Tuesday, Steve Jobs gave his annual MacWorld SF keynote satisfying our thirst for the latest and greatest Apple products (at least partially). Apple announced the release of two great products AppleTV and the iPhone. They also silently release the new AirPort Extreme, which uses the MIMO technology found in the 802.11n draft standard. Apple did not speak of iLife 07′, iWork 07′, Leopard Updates, or any new Mac/iPod products.
Steve started the keynote summarizing Apple’s 2006 results, minus the last quarter. He quickly covered iTunes Store updates including the acquisition of Paramount movies for sale. Did not say much about Macs and iPod’s other than they are great (which they are) and that updates will come later. He then started talking about the product code named iTV now AppleTV (Apple Symbol + TV). With AppleTV, Apple is hoping to jump into the market that utilizes everyones large HDTV’s. We have so much great content on our computers: music, movies, photos, websites; yet it all seems disconnected from our living rooms. Unaware of this problem until I was the owner of a 32″ HDTV earlier this year, I immediately realized how great it would be to have a Mac connected to my TV at all times. Unable to convince my wife into purchasing a low end MacMini for $500, I found out last December that Apple was already working on the product I needed.
AppleTV
The AppleTV allows you to get content from your computer (Mac or PC) and send it to the AppleTV via a home network (wired or wireless). You can also stream content directly to the AppleTV over an internet connection. It boost an internal 40GB HDD for storing your content and is synchronized with a computer via the same iTunes interface the iPod uses. At a price point of $299, I think Apple will sell a lot of these.The back of the box host a simple array of connection options. For best quality, most people will just us the HDMI connector to get both video and sounds to their HDTV and use a wireless network for connecting. The USB port on the back is for ( service and diagnostics) according to Apple and it is not yet sure if the device will be capable of adding additional HDD space, via USB drive, or setup to record HD video. I’m sure there will be many attempts in the coming months.
The front/top of the device is pictured below. The AppleTV is a very slim and simple device, resembling the MacMini and has a IR port in front for remote controlling.
According to Apple, the device can support video up to 720p and plays the typical default Quicktime formats. Hopefully there will be work in the ability to add 3rd party plugins so video encoded in other formats can be supported.
iPhone
Shifting gears, Apple announced the release of the highly anticipated iPhone. Up until a month or so ago, I would have bet money that there is no way Apple is getting into the mobile phone market (obviously I was wrong). During the keynote, Steve Jobs pointed out that all other smart phones are not that great. It is too difficult to the simplest of tasks and the software support for data driven applications (Email, Web Browser, etc.) simply sucks. Apple, claiming they have reinvented the phone, has made some astronomical leaps in the way we think of mobile phones, their interface, and applications.
To start, the iPhone runs a version of OS X, which means great scalability and support. Apple claims that it is an iPod, Phone, and Internet Communicator. The main innovation of the device however comes with how a human is going to interface with the device. Apple has come up with a new dynamic interface that is claims is revolutionary (imagine Apple claiming something is revolutionary. Ha!), but time and test will determine the true outcome. The iPhone is navigated using simply your finger in a series of motions. This is one area where I think Apple needs to be careful. If utilizing the device requires memorizing several motions or combination of motions it could loose its popularity due to its complexity. Apple has traditionally been a very simple UI design group to I don’t think this will be too much of a problem. The phone controls dynamically change as the current application changes, which makes sense right. I don’t need my QWERT keyboard on my device when I just want to read my email. I only need it when composing.
Paul has listed a great summary of the specs, but the important one I would like to note is the WiFi capabilities. This is a huge plus for the device because even with EDGE connectivity and in the future 3G, it still in no match for today’s bandwidth intensive media and applications that require a high speed network. It also expands the market of possible buyers because although many people like the iPhone, the thought of paying Cingular $39.99 for an unlimited data package to fully utilize the mobile iPhone is not appealing.
Also for concern is the iPhone’s touch screen and possible scratching. In my opinion, if you haven’t learned yet, before you even open the phone from it’s box, have a screen protector standing by for installation. I’m sure there will be an Invisible Shield for the iPhone it is no doubt a must have investment.
Conculsions
Apple seems to continue to be a innovative company and continues to release impressive products. I was a little disappointed in the fact that Apple did not announce the release of any Macs, iPods, or iLife software. This is mostly likely because Apple wants all the attention to be focused on the iPhone and get everyone dreaming about owning one at night. In a few months I’m sure Apple will hold another big keynote where they relesae at least updated Macs, iLife/iWork ‘07 and Leopard ship date is announce.
Update: Cingular seems to be already giving some problems with people wanting to switch over to Cingular early to get the iPhone. Read this.
These are my thoughts as well.