Apple today held their It’s Only Rock & Roll event & announced some new features & products as expected.

-iTunes 9 <-download link
-iPod classic 160GB model returns
-iPod touch 64GB model debuts
-iPod shuffle new colours & special edition & camera
-iPod nano with camera 
-iPhone OS 3.1

A pleasant return as Steve Jobs, Apple CEO delivers his 1st keynote in quite a while. Here’s a rundown of what happened.

Steve takes the stage.

I’m very happy to be here today with you all. As some of you know about 5 months ago I had a liver transplant, so I now have the liver of a mid-20’s person who died in a car crash. I wouldn’t be here without such generosity. I hope all of us can be as generous and become organ donors.
“I’d like to thank everyone in the community for the support, and Tim Cook and the exec team at Apple. Thank you.

He announces that Apple has sold 30 million iPhones to date & then announces iPhone OS 3.1 (available today). A new feature in 3.1 is now the Genius feature extends to Apps as well. Also that 30 000 ringtones from the 4 major labels will be available for $1.29 USD.

iTunes 9 is then introduced. (Oh iTunes 8 we barely got to know you…)

A new feature that iTunes 9 brings is Genius Mixes.

Imagine a genius DJ that plays endless mixes of songs from your library that go great together. You just click on one of the mixes, and start playing it — and it will go on and on and on. It’s like a great radio station

They also announced improved syncing features

but the killer feature for iPod touch & iPhone owners, Application Management

& there’s even more. Another new feature announced was Home Sharing.

The iTunes Store also gets a nice revamp

and a summary of what iTunes 9 brings to the table

Phil Schiller then takes the stage & begins to talk about iPods.

he compares the iPod touch to having a portable computer in your pocket, which is unlike…

(Apple taking a little stab at Dell)

He then goes on to compare the iPod touch to Sony’s PSP & Nintendo’s DS

Some games are then demoed by their developers, some notable titles include:
Assassin’s Creed II & Madden (available today).

New prices for the iPod touch

Apple then announces the return of the 160GB iPod classic

Now on to the shuffle

& the new special edition

Ahh yes the infamous ‘One More Thing’

Looks like the rumors of an iPod with a camera are true

You can with one click send a recorded video to YouTube. The new nano also now includes an FM radio.

Summary of the new iPod nano

& in typical Apple fashion all the new goodies are available today.

the new iPod family

& thats about it. Good to see that Steve’s back & that the iPod line is alive & well & thriving.

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Alleged internal information from Rogers Wireless in Canada suggest that an 8GB model of the iPhone 3GS will launch soon, perhaps replacing the current $99 iPhone 3G offering. 

In pictures sent to The Boy Genius Report,, it appears that the new 8GB iPhone 3GS will be sold in place of the existing iPhone 3G model. The alleged document says that Rogers has “launched” the new model, and is “aiming to reduce” inventory of the existing stock. 

“It seems that Rogers in Canada is in the process of shipping iPhone 3GS 8GB flavor handsets to stores,” the report states. “Again, unconfirmed, no idea on pricing (we have no clue where to start on that) but we felt it was newsworthy to at least let you guys know what we’re hearing.” 

It is possible that Apple priced the 8GB iPhone 3G at $99 only to sell the remaining inventory, with the intention of replacing it with a speedier iPhone 3GS model. 

At WWDC in June, when Apple unveiled the new iPhone 3GS, the handset maker dropped the price of the iPhone 3G to $99. The 16GB iPhone 3GS sells for $199 while the 32GB model retails for $299. 

The announcement of a $99 iPhone was met positively on Wall Street, though Apple has not revealed its sales numbers. However, the successful launch of the iPhone 3GS suggests the less expensive model has not detracted from overall sales.

(via AppleInsider.com)

Also on a side note Apple today released their 10.5.8 update. The last update before 10.6 Snow Leopard debuts in September.

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Having pioneered multi-touch for its iPhone and iPod touch handhelds, Apple later extended the technology to trackpads on its Mac notebook line and now appears ripe to introduce the first iPod click-wheels with similar capabilities. 

Though sales of the iPod touch have taken off in recent quarters, recent reports suggest that we haven’t seen the last of click-wheel-based iPods, the next of which is expected to turn up this fall in the form of a fifth-generation iPod nano with a built-in digital camera and more compact circular scroll wheel. 

This new nano could be the first iPod support multi-touch gestures through its click-wheel, according to recent patent filing discovered by AppleInsider this week that details methods for detecting “input gestures that traverse the center of the scroll wheel and to detect multi-touch input.” 

More specifically, the 38-page filing made just this past September describes a “multi-dimensional scroll wheel” that “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.” This new breed of scroll wheel would also be capable of sensing more than one object at a time, such as multi-finger touch or motion. 

“Applications can be enhanced by the improved range of input enabled by the scroll wheel circuitry,” Apple explained. “For example, linear motion, such as a swipe across the scroll wheel, can enable an image browsing application to cause images, such as album cover pictures for example, to be transitioned across a screen.” 

Multi-touch input, such as one finger touching an inner region of the scroll and another finger rotating in the outer region, can also enable a zooming application to cause a displayed image to be zoomed-in or out, depending on the direction of the rotation. Similarly, a pinching or expanding of a user’s fingers can enable the zooming application to cause a zooming action.

“The scroll wheel circuitry can also bias the sensor element configuration according to the type of input event expected,” the filing adds. “For example, if a particular application permits only linear motion input along a particular axis (e.g., a horizontal or vertical swipe), the scroll wheel circuitry can utilize only the sensor elements arranged along that path to sense for an input event. By using less than all available sensor elements in this manner, the scroll wheel circuitry can achieve power savings.” 

The filing is credited to over half a dozen Apple engineers, including Lakshman Rathnam, Louis Bokma, Fletcher Rothkopf, Andrea Mucignat, Erturk Kocalar, Benjamin Lyon and Joseph Fisher.

(via AppleInsider.com)

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Apple has enabled push synchronization of notes via Mobile Me for the iPhone OS 3.0 firmware, according to an iSpazio report.

Just write a note in the iPhone, and it will be automatically sent to the server and consequently display a window on your computer that notifies you of the synchronize notes. Once you approve of the sync you can find your notes in the Mail application as a MobileMe Note

(via SpazioCellulare) ——————————————-

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Apple announced Thursday that its annual developers conference will kick-off on Monday June 8th and run through the 12th at the Moscone West convention center in downtown San Francisco.

Tickets for 5-day event will run $1295 through April 24th, at which time Apple plans to increase the price by $300.

Snow Leopard at WWDC

Apple is expected to use this year’s conference to show off a feature-complete version of its Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard operating system, possibly unveiling an updated interface theme if it does not do so in developer builds that arrive in the weeks leading up to the conference.

The primary focus for developers is Snow Leopard’s new 64-bit kernel with enhanced support for multicore and GPU computing. Apple is also drawing developers’ attention to QuickTime X as a streamlined media playback system.

Specific sessions will target how to get the most from Apple’s developer tools in terms of performance and efficiency, how to debug and analyze applications as they run with Dtrace, how to build solid user interfaces, and how to port existing code from other platforms to the Mac.

In depth sessions will focus on how to get the most from Apple’s frameworks, including high performance graphics accelerated in GPU hardware and how to leverage OpenCL and Grand Central to get the most from multicore systems with powerful graphics processors.

WWDC will also present how to use open web standards to take full advantage of new technologies in HTML 5, including client-side storage, audio and video playback, CSS vector animations, transitions, transforms, form control styling, CSS3 downloadable fonts, and other emerging features.

iPhone at WWDC

The iPhone platform will also serve as a major component of WWDC, with sessions and hands-on labs covering the new iPhone 3.0 SDK. Information how to to implement the new 3.0 features, including peer to peer Bluetooth, interaction with hardware accessories, in-app purchases, and the new Apple Push Notification service, will be presented, along with details on best practices for building mobile apps with an engaging user interface that takes full advantage of the iPhone’s rich media and graphics features, and how to localize apps to reach a global audience.

The event may likely also serve as the introduction of new iPhone hardware, as Apple has long been expected to release a significantly new iPhone version in mid June.

IT at WWDC

Apple also maintains an information technologies track at WWDC. This year, attention is being placed on how to use Snow Leopard Server to deploy collaboration features such as the new iPhone-optimized wiki features, enhanced new Podcast Producer capabilities, new standards-based services for exchanging calendar events and meeting request and shared contact records.

There’s also new information on how to use the iPhone in large organizations, both with push notifications and the new Mobile Access Server, as well as tools to integrate the iPhone into existing corporate infrastructure from Exchange Server to 802.1x wireless authentication.

WWDC for students

WWDC will host a Student Career Fair, offering the opportunity to meet hiring managers from around the world. Apple is also offering free passes to WWDC as part of its student scholarship program for ADC Student Members and student Team Members in the iPhone Developer University Program.

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While developers have been privy to pre-releases of Apple’s Snow Leopard operating system for quite some time, those distributions have been stripped of several features including a major UI overhaul that the company is now preparing for broader consumption, AppleInsider has been told.

People familiar with the matter say the next developer build of the software will unleash some of the biggest changes to the next-gen OS since Apple first previewed the software to developers at last June’s Worldwide Developers Conference.

Among the changes under consideration for the new build is a striking overhaul to the Mac OS X user interface, which is expected to surrender its platinum theme. Apple has reportedly been working on this new interface since day one, despite public claims that Snow Leopard would forgo forward-facing improvements for a focus strictly on under-the-hood enhancements.

Still, those familiar with the situation say it’s not clear whether management has given the green light to include the UI changes in an incremental developer build. The concern is that those changes will inevitably leak on the web, and therefore they may preserve them for an official demonstration during the company’s spring Worldwide Developers Conference.

These latest reports add to previous claims that similarly predicted Apple would eventually wrap Snow Leopard in a new interface rumored to go by the code-name “marble.” Details were sparse, but speculation pointed to the adoption of the smoother iTunes-style scrollbars and a move towards a darker chrome motif for application windows alongside an inverted menubar with light text on a dark background.

It’s possible that Apple may have already tipped its hand to this end earlier this month when it included the first external builds of its QuickTime X Player with Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard build 10A286. The software included a new minimal interface consisting only of a titlebar, leaving all playback controls to reside in floating interface overlays.

The titlebar itself (seen in the artist rendition, above) is reminiscent of the iPhone’s semi-transparent black glass interface but is also capable of adopting hues from the video frames playing beneath it. Although seen in the rendering as sporting a purplish hue (due to the underlying blue video frame) the titlebar appears glass-black when set atop a white or tan-colored video frame.

Story Highlights

• Next Snow Leopard builds to include big changes
• Snow Leopard to be wrapped in new interface ahead of launch
• WWDC to offer finalized preview, release date
• Snow Leopard to hit retail within two months of WWDC
• Upcoming iPhone OS 3 beta to activate live Push Notification support

As it stands, Apple reportedly plans to use its WWDC 2009 to preview a feature complete version of Snow Leopard and announce a formal release date. Based on the current status of the software, those familiar with the project say the company will need approximately two months from this public preview to fine tune the software. Assuming WWDC takes place in June, that would suggest a release around August.

In somewhat related news, company engineers are also racing to deliver a new build of iPhone Software 3.0 to iPhone and iPod touch developers. One of the big features destined for this build is said to be live support for Push Notifications through Apple’s servers, which is currently undergoing some final internal tests.

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A new Apple touchscreen netbook will start shipping in the third quarter of this year, according to a Chinese Commercial Times article.

The article, reported by Digitimes, states that Taiwan-based Wintek will supply touch panels for Apple’s new netbook. Wintek revealed that it is currently working with Apple to develop some new products, but it said it does not know what applications the new products are for. Wintek added that no shipment schedule has been worked out yet, but shipments are likely to begin in the second half of the year.

The Commerical Times went on to say that Quanta Computer will be the maker of Apple’s new netbook.

 (mock up)

(via iClarified.com)

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Two sources are reporting that Apple is planning to hold an event on March 24th to unveil new desktop hardware.

World of Apple writes:
A source has disclosed to World of Apple that Apple is planning to hold an event on March 24 to unveil new desktop hardware. The source which has been confirmed to be in reach of such information stated that the event would be similar to the notebook event held by Apple last October.

MyAppleGuide writes:
Last week, we received anonymous tips from two different sources that hint at an Apple media event in late March - possibly March 24th. Apple is said to be announcing a new Mac mini, iMacs with the new NVIDIA chipset, Mac Pros with Xeon processors along with a pleasant ’surprise’.

It has been

572 days since the last Mac mini refresh,
307 days since the last iMac refresh, and
418 days since the last Mac Pro refresh.

(via iClarified.com)

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