Today, at its World Wide Developer Conference, Apple announced many things including new iPhone hardware and software and new laptops, that will have fanboys (and girls) rushing to their local Apple stores for new laptops or saving their pennies until next month for shiny new iPhones.
Following is a summary of the major announcements. For a much more in-depth overview, check out my colleagues over at TUAW. Also, be sure to tune in Wednesday for The Flickcast where we will discuss all these announcements, and more.
– New iPhone 3G S – The iPhone 3G S — the “S” stands for speed. Much faster. Data speeds are upped to 7.2Mbps HSDPA, 3 megapixel camera with tap-to-autofocus and auto white balance, ow supports 30fps VGA video recording with editing features.
Also has built-in compass, Nike+ support and a new battery that offers 5 hours of 3G talk time and 9 hours of WiFi internet use. $199 for 16GB and $299 for 32GB when it goes on sale June 18th. Current 3G model will remain on sale for $99, effective immediately.
– New Laptops – Apple announced the immediate availability of a largely-refreshed MacBook line. New models include a new 15″ MacBook Pro, a new 13″ MacBook Pro and an updated MacBook Air.
Macbook Pro 15″:
$1,699US: 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB DDR3 RAM, GeForce 9400M graphics, 250GB HDD
$1,999US: 2.66GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB DDR3 RAM, GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT graphics, 320GB
$2,299US: 2.80GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB DDR3 RAM, GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT graphics, 500GB HDD
The 13″ MacBook Pro is basically a re-badged unibody MacBook, but now featuring an SD card slot, Firewire and 7-hour battery life. The new 13″ MBP can be configured with a hard drive up to 500GB and RAM up 8GB.
$1,199US: 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB DDR3 RAM, GeForce 9400M graphics, 160GB HDD
$1,499US: 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB DDR3 RAM, GeForce 9400M graphics, 250GB HDD
The MacBook Air has also received a slight spec bump and a price decrease:
$1,499US: 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB DDR3 RAM, GeForce 9400M graphics, 120GB HDD
$1,799US: 2.13GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB DDR3 RAM, GeForce 9400M graphics, 128GB SSD
– New OS X version 10.6 (aka Snow Leopard) – 10.6 will debut this September as an upgrade for Mac OS X Leopard users for just $29. Snow Leopard features include built-in Microsoft Exchange support along with a better install process, faster applications and 64-bit versions of standard applications that boost overall performance.
In addition to the $29 single user upgrade, a family pack upgrade will cost $49. Tiger users will pay $169 for a 10.6/iLife box set or $229 for a family pack. All users who purchased or will purchase a new qualifying Mac between 8 June 2009 and 26 December 2009 will receive a free upgrade package and pay $9.95 for shipping and handling. You must request your up-to-date upgrade within 90 days of your original purchase.
