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The Real Story of the Macworld 2007 Keynote Address

By UnnDunn, January 9, 2007

While by no means has Apple abandoned the Mac, it's easy to worry that they are giving up regaining market share...

This morning, Apple CEO Steve Jobs gave his keynote address for Macworld 2007, which is taking place right now in San Francisco. At the event, he announced two new products from Apple, that will headline its product lineup for the year 2007. The first was the immediate availability of the Apple TV, the product formally known as iTV. It’s a set top box, that will allow you to enjoy all of your iTunes content on your big screen TV. But the second product it announced was what really stole the show; a new device that combines a widescreen iPod, a mobile phone, and an Internet communicator into a new device called an iPhone. But that’s not the real story of this Apple Macworld keynote. The real story is what it did not announce, and what it implies for the future of Apple.

First, let’s focus on what Apple did announce. After the customary bragging and Windows-bashing that Steve Jobs always does at his keynotes these days, he started things off by announcing the imminent availability of the Apple TV device. This device is designed to pull all the iTunes content off of your computer, and play it on your big…
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Apple Releases new Airport Extreme

By Nick, January 9, 2007

Though not explicitly mentioned during the keynote, Apple has released a new Airport Extreme based on 802.11n (draft spec) technology. The physical design of the new Airport Extreme is similar to the Apple TV and Mac mini, in that it is a thin rounded rectangle box.

The new Airport Extreme as twice the range and five times the speed as 802.11g-based products, according to Apple. It is compatible with all existing 802.11a/b/g wireless cards, and recent Macs come with 802.11n compatibility (the Airport Extreme comes with software to enable 802.11n capabilities on these machines). Other new features include additional LAN ports and a security lock port. Airport Extreme will retail for $179 and will ship next month.

Also, Apple dropped the Airport Express price to $99, though it is unchanged.

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2007 MWSF Keynote wrap-up

By Nick, January 9, 2007

Here’s a synopsis of Steve Jobs’ MWSF announcements:

Updates

Steve Jobs started the keynote by recapping Apple’s accomplishments of the past year; he discussed the successful “extremely successful” transition to Intel and thanked developers for all their efforts in churning out Universal applications. Jobs also took a jab at Microsoft, citing Jim Allchin’s “I would buy a Mac” line, and unveiled a new TV ad.

Jobs announced the addition of Paramount movies to the iTunes store. Jobs then recapped iPod+iTunes, announcing that Apple has sold over 2 billion songs, and that sales are not declining, contrary to recent reports. iPod has 63% of the market. Jobs poked a little fun at the Zune, and presented a new iPod ad.

iTV

iTV has been announced, with the rather bland name “Apple TV.” Apple features a 40 GB internal hard drive; 802.11 b, g, and n; support for 720p HD video; and USB 2, Ethernet, HDMI, component, and RCA ports. Jobs also made certain to note that it has Intel Inside. Apple TV allows syncing with one computer, and streaming from five machines. Jobs then went into a demo of the Apple TV. It will be shipping next month (though they are…
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Wall Street Journal: Apple phone is coming

By Nick, January 8, 2007

Okay, maybe this phone thing is real after all.

Various Mac news outlets are reporting that the Wall Street Journal anticipates that an Apple cell phone release is imminent, and that the phone would work with Cingular’s network.

You read that correctly: the Wall Street Journal. This isn’t your run-of-the-mill rumor outlet, folks (Captain Obvious strikes again!).

The fact that the Wall Street Journal is making this claim significantly improves the credibility of prior Apple phone claims, considering that it is one of the United States’ most trusted newspapers and accurately predicted Apple’s switch to Intel. We all know how that one turned out.

The keynote is less than ten hours away as of this writing. Come on, you can hold out a little longer!

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Yet another Macworld predictions article [UPDATED]

By Nick, January 8, 2007

As I sit and write this, we are within 18 hours of the Macworld Expo keynote. The rumor mill has been cranked up to 11, and Mac users are wetting their pants over speculation of what tomorrow may bring. I decided to whip out my crystal ball and attempt to predict what new goodies we’ll see this year. The likelihood is measured in tater tots; one tater tot being least likely and five being most likely. Remember that I have no insider sources; this is only my gut instinct responses, so don’t bet on any of this.

iPhone

This is one rumor I really want to die. Like, now. At this point with the exception of assertions by Kevin Rose and a few others who claim to have “inside sources,” there is nothing but hot air surrounding this one. I have a theory that there is no Apple iPhone; insiders heard about the Linksys iPhone, and they instantly thought it was an Apple product.

Still, an Apple cell phone would make some sense if it had iTunes integration, ~~so I’ll give this one 3 tater tots~~. UPDATE: The Wall Street Journal predicts a phone. I’m bumping this to 4 out…
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