Today there was no reality distortion field. Just a reality field. You want video. Here it is. You want devs to have video. Here it is. You want to edit video in place without loading Quicktime Pro or even knowing what it is. Here it is. You want the video menu and nav tools to disapper. They’re gone. You want them back. Here they are.
You want a way to find your iPhone if you put it on silent to turn off all the noise and then your cat pushed it into the cracks of the sofa. Buy MobileMe, go to the page, look at the map, click ring and it overrides silent. Never had reason one to get MobileMe, but this Marriage Saver option is definitely almost worth a hundred bucks a year. If one developer bootstraps MobileMe for some value and I download that app, I’m almost in. And you can sell it to your wife as a way of checking where you are.
Oh, you like the Pre. Here’s the 3G for 99 bucks. Thanks for the three days, Palm. And how about the G2 having no headphone jack. Apple doesn’t even have to win with this kind of competition. Seriously, who is the guy at Google who didn’t step up and flag that at the meeting? But guess what, Apple is winning anyway. The biggest laugh the whole morning was what wasn’t said, when Phil Schiller announced tethering on 22 carrier partners in 42 countries. Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it, didn’t even have to say no AT&T. Big laugh.
Apple has the carriers on the run. You can see the vise tightening as AT&T gets closer to the reup time on the exclusive deal. With Pre and G2 already out there, it won’t take long for them to almost catch up on other carriers, and then… oh how about 99 bucks for a 3G with 1 billion Appstore downloads. Who’s kidding who here. Hell, Apple has the browsers on the run too. HTML 5, 2X to 3X the speed in Safari, HTTP audio and video streaming. I think I saw RSS on the screen in the upper row third from the left of 1000 features.
Peer to peer auto-find no peering over bluetooth. The kids playing p2p backgammon in the back seat. TomTom GPS car kit with big speaker and look-ahead video preview. Honk your horn and unlock the car with ZipCar. The iPhone is the tip of the iceberg, our universal remote control with new features and updates literally streaming down in realtime.
As we sat there, it seemed so the new normal, not frenzied but almost Spockian logical: the new phone, the 1000 APIs, the Snow Leopard fit and finish, the MacBook Air for $1499 and 700 off the SSD price. The 7-hour lithium polymer batteries with a thousand recharges, well past the MacBook Pro lifetime. And the OS upgrade price 29 bucks, 49 family pack. A stream of inevitability, conquering the airplane, the car, the kids, the media, even our understanding of what constitutes the technology platform.
Suddenly, the shape of things to come is the shape of what’s here now. The iPhone is the client, the MacBook (they’re all Pro) the server, and you can bring it into the office and plug into the corporate Exchange server with one click. Never has the fear of Apple holding developers or users hostage been so overstated. Apple’s rigorous march forward and its deep understanding of what the market will want next is not only keeping them ahead of the competition but building the markets they will own tomorrow. They’re like Willie Mays and the basket catch, making the hard stuff look easy. The market may have bounced down a bit on the Jobs no-show, but Steve and company — and the smiling developers — know better.
And they didn’t mention that it will cost you $500 to change your iPhone 3G (loyal customer who stays up to date) to get an iPhone 3Gs.
That is taking the mickey. Maybe I will get a Pre just to move from AT&T and not take this abuse.
The tethering and MMS delays are abuse. Not gifting you an upgrade mid-contract is not.
Personally, I have decided to not stick with AT&T and hold off upgrading my 1st gen until another network has access. I suspect when that happens we’ll see yet another version, so I kill to birds with one stone. The price? – suffering with my slow but otherwise just fine 2G.
“And they didn’t mention that it will cost you $500 to change your iPhone 3G (loyal customer who stays up to date) to get an iPhone 3Gs.”
Where does this retarded complaint come from? Do you bitch when car companies don’t give you special upgrade pricing on the next model year? Get over it. You’ll get a discount on the iPhone 4G in a year or two.
Sorry, but what don’t you understand about subsidized phones?
You got your iPhone 3G with a 2 year contract so you didn’t have to pony up $500 up front for it.
I despise AT&T on many levels, but let’s be clear–you haven’t even paid for your OLD iPhone 3G yet. That’s what a cell phone contract IS. AT&T buys half the phone, and you pay them back.
How can you expect them to buy you another phone when the first one isn’t fully paid for yet? The contract was clear.
this is possibly the clearest explanation of why this shouldn’t even be an argument. Thank you, Orenge.
You’re paying $500 for the new phone because you didn’t pay $500 for the last one. Deal.
They didn’t mention it would be $500 because they assumed (wrongly) that people already knew how mobile carriers worked. When you get a subsidized phone, it takes time to work of the subsidy…
I have an original iPhone and I pay just $20 over the prices announced to get out of my contract a month or two early. You don’t have to pay extra if you just wait. But then of course you don’t get the new phone…
I don’t believe you will have to pay anything extra if you have a 1st Gen. The 1st Gens weren’t subsidized (that’s why they were $399 at the cheapest).
When the 3G came out they switched to the subsidized price of $199.
So you should already be eligible for “upgrade pricing,” and as long as you sign a new 2 year contract they won’t ding you for “breaking” the old one AFAIK.
This shouldn’t be a surprise for anyone who’s been paying attention. This is not only the way pretty much all subsidized phones work, it’s what happened last year with people moving from another subsidized AT&T phone to the then-new iPhone 3G: http://wearytech.blogspot.com/2009/04/more-things-change.html
Dude, that is how cell phone subsidies work. It’s a 2 year contract. My iPhone is 2 years old, so the iPhone 3G S is an upgrade for me, not you. If you already have a 3G, your next phone is the 2010 model.
If you think you can buy a new Pre every year for $299 you are dreaming, that is a 2 year contract as well.
G2 doesn’t have a headphone jack? Do you mean it doesn’t have a 3.5mm jack? If that’s what you meant then no, it doesn’t… but it does have a headphone jack, it uses the mini USB port for that functionality and includes the cable for you, no worries there.
Just clearing this up.
thanks jt, couldn’t find the cable in the I/O box. Will look again.
And the reason that no one at Google brought it up is because Google isn’t involved. HTC, the company that makes the hardware, has always done this with their WinMo devices, much to the chagrin of everyone. This is downside (there certainly are upsides) of having the software made by one group and the hardware made by another group.
Cept it’s not a ’standard’ miniUSB but a HTCproprietaryMicroSuperDuperMiniUSB
Is that the flat sided one? The miniUsb cable fits with not problems. What is the point?
sorry, let me get this straight… you need an adapter cable to make regular headphones work with the G2?
Wasn’t this a huge complaint for 1st Gen iPhones?
Some people never learn…
The G2 has A2DP for wireless stereo headsets which the iPhone 3GS does not.
The new iPhone OS is coming out with A2DP. It doesn’t have it now, but it will in 7 days.
Oh yeah, because tracking down a dongle isn’t annoying as hell.
Amazing isn’t it! It’s like chess and they’re a few hundred steps ahead of everyone. Almost doesn’t seem fair.
What’s even more amazing – as you point out – is the competition can’t even copy well.
Apple wins? They introduce a technology to use the power of graphics chips in the their notebooks and desktops and then quietly castrate the entry level 15″ MBP by removing its graphics chipset? That makes sense… :-S
The entry level MBP is 13″ now.
Steve, nice overview of the whole keynote. I can just picture your wife trying to locate you through MobileMe!
Some of these sites doing the comparisons are so way off in really getting how Apple is nailing every aspect with the iPhone with each new release, perfectly feeding us more and holding other things back…and making sure each feature is very well done.
The Pre??? 8GB versus 32GB, smaller screen, slower, less battery life, lacks the number of apps, etc… And while the Pre is probably one of the most polished iPhone competitors out there, they’ve still gotten many things wrong, from the how-long-until-this-breaks-off parts, to the just-looking-at-this-will-scratch-it plastic display.
@Dion,
Yes, it sucks having to wait 18 months before upgrading at the full subsidized pricing, but they are giving us a partial break for those of us who are at the 1 year mark.
I’m *really* surprised they gave us full subsidies last year, and it seems like a 1 year 50% subsidy and 18 months for the full subsidy seems fair…at least I don’t know of anyone who subsidizes better…Not Verizon and definitely not Sprint.
The iPhone as a tool seems to be fine. The AT&T usage plan(s) are the downfall for me. I’m not cheap…I’m thrifty. I simply can’t afford Apple or AT&T products. Or at least I can’t justify them. Thanks for the post Mr. Gillmor.
My first-gen iPhone doesn’t have a standard headphone jack either – nothing fits except the earbuds that came with the phone. Never saw anyone complaining about that in the reviews… At least the stock earbuds are pretty good.
Considering how about 75% of the apps I use on a day-to-day basis crash randomly due to running out of memory, there’s no way they can convince me to buy a new model until they announce that they’ve solved that problem. I don’t care how they do it – put new stringent standards in for app approval, put more RAM in the new model, make Mail and Safari not chew up RAM while I’m not using them – I don’t f–ing care, just fix the problem or I’m going to run screaming back to the welcoming arms of a platform that actually has memory management figured out.
@Kevin Gadd,
There were lots of people complaining about the original iPhone headphone jack, the difference between it and the G1/G2 and others is that it was a standard headphone jack, just recessed in a hole which meant only connectors that were narrow could fit. Those connectors would also work in any other headphone jack.
People complained enough for Apple to change it, which was unfortunate, because it was a better jack, and it’s a shame it didn’t become a standard that others adopted (and could’ve for free since it wasn’t patented by Apple).
As far as the crashing on the iPhone…may I suggest rebooting your iPhone on a regular basis? I know, it’s not the way it *should* be, but it does help. If you’re jailbroken, use SBsettings to two-click reboot.
The iPhone 3G S has twice the RAM, 256MB, and the default apps have all been optimized…along with more bug fixes in 3.0, so I’m expecting the new iPhone to be a lot more stable, even though Apple didn’t discuss this aspect.
PS: Steve, sorry I missed you there…it could’ve been another PodTech mini-reunion!
“As far as the crashing on the iPhone…may I suggest rebooting your iPhone on a regular basis?”
lol
Wouldn’t LOL too loud Gates, that’s one year of iPhone reboots vs. decades of applying the same solution to Windows.
i love the irony of that. “Bill Gates” laughing at reboots.
Man, you can’t write this stuff…
1.) My iPhone has hard crashed less than five times in the two years I’ve owned it. I find it hard to believe yours system is crashing that regularly. If you mean the apps themselves, then there’s nothing Apple can do to fix that. If you can write executable code, you can write executable code that quits poorly.
2.) As the other Kevin points out, I don’t know where you were reading, but the gnashing of teeth about the iPhone’s recessed jack was just below a deafening roar from where I stood. And they fixed it after a year. Whereas HTC has been doing their proprietary adapter thing for closing in a decade.
3.) Which platform is it that has memory management? Surely you don’t mean WinMobile, which will happily open up program after program, and never close any, even when you “close” the program, requiring you to go into a control panel and manually shut down processes to clear up memory. And since you say back, you couldn’t mean Android or WebOS (which may have great memory management, I haven’t tried them yet).
4.) While I find it highly unlikely that RAM is actually the problem, and your real issue is the poor quality of the apps you’re downloading, there’s an App for the iPhone to free up memory called (shockingly) Free Memory.
apple fan boys = 5-10% of the market
You really need a professional copy editor to proofread your stuff before you post. How about a little respect for the English language?
strike one
“strike one”?
Look, Hud is right. You wrote a great post — really great content, but when the typos are so bad that it delays or prevents understanding by the reader, that’s a problem.
You may not need a professional copy editor, but you need to do something.
strike two
couldn’t have said it better, I win
Two minutes with TextEdit and its spell-checker reveals four spelling errors. There’s other mistakes (hong your horn), and sentence fragments abound. I suppose if the response is not to fix the article, but instead to claim ‘winning,’ we shouldn’t expect accuracy as much as drama and sensationalism.
Steve didn’t claim he was winning. He was agreeing with the previous poster, whose name is “I win”.
Also, the fact that you took the time to copy/paste this article into TextEdit says a lot more about you than the spelling errors say about Steve.
If you get what I mean.
@Kevan: You mean how it says that I care about what I write, and how trivially easy it was to check?
no, Kevan means I care about what I write. Thanks for the hong edit. Otherwise, strike 3.
Hi Steve,
Good analysis. I like to think of Apple’s maneuvers around iPhone as a “block the kick” strategy; namely by relentlessly raising the bar, and now, lowering the floor price-wise, they are preventing the competition from finding its footing, something that I blogged about in:
Apple WWDC Keynote Analysis: Punishing the Wizard, Part Two
(http://bit.ly/2lC3yC)
Check it out if interested.
Mark
Kevin,
“…put more RAM in the new model..”
That’s what they did. In fact, they DOUBLED the RAM in the new model.
Considering that info hasn’t been released yet, I have to applaud you on your powers of second sight.
idjit.
It was clearly mentioned in the keynote and in the available pricing. You can buy either a 16GB iPhone 3GS or a 32GB model. You should redirect the time that you spend insulting people into reading.
That’s not RAM, that’s storage space.
It is suspected, but not yet confirmed that Apple has doubled the RAM from 128mb to 256mb.
Very true. I am the one with the reading comprehension problem.
You have double the storage, not double the RAM. There’s 128 MB of RAM on the first generation iPhone and 3G one.
http://furbo.org/2007/08/21/what-the-iphone-specs-dont-tell-you/
I remember when I didn’t get the point of Apple when I first got into this business. Then I started using one.
Steve,
Yep, a lot of good things, but they abandoned the pro users completely. With one FW and no Express Card, no HD video or audio editing is possible in semi-pro / pro level. Unless you want to have a huge “17 laptop with you. Add that to no new FCS – Apple is losing this audience.
So, eliminating a port that, according to Phil Schilller IN THE KEYNOTE, only a single digit percentage of users use, and swapping it out for an SD card port (which, I imagine, will make pro photographers very happy) is “[abandoning] the pro users completely”?
I don’t understand how there is no HD video editing possible on one of these laptops. I have an OLDER macbook (not even PRO) and edit HD video just fine. If I needed more power, I’d get a newer one or a desktop.
Several points.
1) Pro photographers almost all are still using CF. SD does them no good.
2) A fast USB SD card reader is a $10 add-on. There is no add-on that can get you an ExpressCard slot.
3) The point of the ExpressCard is expandability. Most won’t need it, but for those who do, there often aren’t alternatives (eSATA etc.).
To be fair, Apple gave a lot of pros the finger when they dropped the matte screen option on the 15″ MBP. This is simply icing on the cake.
But I agree that they need to release a new FCS.
weird, my pro level DSLR holds CF and SD cards. I’ve been using SD exclusively in it for over a year, since prices have dropped, and performance and capacities have raised to CF levels.
And all my external drives (mostly 2-1/2″ portables, and a couple Drobos) all use firewire. I know these aren’t for everyone, but this “pro” loves that I can (and did) buy a 13″ MacBoook Pro again. I missed my 12″ PowerBook when I had to buy a new (15″) machine.
Express card is a great interface for a very limited number of people. It seems Apple had to choose features, and the one that has “single digit percentages” of users were put behind the other 90+%. Sad, but that’s the breaks. I’m guessing they ditched it to make more room in the case for the 7 hour battery?
With fanboys like this, no wonder Apple isn’t trying. Palm made a huge OS advancement with a clean UI and multi-tasking and all Apple could muster is iPhone 3.5? Once the Pre hits Verizon (and soon after T-Mobile and AT&T), Apple will have a battle on its hands.
I know. Reading an article like this makes me cringe. The iPhone is good, no doubt. I have one. But this blind fanboy-ism does no one any good except Apple. TC doesn’t have the balls to admit the Pre is a damn good phone. Better than the iPhone? Maybe not. But at last, the first real competition.
Wait, so Palm, after two years, was able to create something that was almost as good as the first generation iPhone, and you’re complaining about Apple fanboys?
Indeed. Apple does have some amazing products. But while fanboy geeks like to thump their chest about OSX, apps, etc to the average joe (increasingly responsible for the company’s growth now that the company’s finally getting mainstream) it’s all about the brand’s style and me-too appeal. They could care less about the technical details.
I’m not sold on Palm or the Pre/WebOS being the real competition for Apple in the mobile space though. There’s a VERY real chance Palm may not be around in a couple years. I think the only two companies that could really give Apple any competition are Google and (fanboys go ahead and laugh) Microsoft. I’m actually fairly unimpressed with Android thus far. But just because it’s Google, much like Apple, it will get glowing reviews and inordinate attention from blogosphere which increasingly has a lot of influence on purchase decisions as people go online to research products. Google also has deep enough pockets to make a long-term commitment to this space.
And while most current WM devices leave a LOT to be desired, there’s nothing to prevent Microsoft from going in an entirely new direction in the future, by retooling their offering to cater to consumers instead of primarily business users. People laughed when they entered the gaming space and their first product in the space (much like the Zune) was widely mocked. But they quickly established themselves as a power player and arguably have the strongest offering in the space now due to a combination of software and services. They have the resources (and the broader ecosystem of product offerings to tie into) to do the same thing in the mobile space.
Then why haven’t they? Microsoft has has had 12+ *years* in the mobile space with Windows CE, and only managed to cut into Palm’s PDA share by the time the PDA market was dying. The Xbox is the only real success Microsoft has had in the consumer space; Zune is a flop (if not the joke it originally was) two and a half years after its introduction, Media Center is a flop, and last I heard Windows Home Server wasn’t doing so hot. Also last I heard, the Xbox division still was operating at a loss. This is success?
Just because something hasn’t grabbed market shares doesn’t mean that it is a bad product. I started with an iPod then moved to a Zune to have the larger screen to watch movies on (the touch had a little larger screen but was almost $200 more at the time). Honestly I have enjoyed it much more than I did the iPod, the screen is super clear, the interface much easier to navigate, and it runs way faster.
If Microsoft carries over this style of use over to the new Zune HD then I will purchase on of them, and I could see a phone version right around the corner from that.
Because they moved too slow, like big companies with dominant marketshare often do. Apple’s ironically in a similar position now in the PMP space and I’d argue it’s greatly hindered iTunes evolution as a result. iTunes (not OSX) is really the core app at the center of the Apple ecosystem for the vast majority of people and it’s design and upgrades have been glacial because even a small change impacts millions. For MS in the phone space, it took Apple (as well as Blackberry, a more direct competitor for their current offering) to finally wake them up to the changing marketspace. They certainly have the chops to put out something with great design and usability. Regardless of marketshare, the Zune on-device interface and software, Media Center, Xbox, Windows 7 and some of the Live offerings all have great design and usability. Their biggest problem could actually be making some of their hardware partners meet higher quality standards.
And yes, I think most people would consider the Xbox a big success given how long they’ve been in a mature space against two well-entrenched competitors. The hardware issues with the early versions of the 360 definitely killed profitability during the early part of its life. Up until this last quarter (when the entire company posted its first yoy loss ever) its divison had been operating in the black for awhile. The Xbox was actually called out as the highlight for the company being up significantly over the previous year with high expectations for 2009. If they continue to add services like they have been and keep price competitive I have little doubt it will continue to grow. The gaming space is one of the fastest growing verticals within the consumer electronics space (which is why I wouldn’t be surprised to see Apple take a more serious stab at it at some point in the next few years.)
You guys are too funny with your convenient and ever-changing definitions of “flop” and “success”.
Do you define success based on market share? Okay, then I guess Macs and their operating system are flops. They’ve caught market share against MSFT at about the same glacial pace as the Zune over the last few years.
Do you define it on product features? If so then watch me laugh at you as you try to convince me that Apple Time Machine is somehow better than WHS or that AppleTV is somehow better than MCE. Yeah, I’m sure you can point to feature-level exceptions in each area but so can I. After all, even the Zune can sync over wifi!
Do we define it on revenue? If so then it’s hard to describe Windows as anything other than incredibly successful. By the way, the Xbox program has been turning a profit since 2007 and continues to grab headlines with leading sales and innovative feature additions. Apple’s only entry in this space, the App Store, hasn’t shown me yet that it will ever be viable past simple 2d games like Flight Control and FieldRunners (great games, but let’s be serious).
I can’t believe I let myself get sucked back into this old stale argument.
Did you say there’s nothing to prevent Microsoft from going in an entirely new direction? Wow, that’s funny. Of course there’s something to prevent Microsoft from changing direction – Microsoft! They are an aircraft carrier with a clueless helmsman – Ballmer. The fact that they continue to operate in the mp3 player and phone markets with the same outdated business model is evidence of this. The only reason that Xbox is reasonably successful is because they had enough cash to continue to throw at it while folks were returning the overheated boxes in droves.
A few things: The Apple iPhone introduction schedule will have to go- just as it has dropped off for computers, it’s limiting their ability to improve and add features.
They are also severely limited in market share thanks to the ATT deal. It was a mistake tying to a single carrier- for the long haul.
On the MacBook side- they still need a cheaper entry level laptop. They sort of admitted that dropping firewire was dumb- but, seriously- a SD card reader replacing an express card slot on the 15″- are they smoking crack?
Still no blu-ray support- from the company that announced HD video was everything- oh, like 4 years ago.
The Mini is still overpriced- underfeatured.
Overall, Apple is doing well- but, could be a real contender for market share by releasing a more conventional box as an entry level machine.
Not so impressed this time- but at least the $29 upgrade won’t hurt so bad- too bad server will still be $500.
re: “Still no blu-ray support- from the company that announced HD video was everything- oh, like 4 years ago.”
Blu-ray is still-born. It isn’t going to go anywhere. Shiny discs are a thing of the past (or real soon now).
Um, no, Blu-ray is growing faster than DVD did after VHS.
And you can thank Time-Warner and their ilk for protecting VOD to the point of killing any real, viable video download service that can come close to the quality of a Blu-ray disc playing on a large 1080p TV.
Video downloads are the failure here. Not Blu-ray. If you want quality, and not be gouged by your ISP calling you a bandwidth hog and charging you lots of money.
Windows Server 2008 std is at least $700 and the only way to get “upgrades” is by purchasing SA for about 30% of the cost and that only lasts for 2 years. If you look at 2003 to 2008 that is 5 years so 90% of the cost of the original purchase- you save 10% on upgrading.
I like the $500 mark.
Really why do you bother?
Be less work if you just pasted in the Apple press release.
Oh, you want push gmail? Fuck you, hippy!
push email is just not a feature most users need. Set your phone to check every 5 minutes. Is there really anything in your inbox that can’t wait 4 minutes? If it’s that urgent, it should be a text or phone call.
Apple make some great stuff, but they can create hype like no one else on the planet.
Srsly just rename this site AppleCrunch.
UN-fucking-believeable.
Srsly why all the 2-dimensional random fandom? Is this spite for not getting a review Pre? Are you hoping that the more dick you guys suck, the more 3GS units will magically arrive on your doorstep before the week is out??
Craziness.
No-one will take your opinion “srsly” when you use words like “srsly”.
You should srsly quit posting comments here.
Srsly.
Where Apple giveth, however, Apple taketh away. While the iPhone 3G S will retail for a reasonable $199 to $299, depending on the model, those prices do not apply to existing iPhone 3G customers, who will instead pay $500 to $600 to upgrade thanks to the subsidization model used by wireless carriers.
Apple also announced that it would ship the third release of its iPhone software, iPhone Software Update 3.0, later this month. iPhone 3.0 is free to all existing iPhone customers, but will cost $10 for iPod touch owners. It is a minor release with improvements to the core applications, cut and paste support, full support for MMS multimedia messaging (finally), and integrated search. However, AT&T, the exclusive carrier of the iPhone in the US, is also dampening the positive vibes of this release by not supporting two of its key features: US-based iPhone users will not be able to tether their phones to their PCs or use MMS. It’s unclear how or when these features will be provided, but one can expect AT&T to charge extra for the privilege.
On the Mac OS X front, Apple now claims that there are 35 million active Mac users, once you filter out the 40 million who are actually using iPhones and iPod touches. (Oh, Apple.) This is the first time in several years that Apple has suggested there are more than 25 million Mac users. (Put in perspective, there are over 1 billion active Windows users.)
Apple said will ship a minor upgrade to Mac OS X Leopard, dubbed Snow Leopard, in September. It looks, acts, and feels a lot like Microsoft’s Windows 7, which will ship in October, and like Windows 7, is a refinement to the previous version of the OS. But Snow Leopard doesn’t change the OS X experience as much as Windows 7 does on the PC side, so Apple will charge just $29 for the release if you already have Leopard. (It’s a whopping $129 otherwise.) In Microsoft terms, the release is essentially a service pack (and the type of thing Microsoft can and does distribute for free).
Apple consolidated its MacBook and MacBook Pro laptop lines into a single MacBook Pro line and upped the specs on all the machines. You can now get a “low-end” 15-inch MacBook Pro for “just” $1599, but Apple didn’t really lower prices, it simply added a new model; higher-end MacBook Pros still run $2000 to $2500. In fact, a 17-inch MacBook Pro is roughly 4 to 5 times as expensive as a typical 17-inch PC laptop. (The 13-inch MacBook, uh, Pro, is now a much better deal, however. That said, it’s $1199 starting price is roughly double that of a typical PC laptop.)
The company also announced a new version of its web browser, Safari, for both Windows and Mac OS X. Safari has evolved into a rebranded version of Google Chrome, with a different JavaScript engine and a few Apple design cues. In a bizarre move reminiscent of Microsoft, the version that’s bundled with Snow Leopard will include special features not available elsewhere, like crash protection. The irony of this was, of course, lost on the adoring crowd.
All in all, it was a typical Apple event: Condescending and self-congratulatory, with its moments of actual tech excitement somewhat diminished by hidden realities and mind-numbingly boring demos, in this case of third party iPhone apps. No one presents a more positive picture than does Apple, and that’s apparently true with or without Steve Jobs. For the wider industry, the only news of note here involves the iPhone 3G S, which looks truly interesting. Unless, of course, you’re one of the estimated 20 million or so who already purchased an iPhone 3G.
What do you mean by “rebranded version of Google Chrome”. What do you think is chromic about it? Isnt the only conection beetween Safari and Chrome Webkit?
I really would like to know, cause i am a Webkit fan and for long tome Safari was a synonym for Webkit for me. Of course i realized that this wasn’t true, even before Chrome. And i was never very happy about Safaris UI features, just about Webkit.
“What do you think is chromic about it?”
Well, during the beta, tabs were in a location above the url, in a fashion reminiscent of Chrome. But they reverted those. I imagine Mr Thurott hasn’t updated his priors, so to speak. Something like Top Sites was also in Chrome first, but the implementation is different—and note that a similar is present in IE7 and was in Opera before anybody.
Really not much connection otherwise. I mean, once you’ve admitted there’s a different Javascript engine you’ve pretty much done it for “rebranded version”, anyway.
“Where Apple giveth, however, Apple taketh away. While the iPhone 3G S will retail for a reasonable $199 to $299, depending on the model, those prices do not apply to existing iPhone 3G customers, who will instead pay $500 to $600 to upgrade thanks to the subsidization model used by wireless carriers.”
I’m sick of seeing this complaint. What don’t you understand about subsidized pricing of phones? iPhone 1st Gen users got to upgrade to iPhone 3G for the subsidized $199 price because they paid FULL PRICE for their first phone.
It doesn’t make any business sense for AT&T to allow users to subsidize their next phone before they’ve even paid off the current phone.
This is how other phones, on any carrier, work.
> It doesn’t make any business sense for AT&T to allow users to subsidize their next phone before they’ve even paid off the current phone.
This can’t be repeated enough. Why does everybody whine and moan about this, as if it were some kind of travesty carried out by jack-booted thugs? Within a year and a half of the purchase in question, AT&T paid a great bulk of money for the phone you now own—you might not even have made up the difference in subscription fees by now!
Paul
Try harder next time.
” While the iPhone 3G S will retail for a reasonable $199 to $299, depending on the model, those prices do not apply to existing iPhone 3G customers, who will instead pay $500 to $600 to upgrade thanks to the subsidization model used by wireless carriers.”
just a nit-picky thing…
Actually, it “retails” for $599/$699, not $199/299. $199/299 is a subsidized price, not a retail price.
Paul, you complain about Apple and Apple fanboys, but you’ve been a Windows flag-waver from way back. Some of like vanilla and some of us like chocolate. Get over it.
Thurott has no credebility outside of astroturfing fanboys of Microsoft.
“Thanks for the three days, Palm.”
HA HA HA HA HA HA.
That’s pretty funny.
i have not read an article this funny on TechCrunch in a LONG time…please write more!
nice article. the only thing i would say against Apple and the MacBook is the removal of the firewire port… what the hell?!? Yea the new Imovie would be great… if i could upload my video!
Yes, they removed the Firewire port from the Aluminum MacBooks. The 13.3″ MacBook Pro has a Firewire 800 port. The only Mac without Firewire is the MacBook Air.
Excellent post Steve–you get where this is all heading.
I find the very first post here reflecting on this near fanboy drivel so poiniant and telling that it stops cold the bile in my throat.
Apple will be seen as the locked down system it is as the mobile platform evolves and innovation moves past theyre need to be proprietary.
It’s “poignant”.
It’s best not to make make spelling errors if you’re being derisive towards others.
Locked down systems like the most standards driven browser in the business? These are the boosters of webkit, HTML5, h.254, etc. after all.
What Stevie G. is pointing out is despite crafting some serious development space with their proprietary Touch OS is being done simultaneously as they’re promoting great standards for ALL mobile devices and the web in general. They’re pointing to a future cloud-infused OS agnostic future where the client end and hardware ecosystem is dominated by Apple’s vision (and their products). Great article.
its very true .thanks
What’s amazing is to see people commenting here and callin the author a fanboy for giving kudos to Apple for shipping products, actual achievements, and in the next breath it is all apologies and wait for next year for Palm and Microsoft, who have both been at this for 10 years.
The biggest problem in tech is not Apple fanboys. It’s anyone who tries to justify the ridiculously low standards in the industry. Faster and smaller happens almost by accident. That is not enough for good products. Regular people are struggling with 90% or more of tech.
Paul Thurrot = fuck wit.
Your comment is so full of invective you sound like the only kid in the class who didn’t get a new scooter for christmas.
“Today there was no reality distortion field. Just a reality field. You want video. Here it is. You want devs to have video. Here it is.”
I wanted multi-tasking and VoIP. Didn’t get it with the iPhone.
I wanted it to cost the same as my Nokia which does do both of those already (and MMS, free remote wipe, push email from any email server, video, turn-by-turn mapping…). Didn’t get it with the iPhone. Over here in the UK the iPhone 3GS works out as £1000 MORE than my Nokia E71 over 18 months for less functionality.
“Apple’s rigorous march forward and its deep understanding of what the market will want next is not only keeping them ahead of the competition but building the markets they will own tomorrow.”
I know you’re talking about technology there and not financials (you are right?) but perhaps Apple should be looking more at their prices in these times than they currently seem to. Couldn’t care less about their tech if it’s going to cost me 4-5 times the other guys.
The iPhone 3G was $599 for anyone in a Black Berry Curve 8300 contract last summer – so I think all this protest is pretty funny. Earn out your subsidy (which for the curve was 16 or so months) or pay the cash. Why expect the special treatment?
I think that is a typo b/c “RSS is Dead” and that wouldn’t be proper ;)
Good article Steve.
Thanks.
You are all a bunch of idiots, stop wasting your time commenting on topics of no importance like the bloody iPhone, there are more interesting articles in Techcrunch than this. It’s almost like you’re all Mashable readers!
All that jazz and it still pocket dials randomly so that people can hear you screaming and your kids or making whoopee with the wifey. iPhone has never heard of TMI.
You might have built a thesis and saved your rah-rahs for the final paragraph, and this article would’ve been worth reading. As it stands, it’s so laden with tech-jingoism as to be laughable. Spokian logic? Good thing I haven’t eaten ’cause it makes me want to chirp my breakfast.
I _would_ be a supporter of Apple, but you zealots make me shun any benefit I’d reap by returning to Mac OS after these many years. (Plus a little thing called money.)
It’s frightening to read comments here from the fanboy-supporters. A thin-skinned lot you are! (those hurling insults).
Paul Thurrot is a good writer. He’s objective as well. If you’re even slightly interested in the Windows domain you owe it to yourself to check out what he has to say.
Paul is indeed a good writer, who makes good points. He doesn’t refute anything I’ve said here. As to your comments about style, go Leo yourself.
“… go Leo yourself.”
Haha, classic! I almost spit my beverage out when I read this.
Touche, Steve, well played, sir. :)
Steve,
Great read. Thanks.
I am waiting for its India launch and I will pounce upon it…
Sachin
I would be wary of over-speculating about AT&T being in a headlock from Apple. Just by chance I watched Steve Jobs’s interview with Walt Mossberg at 2007’s All Things D (D5) Conference, and I was struck by the sense of loyalty that Jobs expressed when referring to how Cingular took a risk on Apple in accepting the iPhone to their network while Verizon (we hear) wouldn’t give them access.
http://d5.allthingsd.com/20070530/steve-jobs-ceo-of-apple/
“I think Cingular invested in us, they took a gamble on us, and likewise we took a gamble on them. So, I will never forget that.”
AT&T, at the time called Cingular, may not be the strongest network, but as CEO Randall Stephenson mentioned in this year’s D Conference, the top complaint for all mobile phone networks in the US is signal; it’s not unique to Cingular. There’s no saying there will be any less of a mob decrying Verizon signal strengths were Apple to release an iPhone CDMA version. I imagine Apple could likely keep a level of pragmatism and institutional memory in its decision making process – it wants the best business result but it also wants a carrier in the US that it can actually deal with, and back in 2007 (let alone 2004 when they started working on the iPhone), Verizon was so locked up in their own software packages, network restrictions and carrier lock-ins, I can’t imagine how a pairing of such companies would have worked.
Ahhh apple fanboys never cease to amaze me in elitist douchebaggery. Its a product made by man not a god incarnate. Although I’ve always wondered if some apple fanboys worship small Steve Job idols in secret… Anyways, Apple has pros and Apple has cons just like anything else on the market. People that like and dislike Apple products is a matter of opinion not undeniable fact. Heck I could hate something because it wasn’t soaked in baby blood before being sent out on the market, but again thats MY opinion (I was talking hypothetically of course). Ok small rant over. Again I say that all of what I just said were opinions on observations of things nothing else. End rant.
I have been using Macs for over 10 years, and would never thing about going back to a PC. The advanced power is so superior to any other computer.