All of these changes and additions certainly move the iPhone forward, and also position it for an expected avalanche of applications when the software development kit is released next month.
All of these new features will be rolled out to iPod Touch owners, Jobs said--the map feature is completely new to the Touch. But he added that Apple would charge $20 for the update. That's unprecedented for Apple. Of course, it could be a Google licensing fee, which was also applied to the iPhone, but hidden in the full price of the device. [You'll recall that Apple is recording revenue for iPhones over 24 months, since they reasoned various features will be added to he phone over that period, apparently at no cost for the owner.]
Apple TV
The Apple TV is finally what it should have been originally--a true set-top box. Coming at the same time as the introduction of iTunes movie rentals, the device is now a completely stand-alone machine. It can sit next to your TV, linked to the Internet. You can access the iTunes Store to download podcasts, videos and movie rentals. You can connect to any of your in-home computers to display photos from iPhoto or play music from iTunes. The interface is brilliant and works well with the Apple mini-remote control. Like other TV devices, searching requires that you select letters from a grid, one by one. But in this case, the results appear immediately as you select the letters, so the process of finding a match is much faster.
The keynote audience also applauded Steve's announcement that all of these new Apple TV features would be made available to current device owners--at no charge. And the price of the device dropped to $229.
Of course, the missing piece is still TV recording. But that will eventually arrive. In the meantime, this could turn out to be quite a device, both for consumers and Apple.
Movie Rentals
Oh, those movie rentals. Jobs announced the new product...he teased the audience by showing a Keynote slide listing six participating movie studios....and then he flipped to a second page listing another six studios.There were "ooo's" and "ahhh's" from the audience. There will be 2,000 titles available very shortly at $2.99 for so-called "library" movies (older) and $3.99 for new releases (which appear 30 days after the DVD is released). High-def versions of the films will be available to rent for $4.99.
You have 30 days from purchase to begin watching the video for the first time. And as soon as you begin watching, you start a 24-hour viewing period. You can view the video as many times as you want within that 24 hours. After that...well, it's not clear if the movie is deleted on your Apple TV or computer, or if it simply becomes unviewable. Overall, these seems like reasonable limitations.
These viewing restrictions were most likely imposed by the studios. Typically, they would want each title to cost $10.99, and be viewable only once. I'm betting that it was Jobs who lobbied for more fair-minded limitations on the viewing periods, and for lower prices. It's a testament to his persuasive powers that he could get them to agree to more real-world conditions.
On the practical side, the downloads are simple to perform, and you can begin watching the movie within 30 seconds, Jobs said, obviously based on a high-speed Internet connection.
The rental plan wasn't a surprise, but the level of participation was definitely unexpected. Once again Jobs convinced the media producers that they need to be participating in the digital distribution marketplace. Now, in the face of iTMS defections by music studios, it's up to Jobs to keep the movie studios convinced that the iTunes store is the place to sell.
Macbook Air
Lastly, Steve introduced the Macbook Air, what he claimed is the thinnest laptop in the world. It's definitely slim and light-weight. The case is tapered at the edge, much like an iPod nano, so when you pick it up, you're grasping the thinnest portion of the case. That makes it seem even smaller in your hand.
Both the screen and keyboard, borrowed from the Macbook, are great. The large trackpad borrows some of its moves from the iPhone--you can pinch, use three fingers and do some other gestures. The battery life is five hours, but it's not user replaceable, raising some concerns. Cable connections are minimal--a USB, headphone and mini-HDMI are all you'll find on a little pull-down panel on the right. A mini MagSafe connector is on the left. If you need Ethernet, you must buy a $20 USB-to-Ethernet dongle. Of course, with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth built in, the lack of wired connections isn't as troublesome.
There is no optical drive, although there is a $99 accessory available. On the other hand, the Macbook Air can access a remote optical drive installed in another computer. Interestingly, that can be a Macintosh or a Windows PC. You can directly access the optical drive to install software, including OS X itself.
The laptop is priced at $1,799 for the 1.6 GHz model with an 80 Gb hard drive. Upgrade to a 1.8 GHz processor for $300, and to a 64 Gb solid-state memory drive for $999.
And not coincidentally, Jobs said the laptop was the greenest yet. It's doubtful that Greenpeace will cut the company any slack because of the new laptop.
This new laptop isn't exactly ground-breaking. But you can see where things are going. Steve Jobs has tossed out a media drive before, to rely only on CDs. Now the technology is changing again, with a reliance on networked optical drives and the use of SSD instead of a hard drive. You can bet that as the price of SSD memory drops over the next years, Apple might even drop metal-platter hard drives.
As for customers, I envision every college student in America carrying one of these. It's powerful enough to do all the digital tasks (photos, video, writing, messaging, etc.), rugged and compact enough to toss into a bag and run to class, classy enough to draw stares, and cheap enough for mom and dad to purchase.
And, as Steve Jobs pointed out at the end of his keynote, all these new products were announced within the first two weeks of 2008. There are still 50 weeks to go.