Live: Apple keynote, 10 a.m. PT
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| Guests settle in for the Apple iPod event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. Photo: Jon Fortt |
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| Apple is expected to update its lucrative iPod line for the holiday season. Image: Apple |
| Apple 2.0: Steve Jobs photos: then and now |
The event is about to begin. We're in San Francisco waiting for Apple (AAPL) to unveil updates to its iPod lineup, an annual ritual that sets the stage for the electronics maker's holiday season. Last year the company sold more than 22 million iPods during the fourth calendar quarter, 5% more than the year before. For the company to show growth again in a down economy, it will need new gear. Refresh this page for updates.
The lights have dimmed and the event is about to begin.
Steve Jobs has walked out onto the stage, looking as gaunt is he did at his last appearance. He seems to have a bit of a limp, and his voice is weaker than usual. In a nod to the concerns, he says, "Before we begin, I just wanted to mention this:" Onto the screen flashes a message, "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated."
Now, on with the show.
Jobs is talking about the iPod/music ecosystem, and says there are now 3,000 apps in the iPhone store, and more than 65 million accounts in iTunes. Now Apple is the number-one music distributor in the U.S.
Apple is adding HD TV shows at $2.99, $1 more than others. You can watch them on your computer. Also, NBC is coming back to iTunes, with The Office, Monk, Battlestar Galactica, Heroes and more. They're coming in both standard and high def.
Apple is also introducing iTunes 8. It will have HD, accessibility for those with disabilities, new browsing, and something called Genius. You can look at your albums by album cover, and skim them that way. (It's a little distracting that Steve's voice doesn't sound as it normally does. I've been going to these events for nearly 10 years, and this is the first time he has sounded this different; his voice isn't just strained, it sounds pinched, and slightly higher-pitched.)
Genius automatically puts songs together that go together, with just one click. He's demonstrating it. A Bob Dylan song gets matched with tunes by Springsteen, Joni Mitchell and Beck. It works by tapping into the iTunes Store in the cloud. Information about your iTunes library goes anonymously up to Apple, mixes it with info from other iTunes users, and gets a sense of what songs people are putting together in playlists and libraries.
He's demoing the genius feature. He plays a John Mayer song, "Gravity." He presses the genius button, and gets 24 songs including "How to Save a Life" by The Fray. Next he picks Heartbreak Hotel by Elvis, and gets songs including "That'll Be the Day" by Buddy Holly, "Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road" by Elton John, and "Oh, Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison.
Now, on to the iPod. NPD in July showed Apple with 73.4% market share. "Other" had 15.4 percent, and SanDisk and Microsoft rounded it out. He's talking about the iPod ecosystem, and says the accessories business is booming: "they announce products even before we want them to," he says, a nod to the accessories for the new widescreen iPod nano. He says Apple has sold more than 160 million iPods.
The iPod classic is now 120GB for $249.
Now on to the nano. The new nano, as expected, has a larger screen with a high-res display in portrait mode, and he calls it the thinnest iPod Apple has ever made. He pulls one out of his pocket. It looks nice on the big screen. Features: A new curved aluminum design, with curved glass over the display, an accelerometer, and the ability to create genius playlists even when it's not connected to iTunes. (With the accelerometer, you can turn the nano to flip a photo to landscape mode, a popular feature from the iPhone and iPod touch.) There's now a voice recording app that, when it detects a microphone, lets you record notes to yourself.
He's demoing it. He picks a song from Beck, "Guess I'm Doing Fine." Then he picks, "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" by Bob Dylan. The iPod has automatically organized his songs based on what goes together. Now he demos a feature called "shake to shuffle," that plays a random song when you shake the iPod in the air. It plays something from Dean Martin when he does; he says he didn't really want us to know he has Dean Martin on his iPod. Battery life is 24 hours for music, 4 hours for video. He's now touting the iPod's green credentials, focusing on toxics: they have arsenic-free glass, they're BFR free, Mercury free, PVC free, and highly recyclable. The new nanos also come in nine rainbow colors that are the brightest, most candy-colored yet. Colors include purple, blue, green yellow, orange, red and pink. 8GB for $149, 16GB for $199.
New headphones: A pair with a microphone, for $29, shipping next month. Also, new in-ear headphones. They'll have a woofer and a tweeter in each bud (so, higher quality than standard) for $79.
Now, he's showing a new ad. The nanos sort of float through the air, playing music, video, and showing photos. At the end, the multicolored word "nano-chromatic" flashes on the screen.
Now, the iPod touch. It's thinner, with a stainless steel design. What's different: integrated volume controls in the side, a built-in speaker (this is not for audiophiles, he says) and the genius player built in. Now there's a built-in receiver in the iPod touch that will make it work with the Nike + iPod system that lets people chart their running workouts. He demonstrates the genius playlist feature on the iPod touch as well.
On to the app store: users have downloaded more than 100 million apps so far, in 60 days. "This is mind-blowing," Jobs says. "Most importantly, games," he says. (Interesting thing for him to say. Why are games most important? Because they're most popular?) He notes the app store's availability in 62 countries.
He's now demoing the touch, making a genius playlist off of Green Day's "American Idiot." Now he goes to movies, and shows Iron Man. (Seems it might have had a little trouble with the graphics-heavy scenes; the audio and the video might have gotten a little out of sync.)
Now Phil Schiller, senior marketing VP, takes the stage to demo some games. Jobs leaves the stage. (He had been on stage doing demos for more than 30 minutes, which speaks well for his energy level.) Schiller starts with Spore, a highly-anticipated game where you create an organism and try to use it to take over the galaxy.
Next, he demos Real Soccer. (The graphics are pretty darn good — they look about the quality of the original PlayStation.) He demos the ability to do a strong kick using the touch controls, and scores a goal.
Now, Need for Speed Undercover, a racing game. He picks a Porsche, and supes it up. It starts with a nice-looking street sequence. He hits the turbo button, wipes out and gets pulled over by the cops. (One out of two ain't bad.)
Jobs is back. He says the touch gets 36 hours of battery life for music, 6 for video. "This is the funnest iPod ever," Jobs says, flashing the words on the screen in a wink to the fact that "funnest" isn't exactly a word. Prices: $229 for 8GB, $299 for 16GB, $399 for 32GB. He shows an ad that features the touch playing games. "You can make a pretty good argument that it's the best portable device for playing games," Jobs says. (Nintendo might argue with that, based on its runaway hit DS.) He says the software update to software 2.1. If you've paid for the latest update, the update is free; if not, it's $9.95. The update is free to iPhone owners, available this Friday.
Back to iPod + iTunes. Jobs is saying Apple is ready for the holidays based on all the announcements. Now he's doing something he always does at music events: inviting an artist out onto the stage to perform at the end. He's sold more than 16 million albums, Jobs says, and he's the #1-selling artist in iTunes history. Jack Johnson. Johnson comes out with an acoustic guitar, plugs it in, and stands in front of the mic — and sings.
To wrap up, the surprises here were just about all software — the genius feature, the shake to shuffle, and iTunes 8 with HD. (The headphones were sort of a surprise, but they're not big news by Apple standards.) Based on that, fair or not, a lot of the headlines might focus on Jobs' health. As I noted earlier, he seemed to be ailing still, but his energy level was good enough for him to handle stage duties for nearly the entire show. I'd argue that the focus on Jobs' health has merit because of his unique value to Apple. He's certainly the creative force behind a creative company, and if he were to take a lesser role at Apple it would have a significant effect on the way the company operates.
Wall Street found reason to be disappointed in the event; as it drew to a close, Apple stock was down more than 3 percent. It began its descent right about the time the event began.
Back to the event: After two songs, Johnson is thanking Apple for iTunes, saying it's a big reason why he gets to keep playing music. (This runs counter to the party line from the music industry, that Apple is destroying the music business with its heavy-handed control of its iTunes store. Recording industry execs have tended to want more power to price popular songs above $1 per track, and sell less popular tracks for less. Apple has insisted that by pricing most everything at $1, it has helped simplify digital music and attract people to it. I tend to agree; before iTunes, digital music was all about piracy; and now, as Jobs noted, Apple is the top seller of music in the U.S. Of course, to be fair, Apple doesn't make much of a profit selling music, and mostly uses it to get people to buy iPods.)
Jobs comes back out to close the event, and Eric Clapton's "Layla" – the fast version – is piped through the speakers. Show's over.
Guys.
Seriously. Steve Jobs is an extremely creative person. He is getting up there in his age. As he noted, he had a high pitched voice, and a sort of limp.
Well, for you guys to say it is boring; it may have been. You also have to consider that Steve, as I said, is getting up there in age.
I do not believe that Apple is copying MS in any way. If we think back to the olden days, MS originaly copied Apple's software, to release Windows. (Did the same with Vista, if you pay atention at all.)
Just wanted to point that out.
Just to let you know, I am not defending Apple, I dont even own one. I have a self built PC running MS Windows XP Pro.
Travis you must be a "professional" blogger to speak this way and not know who or what I listen to or how?? I am an iPod user. Simply what was talked about for iPod was boring…it sounded like Jobs was going after MS Zune and the features they have. Zune is a music player that is all…if you want more then you have to buy another product.
That's the problem with iPod users I have found…very touchy when you compare iPod to something else…way too defensive in my book..but that's my opinion…I'm sure I am wrong.
Posted By jpad, Seattle, WA : "seems like the new features copy what the MS Zune… trying to get into the Social thing like Zune already has.."
Jpad in WA, any chance your a drone (or close living fan-boy) for Microsoft and was ordered to come here to post pro-Zune?! You really want to compare the Zune to iPod, really??!! Maybe a little jealous that MS is announcing new Zunes this week and no one cares, but APPL gets first post on every site and blog!? You want to compar the iPod touch with maps, Calendar, Contact list, Science Calculator, d/l from iTunes, internet, podcast, video, HD tv shows, thousands of Apps, games, IM, Twitter, Facebook, Yelp, Travel info, etc etc. To the Zune???
Apple could have announced more (better Shuffles, big HD's for touch, etc), but never compare APPL's 73+% market share and Zunes probably 2-3% share. Zune can't even beat out SanDisk, shoot for #3 or #4 before you aim at #1. Go Apple! (now release a 64GB touch soon, camera would be nice, too)
Agree very boring…seems like the new features copy what the MS Zune product and software do already. Looks like Apple is trying to get into the Social thing like Zune already has…"Lets Rock"? How about "Lets Snooze.."
1) allegedly APPL will announce Macbook updates next month, so relax people!!!
2) I like all the updates, but was hoping for a 64GB touch, and an added camera would have been nice. I'm thinking of upgrading my 16GB touch, need to ponder more. Thanks Mr. Jobs, I'm mostly happy with it all.
When we tried the 16 GB Apple iPhone, the media user interface was so cool that we realized the iPod Touch is more what we really want. I'll keep a separate phone service for now… ATT service is too expensive and I don't like the contract terms such as the cancellation fee of $175, so we returned the iPhone within 30 days and will wait for a better deal, greater capacity iPod Touch. They can do better than 32GB for $399.
Yeah, BORRRRING!!! Where are the MACBOOK UPDATES!!! In a way I am very happy- if apple doesnt come out with new laptops before christmas the stock price will fall back to $135 and I can BUY BUY BUY LOWWW!!!! WAHOOO!!!!
i keep refreshing this page just hoping that ill see 'just one more thing'.
…i must say, i am quite disappointed (so far!…… :\ )
The price cut on the classic and the availability of only the 120 GB version do not bode well for me. I already have more songs and video than fit in 120 GB. I'd love an Ipod Touch, but I don't want to have to pick and choose what I carry with me all the time.
Nothing anyone sells is a must-have unless we are talking about essentials such as food and water and medication. That said, the iPod Touch is cheaper than before. The iPod Touch is Apple's top-line offering. It is not about mass market, it is about selling a well-designed product to people who prefer its ease-of-use UI and make a clean profit doing it. THose who cannot afford it or chose not to buy it (like me) will not buy it.
Apple was never about selling things cheap else it would have closed its doors by the late 80's. It was always about selling a better solution at a premium to a segment of the population who appreciates its offering and can afford them. Apple has almost always delivered on this promise. We still have Mac and Apple's dating back to mid-80's in our house and shop and they still run though we no longer use them.
Do you see everyone in the US driving a Mercedes or a Lexus or an Acura? What of the cheapo GM and Ford, are they doing really well now after years of selling cheap products at a cheap price?
Apple is servicing the mass market with some mass market offerings (cheaper laptop, iMac, etc) but its bread and butter is still the upscale market. I am happy there is an Apple; it beats having just Windows. I wonder what Microsoft will be doing today with music devices and cell phones if Apple were not around.
Doc wrote "I can’t stand iTunes and the 800 updates they send out. Why should I care what another person is listening to or their playlists? I could care less."
Ah, so you admit that you do care. You just said that you COULD care LESS, so you do care some. That's a good step.
What happened to the rumored AppleTV announcement? What about more space for the Touch line? Still no GPS nor camera for the Touch? What an anticlimactic event. I had thought that I'd be buying a 64GB GPS+Camera Touch this fall. Guess I won't be. Apple's stock price deserves to get hammered. Their holiday-shopping figures are going to be way down this year. Weak economy + uninteresting & boring new 'features' = poor sales.
Stupid from Apple to make only 1 classic size. All I need my iPod for is music, and I have just over 30gb of it. A 40gb or even 80gb would've been ideal. But instead I now have to pay more than I would have had to, for a ridiculous size.
Sorry Apple but that was a shocker
Product for the "unintelligent"? Hmmm… let's see, your definition of intelligence must be the ability to manage your own OS, your own drivers and install your own compilers, write your own code, build your own applications? Like may be you prefer DOS and LINUX in their raw forms? Kudos to you.
We, the unintelligent ones, prefer to have ease-of-use, well-designed GUI so we can code the next generation software to make more tasks even easier for everyone to use. If you think that is "unintelligent", I will see how you are doing in DOS when we are already using "Gesture 3d UI".
As for the stock? No serious investors come here to post anything worth anything. People who lament AAPL must be newbie who owns only AAPL. If you have any sort of portfolio at all, you will already see the entire tech sector is not doing well due to economic pressure. Nothing new. If you were really an investor, you would also see how APPL shares have risen since 2 and 3 years ago and how its shares behave even just last year.
iPod Touch is not a must have product and the new version is out of most people's price range, Apple will receive little if any uptick in sales of the product with the new version.
"…mediocre products at best.
Posted By maddawg, wash. DC" ???
Maddawg, I think you need a 'reality check' button.
Will there be a 64 gig ipod touch introduced today? Is the 32 gig going to be the biggest touch available
lol….don't you have to be a genius to have a genius button to press??
i guess he'll have to wait until his next life to see if he gets one.
(i guess some people are impressed by anything they themselves cannot comprehend achieving….that must be a pathetic feeling)
also, why would the stock stop falling? it only has DOWN to go; as sad as it may seem.
no…i think a better button for him would be the "try not to gain too much market share because your products tend to make the unintelligent gloss over in their eyes so they'll continue to be the only ones to buy" button.
nice guy — mediocre products at best.
To prevent song-changes while running, you either run more smoothly, or simply turn the function off. Even you can do it!
I can't stand iTunes and the 800 updates they send out. Why should I care what another person is listening to or their playlists? I could care less.
Interesting….other reporters at the event are saying his voice sounds stronger. Just a matter of perception??
I second the idea of HD, wall-mounted Macs with remote keyboard and mouse. Fits their product line perfectly, and could be the hub of the home entertainment experience. I would also like to see a major iPhone firmware upgrade. Also hoping for a new, sub-compact computer, but that may have to wait till 2009.
Two things I hope Steve Inc will announce this morning:
i) a $99 Unlimited Access Scheme for all iTunes music downloads and why not a $149 for all video
ii) Apple's entrance into HD televisions that I baptized "iScreen". Let them take the HD experience with a 32, 40 and 50 inch screen that comes with a mouse and a keyboard; and an iRemote…
Usually, Apple "disappoints" the crowd when it comes to mere upscales of products and downsizes in prices. But, there is nothing more "natural" than the invasion of Steve Inc into other dimensions.
PS: A personal thanks to Mr Bill Gates for his "Think Cheap" campaign. Couldn't wish anything more…ever!
Speaking in stock symbols? FYI – Apple's symbol is AAPL, and not APPL. Interesting comment about Jobs' voice. He's still the king of our tech world. Long live the king!