Today is a big day for Apple enthusiasts, with speculation at an all time high for new hardware from the darlings of Silicon Valley. Rumors have been flying around for some time ranging from the iPhone, to the iTV, to new touch screen iPods, to a truly portable Mac.
Well after you clear away all the bragging about selling over 2 billion songs and 1.3 million movies on iTunes, and how the Zune only captured a 2% market share in November, here’s what really has been revealed today:
- New iTunes Movie Download Partner: Paramount Studios, should take iTunes to over 250 movies available for download
- Apple TV (formerly “iTV”)
- Design looks the same as original announcement
- USB 2.0, Ethernet, WiFi (802.11 b, g & n) Connectivity
- HDMI, component, RCA and optical outputs
- 40GB hard drive
- 720p widescreen high definition video (surprise!)
- Stream audio, video, photos from up to 5 computers
- Can automatically sync content in the background and store to hard drive for immediate playback
- Ships February 2007
- Price: $299
- iPhone, a gorgeous, unified device, featuring:
- Widescreen iPod
- Mobile phone (GSM, EDGE, Quad-Band)
- Internet communicator (seamlessly switches between EDGE and WiFi)
- WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity
- Easy to use touchscreen interface
- No stylus required, use your fingers!
- Multi-finger, gesture-based controls (truly amazing)
- On screen keyboard for chat, e-mail, dialing
- Runs OS X with desktop-class applications!
- Syncs using iTunes, including contacts, calendars, notes, e-mail accounts, web bookmarks, etc..
- Full-fledged Safari web browser, no crappy WAP browsing
- E-mail: any POP or IMAP account, rich HTML messages
- Free BlackBerry-esque “push IMAP” e-mail from Yahoo!
- 3.5-inch 160 pixel per inch (320 x 480) high resolution color display
- 2 Megapixel digital camera
- Only one button on the whole device
- Motion sensor and accelerometer automatically detect when you switch from portrait to landscape modes
- Music automatically fades out when a phone call comes in
- 4 GB or 8 GB flash memory
- Dimensions: A svelte 4.5″ x 2.4″ x 0.46″ (not much bigger than a 5G iPod)
- Battery Life: 5 hour talk/video/browsing, 16 hours music playback
- EXCLUSIVE service partner: Cingular
- Ships June 2007
- Price: $499 (4 GB), $599 (8 GB)
- 2-Year Cingular Contract Required
Now that’s some news! The iPhone sure packs a wallop, but it’s a bit expensive, considering the 2 year Cingular contract commitment. That said, it is really an entire Mac packed into a portable device, so you have to give ’em some slack on pricing. Would I like more memory for my tunes and video? Sure. But overall, it’s a pretty impressive little piece of innovation.
Check back often to see if the Apple Store has been updated to showcase today’s latest wares.
Stay tuned for more details as they become available.
