5.7 gaffe) but I will be very surprised if any of the iPods get a camera this fall.
Image courtesy of AppleInsider.
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