Iwork11
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Image spotted on Apple's website hints at iWork '11
A small misstep by Apple in a MacBook Air image hints at the rumored iWork 11 suite. Located directly above the iPhoto image in the right sidebar is a reference to the rumored productivity suite. Rumors coming fast and furious last year pointed to a January launch of the iWork 11 applications along with the Mac App Store. While the OS X App Store debuted on time, the suite of applications, which include Pages '11, Numbers '11 and Keynote '11, did not materialize. This above image does not guarantee iWork '11 will appear in the immediate future. In fact, we have seen this shot briefly before in the early days of the Mac App Store, but Apple is now re-purposing it for use with the MacBook Air. Of course, it could be an oversight by Apple, but we're hoping it suggests the productivity suite is still on Apple's radar. Fingers-crossed it will get some love at WWDC. Thanks, @Helveticats.
Apple ends $30 MobileMe and iWork rebate program
An internal memo suggests Apple is ending the US$30 MobileMe and iWork rebate program. The program offers customers a $30 discount on a $99 MobileMe subscription or the $79 iWork suite when they buy a new Mac. According to the memo, Apple has told all resellers to end the program on April 18th. All references to the rebate must be removed by the end of that business day. This change is stirring up the persistent rumor that MobileMe is undergoing a major overhaul. Apple recently stopped selling boxed copies of MobileMe leading to speculation that some or all the cloud service may be offered for free. This change may be announced in the upcoming months, possibly at WWDC and may be tied to Apple's iOS 5 update. The termination of the iWork rebate program is not tied to MobileMe, but it does hint an update to the productivity suite is on the way. The desktop version of the suite was updated in 2009 and is in need of a refresh. Much of the changes to iWork in 2010 focused on bringing the applications to the iPad. iWork 11 was expected to debut with the roll out of the Mac App store, but that rumor failed to materialize.
iWork '11 hinted at on Apple web page, then disappears
Several TUAW readers and our very own Mike Schramm pointed out something interesting today: on Apple's web page about the Mac app store, one of the screenshots shows a link for the iWork '11 apps. iWork '11? The suite made up of Pages, Numbers and Keynote that didn't make it into the Mac App Store on opening day? Yeah, that iWork '11. Earlier today we were all looking at this page, which showed a store screen with a link to iWork '11: If you happen to go to the same page now, you'll notice it's a bit different: It could mean nothing, or it could be that the suite was pulled from the App Store at the last minute, resulting in some poor web designer getting screamed at by Steve Jobs for not removing the characters "'11" from a rather insignificant web page. Time will tell. Any bets on when iWork '11 will finally drop?
Poll: Do you think FaceTime for Mac will be released next week?
One of our readers, Adam, asked a very interesting question earlier today: Do you think that FaceTime for Mac will come out of beta and be released on the Mac App Store on Jan. 6th? It would seem to be a given that Apple will release it through the App Store at some point, and January should have been plenty of time for beta testing. I'm ready to have a full-featured app, so I didn't know if you knew anything. Regretfully, we don't have any more information than you do. But Adam brings up some good points. Apple is going to want some hot apps in the Mac App Store at launch on January 6, 2011. The consensus here (and we've been known to be dreadfully wrong in terms of prognostications) is that we'll see iWork '11 on January 6, along with a handful of other Apple apps and a lot of third-party goodies. So, in the tradition of newspapers, we're taking a reader poll to see how many of you think FaceTime for Mac is going to be one of the first apps in the Mac App Store. Vote, and be sure to leave a comment below if none of our answers makes you happy. %Poll-57872%
All signs point to January 6th launch of iWork '11
According to 9to5 Mac, retail copies of iWork '09 are running low at Apple Retail Stores. As one Apple retail employee told 9to5, "There is no iWork on the shelves, no iWork in stock and none on the way." That alone is a pretty good sign Apple's office suite is about to be updated, but there's even more. As you can see from the image to the right, type in "iWork" in the search field on Apple.com and the site will autocomplete "iWork '11." Signs really don't get clearer than that. So why January 6th? Because that's the official launch date of the Mac App Store and it's unlikely that Apple would launch a Mac App Store without having a few new, shiny Apple-branded apps that appeal to a lot of people to kick things off. Plus ever since Apple previewed the Mac App Store back in October, the iWork apps have featured in all the official mock-ups of the store front. iWork '09, the latest version of the software suite, was released on January 6, 2009. Nice coincidence, huh?
Steve-mail says Keynote '11 to have AirPlay, Apple TV capabilities
TUAW received a tip from reader Jared today, who sent us a copy of an email sent to him from Steve Jobs in response to a question he had asked. We verified the email headers, and it looks like the real thing. In his email to Jobs, Jared asked if the new Apple TV would accept presentations via an iOS device or a Mac, and told his Steveness "if it will, I will go buy two at an apple store tonight." Jobs replied, "It's all coming soon. Stay tuned." As Jared pointed out, this could explain why iWork '11 was not included in the Back to the Mac presentation in October. The software suite, which is made up of Keynote, Pages, and Numbers, might be ready to roll except for the ability to beam Keynote presentations to the Apple TV via WiFi. If that's the case, we may see a release of iWork '11 soon.
iWork '11 may wait for the Mac App Store
Plenty of people, including some of us at TUAW, thought an updated iWork suite would debut alongside iLife at the recent "Back to the Mac" event. iWork was a no-show at that event, however, and AppleInsider claims it's because Apple is holding off on a release of iWork '11 until the launch of the Mac App Store in January. AppleInsider notes that images shown during the event showed each iWork application available for individual purchase at US$19.99 each on the Mac App Store. Even purchased separately at this price, the three applications that make up Apple's iWork suite (Pages, Keynote, and Numbers) would cost less than Apple's current $79 price for the iWork '09 bundle. Precedent exists in this area: iPad versions of Apple's iWork apps are available for $9.99 each on the App Store. It's possible that Apple could be going digital-only for iWork '11 and selling it exclusively as a means of "eating its own dog food" -- by committing to selling its own iWork applications exclusively via the Mac App Store, Apple would demonstrate that it has confidence in the endeavor. This is a change I'd welcome, personally; while I use Pages every day, I use Keynote only a few times per year, and I've launched Numbers maybe once or twice since buying iWork. Paying $40 for one essential app and one "nice to have if I need it" app is a lot easier to swallow than paying $79 for the entire suite. For that reason alone, I'm looking forward to the Mac App Store.
