As reported, Apple adds color to the iPod shuffle line. There are four additional colors iPod shuffle in addition to silver, they are: pink, green, blue, and orange.
http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/
iPod shuffle @ Apple Store
Apple iPhone: Scott Bourne Might Know Something
AppleInsider is reporting one interesting tidbit about Apple iPhone. Apple Insider is quoting CNBC analyst Jim Cramer that Cingular/AT&T would give 18 months of service for free with the purchase of Apple iPhone to lure Verizon Wireless customers.
From Jim Cramer’s TheStreet.com article:
Cramer said AT&T is one of the most interesting stories coming out of the tech period. In its call, the company made it very clear that it’s going to use Apple’s iPhone to get customers from Verizon Wireless by giving away its service for a year and a half to those customers who buy the phone.
Verizon Wireless customers only? What about Cingular customers? I already have service with Cingular. I WANT MY FREE SERVICE!
I can only hope that Scott Bourne is right. Bourne mentioned in MacBreak Weekly 26 he heard some rumors that the price for the Apple iPhone would include some service.
You can listen to MacBreak Weekly 26 at time-marker 27:25 for Scott Bourne’s comments.
I know this is somewhat a wishful thinking on my part. Should it be true, this would certainly drive up Apple iPhone adoption rate. I hope that Cingular would at least give the data service for free or at a severely discounted rate.
One could only hope – but it sounds too good to be true!
Post CES and MacWorld Blues
Now that CES and MacWorld are over, it’s time to look back.
CES is still a much larger event and yet it was eclipsed by Steve Jobs’ MacWorld Keynote. Once again, Apple stole CES’ thunder. I am still processing and formulating the information overloads from CES and MacWorld.
Let’s see.
MacWorld
- Apple iPhone, AppleTV, and the new Airport Extreme base station. No real news about Mac OS X, Macs, and other softwares from Apple.
- ModBook – A tablet Mac.
- No GPS support on Mac OS X from Garmin
- …to becontinued
CES
- XBox 360 HD video and larger hard drive.
- Something about Windows Vista and its variants.
- Sling Media’s SlingCatcher.
- Tons of other products, to be added later.
This will take a while for me to write something interesting regarding CES and MacWorld.
Look! It’s a Phone, It’s an iPod, It’s a MacPhone!
A short editorial
On January 9, 2006 Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, introduced the much rumored Apple iPhone during his annual keynote at MacWorld San Francisco. As written on Apple website: “Introducing iPhone. Apple reinvents the phone.”
For the last 3 years Apple has been rumored to have been working on a phone-like device. Apple and Motorola introduced Motorola ROKR, an iTunes-enabled phone on September 7, 2005 and somewhat closed a chapter on the rumor. Motorola has since then released other iTunes-enabled phones such as RAZR V3 and KRZR.
Apple iPhone is a different breed compared to any iTunes-enabled phones. Its appearance resembles more like an iPod than a phone. There are other smart phones with touch screen, but Apple strives to make its iPhone to be a class of its own. Underneath its shell, Apple iPhone runs a variant of Mac OS X. Its capabilities make Apple iPhone more like a Mac than a phone.
Steve Jobs on his keynote said that Apple would like to capture 1% of Mobile Phone market, or about 10 million units. Should Apple be able to reach that goal, they would be shipping an additional 10 million of Mac OS X. It is a surprise that Apple didn’t call it “MacPhone”.
Apple iPhone is tentatively scheduled for release in June 1007.
Links for MacWorld Live Coverage
UPDATE:
Thanks to slower-than-modem Wi-Fi connection I had been unable to add the links on time.
I have added more links after Steve Jobs’ Keynote ends. The coverage provided great insight on the Keynote.
Watch the Keynote webcast
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/keynote/
or
http://www.apple.com/iphone/keynote/
Many Mac-sites will be providing live coverage on Steve Jobs’ Keynote on Macworld San Francisco. More links will be added as they post their links to MacWorld Live Coverage.
MacScoop – http://keynote.macscoop.com/
LoopRumors – http://www.looprumors.com/keynote.php
Mac Rumors – http://www.macrumors.com/events/mwsf2007.html
Mac OS Rumors – http://specialevent.macosrumors.com:17530/
Think Secret – http://www.thinksecret.com/news/0701mwsflive.html
The Mac Observer – http://live.macobserver.com/article/2007/01/mwsfkeynote.shtml
Macsimum News – http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/todays_the_day_steve_jobs_mwsf_keynote/
MacDailyNews – http://www.macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/12203/
I will be posting updates from MacWorld.
No Sleep ’till MacWorld San Francisco 2007
My Colleague and I are going to MacWorld San Francisco 2007. Thanks to the people who’s providing us some funds for lodging and transportation. We will be staying somewhere nearby the Moscone Center. Let’s see what Apple would do this year.
I’ll be somewhat reporting the whole trip to, at, and from MacWorld. As always, I’ll be posting entries on my blogs (37primeBlog and 37prime.worpress.com). I’ll attempt posting on both blogs at the same time, if possible. Most likely I’d be posting first on my main blog (37primeBlog), and add the entries to the “mirror” (37prime.wordpress.com) later on. My trusty MacBook Pro will be accompanying me along with my digital camera and video camera.
I am highly anticipating the arrival of the much fabled “Apple phone”. My current phones are at least 2 and 3 years old (Sony-Ericsson T616 and T637), both share 1 SIM card. Both phone don’t really work that well, and I’ve been swithcing between the two for the past few months.
No surprises when it comes to the iLife ’07 and iWork ’07; they are coming with some enhancements.
I have heard a thing or two about the “iTV”; none of the rumor sites ever mentioned them. I trust my sources for the informations. If only they woud make Mac mini with “iTV” functionalities.
The usual upgrades/updates to Macintosh line would be no brainer. Then again, Apple will be releasing new and updated products throughout the first quarter of 2007. Special event in February? By doing so, Apple will stay in the media spotlight (no pun intended, or is it?) throughout the quarter and the year.
Many speculate that Apple would be releasing Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard on MacWorld. It’s such a wishful thinking based on the current state of Leopard Developer Preview Releases. Apple has not released any Leopard with Release Candidate label. To paraphrase Leo Laporte who’s quoting someone else, “Wouldn’t it be great for Apple to release Leopard two weeks before the actual Windows Vista release date?”
This is quite a long post……..
…to be continued
…maybe
p.s. Yes, the title was from Beastie Boys’ “No Sleep ’till Brooklyn”
iPod shuffle Reset Utility 1.0.1 and Windows Vista
There has been reports that iPod shuffle Reset Utility 1.0.1 is not compatible with Windows Vista, I cannot confirm this as of yet. My main Windows computer currently runs Windows Vista RC2 Build 5744. I also run Windows Vista RTM (Business and Ultimate) on different computers.
According to Apple Support, iPod shuffle Reset Utility 1.0.1 for Windows System Requirements:
- Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4
- Windows XP with Service Pack 2
I will test the iPod shuffle Reset Utility 1.0.1 with Windows Vista (RC2 and RTM). Watch for this post for the result soon.
On Windows Vista RC2 Build 5744, iPod shuffle Reset Utility 1.0.1 failed to install.
(screen capture to be added later)
More about iPod Shuffle Reset Utility 1.0.1