(photo credits: macrumors.com)
The biggest surprise to come out of Apple’s WWDC keynote was not the announcement of the iPhone 3G, with its improved battery life, 3G data network support, or GPS functionality. It was the price of such a wondrous device.
Launching in 22 countries on July 11th at a price point of only $199 for the 8GB, it’s clear Apple means to break this device to the masses. There will also be a 16GB model for $299 that will also come in white.
Here’s a slide of the promised battery life improvements - as always, we’ll see how real world use shakes out.
Several other blogs have picked up on the Financial Times
story today that Apple is talks with the major labels in offering an all-you-can-eat music consumption option for iPod/iPhone users through iTunes.
I was actually just wondering about this earlier in the morning as I read Tycho’s latest Penny-Arcade post. It isn’t the best solution for the music-savvy since it most certainly would involve DRM and less than optimal encoding/bitrates. HOWEVER, there are just so many iPod/iTunes users out there that even a DRM hobbled unlimited music subscription model HAS to stick with a significant number of people, right?
Past research and consumer data has “shown” that subscription models have not resonated well with the public. But what if that’s just due to a small userbase? Keep in mind, only Windows Media devices currently have access to subscription music. Who knows how the general iPod owning public would respond to such an offer?
My money’s on it being a raging success.
Read the Financial Times article (warning: requires registration) [ft.com]
Today’s big Apple product announcement at the Macworld keynote was the Macbook Air, an ultraportable Mac notebook.
Key Features:
- 1.6 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
- 0.76″-0.12″ thick chassis
- 3lb weight
- 5 hours of battery life
- 13.3″ LED display
- 2GB memory
- 80GB 4200-rpm PATA hard drive
- Built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
- No optical drive
- iSight camera included
Theres also an option to replace the 80GB hard drive with a 64GB Solid State Drive (flash memory) for $1300 (!).
My initial take:
- Shit, this thing is thin
- Price fits squarely between Macbook and Macbook Pro lines - would have liked to see $1500 price point, but still very competitive with high end ultraportables (e.g. Sony TZ series)
- Lack of optical drive not a big deal, we usually don’t use discs as much as we think we do
- Software to use any computer’s optical drive wirelessly with the Air as a “virtual optical drive” - very cool
- Disappointed the external optical drive is not included ($99 option)
- How the hell did they fit a 1.6 Ghz Core 2 Duo processor in there - that is an amazing engineering feat
- No ethernet jack? come on, that could have fit
- 1 USB port is going to be REALLY annoying - you attach a mouse and you can’t put anything else on (iPod, iPhone, optical drive, etc.)
- Full-size keyboard is awesome for an ultraportable
- Lol @ $1300 option for solid state - I guess we’re a few years away from this replacing real hard drives on notebooks
All this said, I may be picking one of these up. I’ve never owned a Mac before and this may be the right product for me as I own an iPhone and have a screamingly powerful PC desktop already. It may be one of those things where seeing it in person puts you over the edge, but as of now it’s merely a modestly compelling product on its own. Not as mindblowing as the iPhone was last year, but something that makes sense to add to your gadget fleet if you are a tech geek or really need the ultraportability. I couldn’t see this as my primary computer, though. It just lacks the features and power for my needs as a content creator or gamer.
