2009 WWDC Scoop

8-Jun, 2009

The World Wide Developers Conference kicked off this morning with Phil Schiller’s keynote speech drawing a big crowd. Feel free to check out CNET News’ liveblog coverage of the event in San Francisco. A few items I’m excited about include:

MacBooks

  • all get “under-the-hood” updgrades
  • 13″ aluminum unibody laptop now called a MacBook Pro
  • longer battery life and lower prices

Snow Leopard

  • Exchange for Mail, iCal, and Address Book
  • $29 for current Leopard users
  • All apps are faster and the OS is trimmed down (smaller install size)

iPhone 3.0 OS — June 17

  • free for iPhone users, $9.99 for Touch users
  • whole-phone search (Spotlight)
  • rent/purchase movies from iTunes
  • HTML 5 support
  • JavaScript speed: JS page-rendering 3x faster with new mobile Safari and iPhone 3.0 software
  • Find my iPhone: service for MobileMe users to find their [lost?] phone via Google Maps and remotely wipe the phone’s data
  • Google Maps can now be embedded in any app (turn-by-turn, announce directions, car/attachement accessories galore, etc.)
  • Push notification: pop-up alerts, sounds, badge icons

iPhone 3GS — June 19

  • “S” stands for speed, speed, speed
  • new camera (3 megapixel, auto-focus, tap-to-focus, better low-light sensitivity, auto-macro feature, video support)
  • voice control: “Call my hot wife,” “What music is playing now?”
  • supports data encryption
  • improved battery life
  • $199 for 16GB, $299 for 32GB (see update below)
  • Current, 8GB model now for $99

Wow…lot’s of goodies. With the Tom-Tom app (available this summer) and push notifications running on the phone, it’s possible [despite what Apple says] you’re gonna need to charge your phone a helluva lot more. It will be interesting to see how efficient the new 3.0 software handles memory allocation and manages multiple process while trying to maximize battery life. So, go forth and stimulate the economy gadget freaks!

Update: 8 Jun, 2009 (3:17pm)
Before you decide to trade-in your current iPhone, should you have one, you might want to read, “AT&T speaks on tethering, iPhone 3G S preorders, upgrades,” which basically says that only new customers or customers who are currently eligible for an upgrade (ie: those who have had their contract for a minimum 18 months) will be able to take advantage of the $199/$299 pricing for an iPhone 3GS. Others will have to pay a non-subsidized price between $399 and $699. Um, no. AT&T can sod off.

See Apple’s Buy an iPhone page to see whether or not you qualify for the lower, subsidized price. That Palm Pre is looking tempting, isn’t it?

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Posted by penkapp
Filed in gadgets, mac, software
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