LetsTalkIphone
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iPod touch still maxes out at 64GB / $399, available in white October 12th
While the iPhone 4S takes the headlines with its dual antennas and upgraded processor, we also have a new white iPod touch joining the family. Pricing for the "#1 portable game player" (Apple's words, with some numbers to back them up) still starts at $199 for the 8GB version, going up $399 for a 64GB. All will be available in black or white October 12th. There's no hardware changes to speak of, so hopefully all those sweet iOS 5 upgrades are enough to hold you. Check out the full details in our live blog or in the press release, conveniently available after the break. Follow along in our ongoing liveblog right here! %Gallery-135720%
Apple's iPod nano now $149 for 16GB and $129 for 8GB (update: 2010 nanos get the goodies too)
Apple keeps coming with the news from its "Let's talk iPhone" event, and the latest is a price drop for its diminutive PMP, the nano. From now on, you'll be forking over $129 for an 8GB version and $149 for twice the tunage space. Additionally, Cupertino's tossing in big icons -- as opposed to the grid of 4 that was the only option previously -- 16 new clocks (Mickey Mouse included!) to go with all those fabulous watch accessories, and workout tracking abilities right out of the box so you no longer need a Nike+ shoe dongle to see how many calories you've burned. Not bad for a little guy, eh? Full PR after the break. Update: Thanks to the folks over at 9to5 Mac, we now know that owners of 2010 nanos will get the software update with the new features too. %Gallery-135721%
iTunes Match hits US 'end of October' for $24.99
We already had the details on iTunes Match, but now we've got a ballpark release date. According to Apple, the iTunes service will make its debut by the end of the month in the great U S of A, and it can be yours for $24.99 a year. Here's hoping Apple's got a nice, clean (DRM-free 256kbps AAC file) version of Monster Mash floating in the cloud for your Halloween listening pleasure.
Apple announces Find My Friends feature for iOS 5
Apple spent a fair bit of time recapping some already announced iOS 5 features during its keynote today, but it also got around to announcing a new one: Find My Friends. That will let you easily find friends in the real world who have opted to share their location with you, and you'll also be able to invite friends to share their location for a limited time -- when they're driving to your house, for instance, so you can give them directions. Naturally, there are also some parental controls and other "simple" privacy settings.%Gallery-135713%
iOS 5 will be available October 12, iCloud launching the same day
Mark your calendars, kids. Scott Forstall's on stage here at "Let's Talk iPhone" and just gave a hard date for iOS 5's arrival: expect it to hit next week, on October 12th, with Apple's iCloud service launching that same day. Though developers have been playing with it for four months now, this will be the first time the general, non-tinkering public gets to taste its 200-plus new features -- a list that includes Newsstand, Reminders, iMessage, WiFi sync, Find My Friends, split keyboards, AirPlay mirroring for the iPad 2 (and iPhone 4S!) and the Notification Center. (And, you know, greeting cards, if you're into that sort of thing.) iOS 5 will be free for iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches, while iCloud's standard 5GB of email / storage will come gratis to folks already using iOS 5 and Lion. Take note that if it's iTunes Match you're after (and you live in the states), you'll have to sit tight a few more weeks yet. %Gallery-135713%
Cards app for iPhone sends snail mail best wishes, for a price
We've got at least one completely unexpected announcement from Apple's Let's Talk iPhone Event: a new app that sends out greeting cards. For $2.99 within the US and $4.99 internationally, sending a greeting card the old fashioned way is just one click away on your mobile, complete with notifications when your card is mailed. Taking shots at PC makers and Android's apps are a given, but a bomb dropped on Hallmark? Welcome to the Tim Cook era. Check the liveblog and gallery below for more details. %Gallery-135715% Follow along in our ongoing liveblog right here!
Apple: 250 million iOS devices sold, 18 billion apps downloaded
Among the glut of numbers coming out of the Apple keynote today, delaying the reveal of your next iPhone, was a particularly impressive one: 250 million. That's the number of iOS devices sold. That's 250 million iPhones and iPads in the wild worldwide, running a grand total of 18 billion apps between them, which have netted developers a whopping $3 billion. That ladies and gentlemen, is nothing to sniff at.
Apple: 16 billion iTunes songs downloaded, 300 million iPods sold
Tim Cook's dishing out plenty of numbers today, and there's some big ones when it comes to the iPod and iTunes. He confirmed that there's now been a whopping 16 billion songs downloaded from iTunes, and 300 million iPods sold. To put that in a bit of perspective, he also noted that it took Sony 30 years to sell a mere 220,000 Walkman cassette players.
Tim Cook: Macbook Pro and iMac are the best selling notebook and desktop in the US
Tim Cook kicked off today's 'Let's talk iPhone' event by the numbers, mentioning that "the MacBook Pro and iMac are the number one best selling notebook and desktop in the United States." Apparently the Mac platform grew by 23 percent over the last year, versus a four percent growth from the PC sector. Brandishing a chart tracing the trend back five years, Cook says that Apple is now pushing 60 million Mac users worldwide, leaving Cupertino just shy of owning a fourth of the personal computer market. "There are still 77 percent of people who are buying something else," Cook said, "We have an incredibly high ceiling here. We have a long way to go."
Tim Cook announces impressive Apple Retail Store numbers
Photo courtesy Engadget Tim Cook has taken the stage in San Francisco to kick off today's Apple event, and he's shared some big numbers for Apple's retail stores. The company's largest store in Asia boasted more than 100,000 visitors in just its opening weekend. Cook says Apple was impressed when its LA store had over 100,000 visitors in a month, so that weekend must have been really busy. The Hong Kong store also had a solid turnout, selling more Macs on its first day open than the company has at any other store in the world. Apple currently has 357 stores in 11 different countries, says Cook, and "many more are coming."
Apple: Six million copies of OS X Lion downloaded since launch
Before we get to the real meat of things, Tim Cook's just trotted out some Lion numbers -- six million copies downloaded since launch, to be exact. According to the big Apple's new CEO, that's a growth of 80 percent over Snow Leopard. Of course, those numbers would mean nothing without a little comparison. Cook says it took Windows 7 20 weeks to meet 10 percent of Windows' install base, compared to the two weeks it took Lion to reach the same portion of OS X users.
Apple's 'Let's Talk iPhone' keynote liveblog!
Hey! You made it! But it's a little early. Not to worry, though -- bookmark this page (yes, this one!) and return at the time listed below for our blow-by-blow coverage live from Cupertino!Psst... and toss your own time zone / day in comments below! 07:00AM - Hawaii10:00AM - Pacific11:00AM - Mountain12:00PM - Central01:00PM - Eastern06:00PM - London07:00PM - Paris09:00PM - Moscow02:00AM - Tokyo (October 5th)
iPhone 4S landing on October 14th according to Apple Store page in Japan
Well, Tim Cook has yet to even take the stage and already the leaks are starting to pour in. It started with a pair of images buried in the Apple store's HTML code. But, perhaps more telling, was the page for the Ginza, Japan store listing the launch of the iPhone 4S as a featured event starting at 8am on October 14th. While that doesn't necessarily mean the tweaked iPhone 4 variant will launch everywhere on the same day, it seems a safe bet that the US and UK will be getting in on the action that Friday morning.Update: Well, that was short lived. The text is gone... for now.
Yes, the Apple Store is down
And down goes the Apple Store. Whatever could the reason be? We'll find out in just a couple of hours. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Engadget, broadcasting live from Apple's 'Let's Talk iPhone' event in Cupertino!
We did it at WWDC, and we're doing it from 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino, California. Apple's holding its hotly-anticipated iPhone 5 (and iPhone 4s?) launch event here this morning, and we're on-hand to bring you a bit of pre- and post-show banter. Join Tim Stevens, Darren Murph and a plethora of Sesame Street characters* as we break down what's likely to go down during today's "Let's Talk iPhone" event. And once we're ushered inside (you know, where live video streams aren't allowed), follow our liveblog right here. Check out the video after the break. *Pending a response from Cookie Monster's publicist. %Gallery-135701% Update: And we're done! Stay tuned for the liveblog and more throughout the day!
Engadget will be broadcasting live outside of Apple's 'Let's Talk iPhone' event!
It's all going down tomorrow, and you can bet your bottom dollar (or last prepaid SIM, whichever you prefer) that we'll be liveblogging it all on these pages right here. But prior to Apple's "Let's Talk iPhone" event, we'll be set up outside of the company's Cupertino headquarters in order to bring live pre-show analysis, including the very latest rumblings from the Apple mecca and any top-secret tips on ditching work in order to follow along. Just so we're clear, Apple doesn't allow live video streaming during the keynote, but our usual liveblog can be followed October 4th starting at 1:00PM ET (10:00am local time) right here. It might get a wee bit insane.
WSJ: Sprint places $20 billion order for next iPhone, hinges company future on Apple's handset?
Oh, iFaithful, your newest Apple phone(s) are only a day away. Which is even more reason to hunker down into this latest chunk of pre-announcement gossip. According to information obtained by the Wall Street Journal, Sprint's betting the farm on a 30 million-plus order of next-generation iPhones to put it on an even battle ground with heavyweight rivals AT&T and Verizon. The cost of this loss-absorbing gamble? That would be about $20 billion, with the Hesse-led co. subsidizing the $500 cost of each handset. For the third place operator it's matter of do-or-die, as there really isn't an alternative to the critically-praised, Jony Ive-designed handset that set off this smartphone race. Further underscoring the company's current plight are comments Hesse's purportedly made to the company board, linking customer churn to its iPhone omission. It remains to be seen if Sprint pull off this feat, and convert its base of 52 million subscribers (mostly pre-paid) into the contracted customers it needs to stay financially afloat. While an iPhone on Sprint certainly seems a given, it's unclear whether this next device will opt for a WiMAX or LTE radio.
Apple's 'Let's Talk iPhone' event is tomorrow -- get your liveblog right here!
Apple pulled a fast one by leaving the iPhone 5 in its back pocket during WWDC, and little did we know that it'd be Tim Cook -- not Steve Jobs -- revealing the company's next-gen handset. 'Course, Tim already had a bit of experience by doing the honors alongside Lowell McAdam for the Verizon iPhone 4, but this is another beast entirely. Will the "Let's Talk iPhone" keynote bring about a cheaper, perhaps prepaid iPhone 4s? Will Sprint finally get an iPhone to call its own? Will the iPhone 5 read our minds? Will this change everything, despite everything already being changed? Bookmark this page here and return at the times below for our blow-by-blow coverage live from Cupertino!Psst... and toss your own time zone / day in comments below! 07:00AM - Hawaii10:00AM - Pacific11:00AM - Mountain12:00PM - Central01:00PM - Eastern06:00PM - London07:00PM - Paris09:00PM - Moscow02:00AM - Tokyo (October 5th)
iPhone 5 / 4S placeholders pop up at Cincinnati Bell, questionable specs in tow
It looks like the iPhone speculation train is gaining steam on the way to its final destination, and this time it's flying by Cincinnati Bell's pre-paid service, i-Wireless. A helpful tipster sent in the above screenshot of an iPhone 5 placeholder, accompanied by a $639.99 price tag and a handful of specs: 32GB, 4-inch screen and 4G data speeds. Our friends over at TUAW have also procured a screenshot (after the break) from the same site, displaying a $99.99 16GB iPhone 4S, sporting a 5MP camera, 3.5-inch screen and an A5 processor. Of course, there's also a chance these are just placeholders, but we're hoping Tuesday's announcement will bear dual fruits, nonetheless.[Thanks, Cory]
iPhone 5 to have 21Mbps HSPA+ data? China Unicom says so
We know that Apple won't be unveiling its next superphone for a few more days, but we may have a tasty tidbit about the iPhone 5 ahead of schedule. So the story goes, China Unicom's Deputy Director Huang Wenlian was making a presentation at Macworld Asia, and stated that the new iPhone would utilize the company's HSPA+ 21Mbps network. Now, we aren't saying it's a sure thing, but it appears that Tim Cook could deliver a handset with thrice the data speeds of its predecessor next week. Fingers crossed, ya'll. Update: We removed the original picture at the request of PC Watch. It was a presentation slide showing a timeline of iPhone models, with a simple line drawing in place of the iPhone 5 and a mention of HSPA+ 21Mbps underneath.
