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Apple will invest and innovate through this economic downturn, said Jobs. The Mac is more than just a machine to do spreadsheets and word processing on.
Just one more thing … the iMac. 17 inch landscape display will now be offered. 1440 x 900 pixels (64 percent more pixels than the 10×7 display on the 15 inch iMac. Is offered in a wide-screen. Nvidia GeForce4 MX graphics. 800MHz G4, 256MB RAM, 80GB drive, SuperDrive, US$1,999.
15 inch iMac SuperDrive system price dropped to $1,799.
Jobs summarized by saying that iApps have no equivalent in the Windows world, and all are bundled and free. Will be an important factor moving forward with the Switch campaign.
iSync will be available in September, runs on 10.2, and will be a free download.
Jobs said that .mac will also be crucial to Mac users who want to synchronize between Macs at work and home or elsewhere. “All you do is push one button and synchronize everything in your life.”
CEOs from Cingular Wireless and Sony Ericsson took the stage to laud Apple for its support of new wireless networking technologies and standards that makes this possible.
New generation of cell phones and Palm PDAs being added to the digital hub alongside the iPod. iSync shows you all of the devices that are connected to your Mac. You can examine each one and tell iSync how it should synchronize data between them. Uses SyncML, an open standard for data synchronization. Takes less than a minute to sync. “Mac to mobile.”
“Landmark, groundbreaking app: iSync … we think it’s the beginning of something very very big”
Apple is introducing iPod for Windows. Have partnered with MusicMatch. iPod auto-syncs with MusicMatch. Same models, same prices. 6 to 4 pin FireWire connector also included. Appearing in late August “because we want to take care of the Mac customers first.”
New software for iPod. Genre and composer categories added. Playcounts are now tallied, in tandem with iTunes 3. Audible.com supported, as well. New Extras feature as well. Calendars can now be kept, via iCal. Game is now accessible via “Game” menu too. Look for the new iPods in stores in early August. A separate accessories bundle will be available for $39, as well.
iPod “a giant hit.” 5GB iPod goes from $399 to $299. 10GB iPod goes from $499 to $399. 10GB is also thinner, about 10 percent. Other changes to 10GB model: Totally new solid state scroll wheel, too. No moving parts, feels like glass. Doors on FireWire port, remote included. Case included. 20GB model available. Includes same bundle as 10GB iPod for $499.
iTunes 3 has “smart playlists,” or playlists that work by rule. You can specify rules by rating, number of times the songs have been listened to, age of recording, and many, many other categories. Only runs on Mac OS X, free download. Available today.
iTunes 3 announced. Ratings built in, along with play counts. Sound Check normalizes sound — makes all songs playable at the same level. Audible.com audio now available through iTunes too.
Jobs reenforced the “digital hub” strategy, launched 18 months ago. Calls it “an incredibly successful strategy” thanks to the popularity of software like iPhoto, iDVD, iMovie, and iTunes. In the first six months of iPhoto’s distribution, over 4,000,000 copies. iTunes and iPod contributed to Apple’s Grammy Award this past February. Over 14,000,000 copies of iTunes in circulation.
iCal — newest “iApp.” A single window app that shows you different calendars for work, personal, or any other category of lifestyle you’d like to keep track of. First calendar program created post-Internet era, said Jobs. iCal hosting can be posted online via .mac services. You can subscribe to calendars that are published as well and add them to your own list of calendars. One button publishing. “Modern life requires multiple calendars.” Runs on Jaguar, will ship in September, free download.
“iTools extend your digital life.” September 30 — iTools is going away. Is being replaced with .Mac. IMAP, POP and Webmail services. iDisk will go from 25 to 100MB, “really fast” especially on Jaguar. iPhoto hosting will remain, and back-up software will be added — it will work with iDisk, DVD, and CD-R too. Anti-virus software from McAfee. US$99 for first year — $49 for existing .mac users.
Jaguar will cost US$129 when it debuts on shelves August 24.
Rendezvous and iChat can work together.
Junk mail filter in new mail app demoed. When invoked, it turns your junk mail brown and has many other attributes. Also demoed the new Address Book coming to Mac OS X, which sports the ability to dial outgoing calls. It can also interpret caller ID info on inbound calls to match up names to database entries.
Rendezvous: automatically discovers other devices over an IP network with no configuration necessary. Epson, HP, and Lexmark have all adopted Rendezvous and will build them in to their network printers.
Sherlock 3: “Internet services for the rest of us.” Demonstrated stock tracking, movie previewing and theater finding function, yellow pages and more.
Jobs: Zooming, screen reader, visual notification and more provide universal access. QuickTime 6 is also in 10.2. In a day and a half since its release, 1.2 million downloads. Everybody is “jumping on the MPEG-4 bandwagon, except for Microsoft.” Schiller demonstrated AAC audio and other unique properties of QuickTime 6.
Schiller demonstrated spring loaded folders. “Works just like how you want spring loaded folders to work.” Spring loaded folders works in column view. Also demonstrated integrated search in finders. Used to find font faces. Can now change desktop pictures to change at user-specified intervals (days, minutes, etc).
Jaguar will be called Mac OS X 10.2. CD features jaguar prints (fur rendered by Pixar). Apple has become the #1 supplier of UNIX in the world. “Best, most advanced version of UNIX out there.” Want to be “an even better client” on Windows networks by offering better Windows networking interaction. Spring loaded folders return with Jaguar. VP Phil Schiller demonstrated three popular features in new Jaguar finder.
Alias|Wavefront is announcing Maya 4.5 at Macworld. Maya on Mac is 25 percent of the company’s business. Warcraft III released by Blizzard simultaneously for Mac and Windows. Adobe releasing Photoshop Elements 2.0, cooperates with iPhoto. RealNetworks offering Real player for OS X (Real CEO Rob Glaser demonstrated).
2.5 active million users use Mac OS X. Apple expects to have 5 million active users to Mac OS X by year’s end. 77 percent of new Mac buyers retain Mac OS X as their boot operating system after buying their Mac. 20 percent of installed base will have transitioned in 24 months after release — fastest operating system transition they’re aware of, said Jobs.
100,000 visitors a week come to Apple’s retail stores. That’s the equivalent of two Macworld Expo attendances every week. Apple SoHo opens tomorrow. Corner of Prince and Greene Street. Located in a renovated post office. Called Station A. Features biggest genius bar, more software and largest kid’s area ever.
Jobs: Detto Move2Mac moves Windows PC preferences to the Mac. Being announced today.
Steve Jobs started out talking about the Switchers ad campaign. “These are real people telling their story.” In a little over a month, 1.7 million unique visitors to the Switch Web site — 60 percent of those visiting are Windows users. Response has been “off the charts.”
A new Switch ad features a student talking about losing a paper on a PC. Another speaks of the benefits of being able to store music on an iPod instead of on CDs. Comedian Will Farrell is also featured in a new spot.