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Editor's Note: This is the live blog from today's Apple iPhone event. You can read the posts, starting from the bottom of the page to the most recent here at the top.
2:29pm/ET: Event is over. Thanks for reading!!! I'm suffering from a bad case of Numb Thumb. This entire blog composed on my Blackberry Bold. A short media Q&A begins shortly. Check back later for more updates!
2:28pm/ET: Shipping iPhone 3.0 this summer. Free to existing customers, and it will work on original iPhone, except for MMS and stereo Bluetooth. $9.95 for iPod Touch users.
2:27pm/ET: App store is available in 15 new countries, now a total of 77 countries of the 80 the iPhone is sold in.
2:26pm/ET: Beta for developers for all this is available today. Joswiak back on stage. It starts testing today.
2:25pm/ET: Already getting email that Spotlight is a rip-off from the upcoming Palm Pre[PALM
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2:23pm/ET: Languages. Adding support for more languages and changing keyboards to support languages around the world.
2:22pm/ET: Shake to shuffle goes from the Nano to the Touch and iPhone. Wi-Fi auto login, stereo Bluetooth (finally) which works for headphones and speakers.
2:21pm/ET: Spotlight rocks. No question.
2:18pm/ET: Adding Search to ALL apps, not just contacts anymore. Search mail not just on iPhone, but Search continues on the server. That's great in case a message doesn't make it to your handheld. Search songs and videos on your iTunes library. Search everything from a new homescreen called "Spotlight." Great idea. So simple. So Apple.
2:17pm/ET: Big changes for the stock app. Nice additions in news and graphics.
2:17pm/ET: New additions to Calendar, with support now for CalDAV, for calendar sharing. And now, support for subscriptions to add movie premiers and sports team schedules.
2:16pm/ET: Voice memos! Record memos to yourself, lectures, presentations. And then you can edit the recording. Send via email or MMS.
2:15pm/ET: Finally, support for MMS messaging (applause!) Maps, audio and location support. Added directly to existing apps.
2:13pm/ET: Landscape support has always been part of the iPhone. Works for websites, and text. Now taking landscape to mail as well, so your keyboard is wider and works better for email composition. Same with Notes. Always wondered why this wasn't the case right out of the gate. But it's here now. Which is nice.
2:11pm/ET: Cut Copy and Paste works across all apps, shake to erase, developer API's, and Cocoa Touch support for text.
2:09pm/ET: And it works with photos too. Which it should. But it's cool to see anyway.
2:08pm/ET: Make a mistake, and like an Etch-a-Sketch, shake the phone and the copy is erased. Such a neat feature.
2:06pm/ET: Loud applause. He opens up Mail, and now, for the first time, select text, and you see a "cut copy and paste" bubble, and you're done. Simple. Other smart phone users have gotten used to this capability, but Apple has lagged. Now it's here. And it works across a variety of apps, not just in Mail, but Notes and others too.
2:04pm/ET: "We work our asses off," Forstall says. iPhone 3.0 now has 100 new features for our customers. CUT COPY AND PASTE! About time.
2:03pm/ET: Wild applause. Can't wait to see this again on YouTube. Don't laugh. 500,000 downloads, easy!
2:02pm/ET: So cool. You use the touch capabilities, the mic to blow into, and now a peer-to-peer capability, wirelessly letting you create a duet. This is neat. Phantom of the Opera, now via iPhone. Weird. Very, very weird.
2:01pm/ET: Smule is by far the most successful iPhone developer. It's first app was developed in Nov. 2008, turning your iPhone into an electronic flute. 700,000 have downloaded it already and millions have played it. Leaf Trombone World Stage is now being unveiled.
1:59pm/ET: Electronic Arts [ERTS
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] was on stage showing a new version of Sims, which accessed iPod, and you can play music through iPod and then on the iPhone. Oracle [ORCL
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] (earnings tomorrow) showed new business apps. ESPN [DIS
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] showed that it can deliver video via Wi-Fi or 3G depending on your connectivity. Whatever's better. LifeScan showed medical apps for diabetics, glucose measuring. And now ngmoco is showing its latest shooter game, developing games just for iPhone. That should catch you up so far. Now Smule is on stage. Dr. Ge Wang is on stage showing a brand new Smule musical instrument for iPhone.
1:50pm/ET: So, the Power Lunch hit now done, switching gears to MSNBC. We'll do a quick update here, and then back inside for more from the event.
1:48pm/ET: Editor's Note: Jim is LIVE on CNBC's Power Lunch and will shortly resume this live blog from Apple's Town Hall Meeting Room regarding a new operating system for its iPhone.
1:34pm/ET: Heading out to do a quick live shot update on Power Lunch with Ben Bajarin, director of consumer technology at Creative Strategies. Tune in for that, and then I'll be heading back inside.
1:32pm/ET: meebo needed iPhone push notification before it could add itself on the App. Now that it's here, so is meebo.
1:30pm/ET: This is a big update for the iPhone SDK. Showing some new developer apps: first up meebo. 45 million people sending 5 billion messages a month, moving it native to the iPhone. Seth Sternberg, meebo CEO and co-founder on stage to talk. This joins Facebook Connect announced earlier this week.
1:28pm/ET: It also preserves battery life and doesn't drain the device's performance.
1:28pm/ET: Here's how it works: instant messaging application. When you quit the app, you no longer have that app, or communication, open. But through Apple's push notification, you're always available, and it's completely customizable. Either SMS or Text.
1:27pm/ET: This is a live blog from Apple's Town Hall Meeting room [AAPL
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1:25pm/ET: From a nearby Apple observer: "Wow."
1:24pm/ET: Push notification: a rare admission, "We're late on this one." We had 1,000 apps, and 100 million downloads. We had to completely re-architect the server to handle "push." Now, we're good to go.
1:22pm/ET: One more thing with Maps: we're enabling developers to use core location for turn-by-turn directions. One catch: bring your own maps. We can't pass on tiles for maps in turn-by-turn.
1:21pm/ET: Maps: Apple [AAPL
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] working with Google [GOOG
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] to build an incredible mapping capability. Developers want to integrate maps into their own apps. Now that's possible. Apple making maps a "public API" that developers can embed into their own apps.
1:20pm/ET: Healthcare apps as well. Automatic blood pressure. Talk through the dot connector and/or Bluetooth.
1:18pm/ET: Accessories: thousands of accessories. A speaker is popular. Now, with iPhone 3.0 SDK, enable developers to create accessories that talk directly to the iPhone. An FM transmitter is cool because you can stream music from iPhone or Touch that can automatically find the optimal FM station to play music in your car.
I love this.
1:17pm/ET: Not just for gaming. Works for sales, collaboration, good for the enterprise.
1:17pm/ET: Next, support for peer-to-peer connectivity. A few kids in the backseat of the car, each with an iPhone or Touch. A new API searches for nearby devices, and the game can be played by multiple players, against each other, via BLUETOOTH. No pairing. Completely seamless. Very cool!
Using Bonjour for device discovery. 1:15pm/ET: The whole thing is tied directly to the iTunes store. Validates account, and then new apps are quickly downloaded. Developer sets the price, 70 percent of revenue goes to developer, and developers are paid monthly.
This is for paid apps only.
1:12pm/ET: Going over the developer's arrangement. Developers want "subscriptions," magazine publishers, game developers who want to sell inside the app itself. eBook app writers want a bookstore. Apple now supporting all these new revenue models. Apple calls it in/app.
1:11pm/ET: This is a live blog from Apple's Town Hall Meeting room regarding the iPhone [AAPL
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1:10pm/ET: "A major update" to the operating system. For developers, a year ago, announced the native developer's kit. The same tools Apple staff developers use. What they did with this "blew us away." 25,000 reasons for customers to buy an iPhone. 1,000 new API's for developers.
1:09pm/ET: "Clearly we have created something profound, amazing" says Joswiak. Scott Forstall is now on stage unveiling kernels of the new OS.
1:08pm/ET: 96 percent of Apps submitted have been approved, and 98 percent were approved in 7 days or less. Have now surpassed 800 million downloads in just 8 months. That's extraordinary.
1:07pm/ET: The App Store is a "meritocracy" Demeter says. His game Trism is one of the most popular downloads.
1:07pm/ET: Showcasing developer Steve Demeter, a "one man shop" developing games for iPhone on its SDK.
1:06pm/ET: In one year, 800,000 downloads of the free iPhone software developer kit, and over 50,000 programs have been developed. Over 60 percent never developed for Apple platform before.
Wow! That's significant.
Tantamount to retail stores selling more than half its Macs to NEW Apple [AAPL
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] customers.
CORRECTION:The number is actually 25,000. There are 50,000 software developers creating them.
1:05pm/ET: iPhone is now in 80 countries. Original goal was 10 million iPhones in Calendar 2008. Sold 13.7 million instead. And 17 million so far. iPhone 3G was an inflection point. iPod Touch has sold 30 million iPhone and iPod Touch.
1:02pm/ET: Event is beginning. And iPod and iPhone Marketing VP Greg Joswiak is on stage.
1:00pm/ET: Packed house!
Apple [AAPL
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] just opened the door to its Town Hall meeting room, and we're all getting ready for the event which begins at 10aPDT.
Lots of speculation about what new upgrades may be part of iPhone.
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I'm told from sources on the ground here that cut-and-paste is a definite, so is "multi-tasking" allowing iPhone users to run multiple programs simultaneously. That's a big deal for consumers but an even bigger deal for business/enterprise users, and another reason why they might feel compelled to switch over to the iPhone if they're currently using a Blackberry from Research in Motion [RIMM
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How Apple achieves multi-tasking on a relatively slow microprocessor inside the iPhone remains to be seen.
Also, remember, today's updates are merely a "sneak peak" into the new iPhone operating system. The new version likely won't be available until the June time-frame if update histories are any indication.
I'm told Bluetooth changes/additions are unlikely. Likewise, I'm hearing mixed reaction to photo and video upgrades. We'll see.
Also, as far as a hardware upgrade — new chips, different screen, and any form factor changes, don't look for those until the anniversary date, again in late June.
Either way, today's announcements are absolutely key to keeping the buzz around iPhone alive.
The live blog will begin shortly.
Questions? Comments?
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes