Obviously the biggest, and most hyped about, news out of this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference is the newest addition to Apple’s mobile handset line-up… the iPhone 3G[s]. If you weren’t in attendance or don’t have (roughly) the hour and 40 minutes to watch the Keynote Address, here are some of my other takeaways:
The Numbers
Active Mac Users
The amount of new Mac OS X adopters over the years is very impressive, but the increase over the past six months is staggering…
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(I apologize for the poor quality of the images. Get full sizes of the above graphs: Left image | Right image)
The Keynote was led this year by Apple’s Phil Schiller (pictured above), taking over for Steve Jobs, and to illustrate the increase in MAC OS X Active Users just over the last 6 months he (jokingly) had to pull up an expanded slide for proper representation.
iPhones and The App Store
- Over 40 Million iPhone/iPod touch’s sold
- Over 1 Billion Apps “served”/downloaded (not to be confused with sold)
- Over 1 Million iPhone SDK’s downloaded
- Over 50,000 Apps currently available
Needless to say but, these numbers are all staggering and outperform all sales predictions… including those of Apple.
The iPhone
iPhone 3.0 OS Software updates
- Available June 17
- Cut, Copy & Paste
- Landscape Keyboard - across all available apps
- MMS - send video, images, and text (though, here in the US, we’ll have to wait for AT&T to catch up)
- Spotlight Search - search for anything, anywhere by tapping on the top of the screen
- Peer to Peer Connectivity - connect two iPhones wirelessly via secure bluetooth (no pairing)
- Accessories talking to Apps - this will open up the already burgeoning iPhone Accessory Market to a new burgeoning Accessory + App Market
- Push notifications + Enterprise Support - will now make RIM obsolete
The bottom line with the 3.0 release is that this new update alone is really going to take the iPhone to the next level. In fact, since there still seems to be no support for 802.11n wireless networking on the new 3G[s], with this update being so impressive… I may even wait until the next handset release to upgrade. (For some reason, I have a hunch it will be before June/July of 2010. I’m actually thinking this Christmas.)
Discover more about the iPhone 3.0 Updates.
iPhone Apps
- Find my iPhone (Utility) - Very impressive tool to locate your phone and includes security measures that will wipe all of your data remotely from iTunes, if your iPhone is in fact missing or stolen (available via mobile.me).
- Asphalt 5 (Game) - Looks very impressive utilizing the latest Open GL features
- Tom Tom (Navigation) - True turn by turn directions (supposed real TT experience) hits the iPhone. They claim it will provide the best route for any particular time of day. In addition m they will be releasing a great car adapter as well. Looks fantastic. (*Side note: we’ll be seeing a slew of new nav apps due to the fact that Apple just released the API’s for turn-by-turn directions with the release of the 3.0 update. This was a huge move, one which they oviously contemplated on for a while.)
Other phenomenal updates to mention… The ability for developers to release Content Packs for apps, which will revolutionize the App Store even further, and the opportunity to now provide Alerts via apps is huge. These iPhone updates, along with the newly priced $99 iPhone 3G (4GB), I believe, will be the final nail in the coffin for RIM.
And, of course, the biggest news of the day… the iPhone 3G[s] - read my review here.
Snow Leopard
The New Leopard (Mac OS X Update)
- Huge speed improvements
- More security
- Smaller footprint - saves an extra 6 GB of HD space
- Safari 4 - which is out now - I’ve been using it for the past couple of days and so far I love it
- Best of all - it’s a $29 upgrade for current Leopard users
Discover more about Snow Leopard.
There was plenty more exciting news for both users and developers at this year’s conference (as there always is). If you have the time (and the interest), I highly recommend watching the Keynote Address. Apple is proving, once again, that they are leading the way to future technologies and they will continue to be the driving force in the creative computing world… and, I believe, will proceed to increase their user base at mind-blowing rates.
Learn more about Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference.
UPDATE:
Notably missing above, the remarkable line-up of laptops that make up “The new MacBook Pro family“. Cheaper, faster, and more memory. Supporting up to 8 GB of RAM and better graphics. Plus, a new 13″ model starting at just $1199!
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Jason thanks for the update at WWDC, as people who love mac’s and Apple products it is neat to see the new developments.
Sad to say it but Apple is starting to skimp on its hardware in a big way. As their software gets better, Apple is cutting back to keep its profit margins in place. They announced the cutback of Expresscard slot for and SD card slot. Crazy stupid as Expresscards are relied on by alot of people.
Also, the Laptops do not:
1- have Blu-Ray reading drive, which is a VIP new technology. even if it cant burn BD, it would be great for full BD support in their OS and tech.
2- have a matte screen. This is the preferred format for screens for many people. it was the primary format for Apple for years. so offer it as a BTO option.
3- no swapable battery, in either laptops now or … still in the iphone. This is a pretty big issue. people like me are frustrated with running low on power and needing to get power on the go. so… if you had another battery, thats very cool.
anyway don’t get me started on a “Mythical Midrange Tower” Mac. that they either give you a mac mini, imac or a mac pro… isn’t enough there needs to be an update there.
Great points, Mitch. My current MacBook Pro 17″ has a matte screen and as someone who needs to develop products in true color it’s a necessity. The only thing I like about the battery situation is that does leave a smaller footprint on our planet and they supposedly retain a much longer life. But, I actually miss the days when we could hot swap out the battery’s on the PowerBooks, so… I hear ya.