Apple Special Event
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Apple announces 7.9-inch iPad mini with a 1,024 x 768 display, A5 CPU and optional LTE for $329
Well, hello there, the worst-kept secret in tech. Apple's iPad mini is the company's newest device, a 7.9-inch tablet that's designed to go toe-to-toe with Google's Nexus 7. For now, it'll sit alongside the iPad 2 and fourth-generation iPad, and as it packs the same 1,024 x 768 display as the second-generation slate, apps will carry across without any resizing. While Phil Schiller didn't mention Google or the Nexus 7 by name, the rival slate (and Google's app library) was compared to the newest iOS device. On stage, he claimed that the screen, which is .9-inch larger than the Nexus 7, gives the iPad mini 35 percent more display area than Google and ASUS' collaboration. On the hardware size, the 7.2mm thick, .68 pounds device has been manufactured with an "all new" process that gives it the same anodized edges as you'll find on the iPhone 5. If you were hoping for equal specifications to the big-daddy iPad, you may be mildly disappointed. While it will pack a 5-megapixel camera and an LTE modem (if you opt to buy a cellular model), it's running the last-generation A5 CPU. However, the slower internals and less potent display may account for how the company has been able to squeeze out a claimed 10 hours of use despite the constrained space for a battery. Pre-orders for the $329, 16GB WiFi-only model begin on Friday (October 26th) and will begin shipping on November 2nd. The cellular-equipped models will begin shipping a few weeks afterward on AT&T, Verizon and Sprint, with the 16GB base model costing $459, running all the way to $659 for the 64GB unit. %Gallery-169066% For more coverage, visit our Apple Special Event hub!
Apple: 200 million devices already upgraded to iOS 6
Citing this as the "fastest upgrade rate in history -- that we're aware of," Tim Cook has announced on stage in San Jose that 200 million iOS devices have been updated to iOS 6. If you're still on the last version, are you feeling the peer pressure? For more coverage, visit our Apple Special Event hub!
New Apple TV Events channel will stream the special event later today (update: and on your Mac)
If you haven't already bookmarked our liveblog (you should get right on that), Apple's revealed that it will resume broadcasting its events --starting today. Appearing alongside a new events channel on Apple TV, we get a brief mention of today's conference in San Jose. But until it kicks off at 10AM PT, you can kill some time by watching Apple's back-catalog of events, which are ready to view on the new channel. Update: Better still, you can also hit up Apple's events site to stream it in your browser of choice Safari on OS X 10.6 or later.
Live from Apple's fall 2010 event
We're inside the event and getting ready to get underway -- stay locked here for up the minute live coverage! Follow along after the break to see what's what, and make sure you're around at the times below for the start. 07:00AM - Hawaii 10:00AM - Pacific 11:00AM - Mountain 12:00PM - Central 01:00PM - Eastern 06:00PM - London 07:00PM - Paris 09:00PM - Moscow 02:00AM - Tokyo (September 2nd)
Download "Let's Rock" keynote video as a podcast
If waiting for a stream to buffer isn't your thing, then you can now download today's "Let's Rock" event via Apple's Keynote podcast feed.Now you can watch Steve say, "BOOM!" without stream interruptions. Be aware that this video is over 700 MB in size.Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
Apple to host UK Special Event 18/9
Thanks to tipster Lee for sending this, courtesy of MacFormat. Apple has announced an invite-only event to be held next Tuesday morning (18th September) at London's Regent Street Apple Store. The event invite is simply headed with the tagline "Mum is no longer the word" and instructions on how to get to the Regents Street store. My money, as with most, is on an iPhone announcement - possibly UK-specific given that it's just one week before Apple Expo Paris (Europe's largest Apple event) - however we'll clearly have to wait until next week to get any more out of Apple.
Inside Mac TV video of the Apple Special Event
If all the talk about the Apple Special Event hasn't been enough for you, or if you just want to see for yourself, check out Inside Mac TV's video podcast of the event. The video compresses the highlights into 20 minutes running time. Inside Mac TV is the brainchild of the gregarious Scott Sheppard. This link subscribes you to the podcast. This link takes you to the page where you can download the individual episode.
Who knew that the new movies in the iTMS would *really* be yesterday's big news?
Yesterday morning, I posted a prediction that proved incorrect. Apple didn't announce movies in the iTMS to be the big announcement of the day. Nevertheless, I feel that the Academy Award Nominated Short Films appearing in the iTMS yesterday actually ended up being the biggest news of the day. As I noted yesterday, it's the first appearance of non-Pixar/Disney shorts in the music store, so it paves the way for more great content (although all of the films are presented by the Sundance Channel, so it is kind of like another TV network releasing shows on the iTMS).As for all the other announcements from yesterday, I can sum them all up—explain why they are all dud announcements—in one simple word: overpriced. $1.99 for the new short films in the iTMS is a bargain. Everything else was overpriced. Overpriced like the $99 leather iPod cases that don't actually provide the user with any access to the controls of the iPod. Overpriced like the $349 boombox that still needs the addition of a $300 iPod to make it as cool as it can be (and even then it is not that cool; I mean "Hi-Fi" is a 70s term, and the boombox is an 80s device; how is this expensive iPod peripheral indicative of Apple's innovation?). Overpriced like the $599 and $799 Mac minis. One of the great things about Apple's Mac mini line should be its affordability, and yesterday, we saw little value added to the Mac mini line and yet the most expensive one of them runs just fourfive hundred less than the faster iMac line that lacks the need to provide your own screen, keyboard, and mouse. I mean, what was added? The expected shift from PowerPC to Intel processors? The fastest they offer in the mini is still only 1.67Ghz. The Apple Remote? If it's so much simpler than all the other remotes I own, then how come it alone is priced at more than any of those full-featured remotes? The new Bonjour-savvy Front Row? Well, that is cool, but all Macs with Front Row will be getting this feature, so I don't think it warrants the attention, especially when nothing really innovative has been done with the new mini to make it an effective media center. Sure it can work with an HDTV, but where's the built-in PVR? I mean, if you want to pipe your HDTV digital cable connection into the mini you are still going to need to spend a couple of hundred dollars on something like an EyeTV. I don't see any HDMI / DVI in on that new expensive mini.I, like Jan, am under-whelmed by yesterday's announcements, and I agree with Damien that Apple clearly dropped the ball and our disappointment is not the creation of our fanaticism, but rather Apple's failure to live up to the innovation we've come to expect from them.
Apple's special event a bit of a letdown
I rushed to TUAW's special event headquarters (actually my spare room) to participate in our chatcast during Apple's special event this morning. My blood was pumping; my fingers were poised at the keyboard; I was psyched for something really exciting. . . . And then came the letdown. Sure it's nice to see the Mac mini go Intel, but if I'm going to splurge on any of the Intel Macs it's more likely to be on a MacBook Pro given my peripatetic lifestyle. The iPod Hi-Fi is a bit of a surprise, but I have to agree with C.K. that the concept is just so '80's. More importantly, the Hi-Fi's price point is too steep for my pocketbook. I'd rather save my $349 bucks toward that MacBook Pro. When Steve first mentioned the leather cases for the iPod with video I was psyched, but for $99 I'd expect to be able to view the screen and access the controls -- neither of which is possible with these cases. So I'm going home empty-handed and will remain that way until the next big Apple announcement. I may be disappointed now, but I know the letdown is only temporary. I'm sure I'll be the first one in line for the next Apple special event. That is, unless you're there first.
Apple Special Event Chatcast Extavaganza
Scott'll be posting any news we glean from today's event, nicely and neatly in a separate post for those of you who detest our chatcasts, and Engadget has Ryan Block on the scene, but for those of you who love reading us ramble on, drooling over the day's announcements and being as snarky as snark can be, here's the place where you'll find all our babblings. Enjoy.Begin chatcast:Pregame chatter...12:30 PMDamien Barrett: The Apple Store is still up...David Chartier: I don't think it usually goes down this far outside game time thoughDamien Barrett: don't knowC.K. Sample, III: yeahC.K. Sample, III: usually it goes down 15 mninutes beforeDavid Chartier: do they hold events like this on the Apple Campus often?C.K. Sample, III: not that I'm aware ofDamien Barrett: not usually on Apple Campus...noC.K. Sample, III: it's a bit out of the ordinaryC.K. Sample, III: which makes me think it is going to be movie related announcementsDamien Barrett: I agree with C.K.David Chartier: as in: it isn't a big enough deal to do it elsewhere?12:35 PMDamien Barrett: but why would Engadget be invited if Apple's not releasing or pimping a gadget?C.K. Sample, III: there's the rub...Damien Barrett: but it could also be they've finally finished the product that was supposed to be the "one more thing" product at MWSF but got bumpedDavid Chartier: Kevin Rose said something in the TWiT podcast that made me optimistic that it's at least something important: he's been able to peg it in the past when events are off campus because he has some kind of insiderDavid Chartier: but since it's on the campus, it's a lot harder to leak this stuffDamien Barrett: I'm not the only one who felt that this year's MWSF Keynote felt less solid than those in the past, as if things were changed at the last minuteDavid Chartier: I felt like the software portion got bumped and squished in order to squeeze in the MacBooksDavid Chartier: He might as well have said "eh, and iWork... yea that's neat too."Check out the rest after the break...
