WWDC started yesterday with the start of keynote delivered by Phil Schiller. There was lots of stuff announced though this time software was the one to steal the show- unlike the last two WWDCs where iPhone pwned the whole keynote; ). Below is a quick look at all that was announced.
The keynote started with a major update for Mabook Pro 15″
- New SD card slot replacing the old Express Card slot, good for people who own Digital cameras with SD card storage.
- Much lower price tags, now starting from $1,699 and going upto a $2,299.
- A non-removable battery which can last upto 1000 charges and provides more power.
- Processor, RAM and Graphic upgrades.
There were no major changes in the 17″ Macbook Pro except the addition of SD card slot and it is the only Macbook Pro that still has an Express Card Slot
The Macbook 13″ uni-body has got some hardware improvements like the 15″ Macbook Pro.
- Rebranded to Macbook Pro 13″ instead.
- New SD card slot (replacing Express Port)
- Firewire 800 Port.
- Faster Processor.
- RAM upgradeable upto 8GB!
- Backlit keyboard.
- Better but non-removable battery.
- Cheaper Price tags ranging from $1,199 to $1,499.
The Macbook Air has also been upgraded.
- Faster Processor.
- Better Battery life.
- Price of the High-end SSD model dropped to $1,799 and the base model to $1,499.
All the updated notebook models started shipping yesterday itself.
As they say, “great hardware deserves great software”, so they have also announced new Snow Leopard to the Developers which has got many new features. The full OS will cost $129 and will be announced this September. The upgrade costs just $29 for Leopard users and 49$ for Family pack update.and 49$ for Family pack update.
- Exchange Support for Mail, Contacts etc.
- Finder rebuilt using Cocoa.
- Much faster installs.
- Quicktime X with frameless viewing options.
- Chinese Input through trackpad.
- New QuickLook Functions.
- Much More…
Safari 4 is now out of the beta stage and is believed to be the fastest browser on ALL platforms!
- Full History Search
- History Search in Cover Flow mode.
- Brand new interface.
- and much more…
Another major attraction of the event was the iPhone Firmware 3.0 (though announced back in March). The upgrade will be free for all current iPhone and iPhone 3G developers and $9.99 for iPod Touch users and will be released on 17th June, though a Gold Master edition of the completed version was seeded to developers yesterday. It is said to have 100+ new features as compared to 2.2.1.
A recap of whats coming with OS 3.0:
- Cross app Cut, Copy and Paste Functionality.
- MMS (to be available only on 29 carriers at release including Bharti Airtel).
- Spotlight.
- On phone video and TV show purchase options.
- Tethering – both wired and wireless ( to be available only on 22 carriers in 44 countries at release).
- Faster and much enhanced Safari.
- A total of 30 languages with both portrait and landscape keyboard support.
- Push Notification.
- Find my Phone with remote Wipe (only for Mobile me users).
Finally, the much rumored iPhone 3GS (S stands for Speed) was announced, which contains minor software and hardware upgrade with no external changes. The iPhone will release on June 19th.
- Approximately 2x faster.
- HSDPA
- 3MP camera with auto-focus and auto white balance.
- Better battery life.
- High-end 32GB model.
- Oleophobic finish.
- Video Recording and editing capabilities.
- Voice Control functions.
- Magnetometer application with map support.
Apple will continue to sell the 8GB model for iPhone 3G and that too at a lower price tag of $99. The new 16GB and 32GB model will go for $199 and $299 in black and white color options.
Aren’t you excited to get your hands-on the new stuff? 😉
Images via Engadget / Gizmodo