Today's Live Blog of Apple's WWDC--iPhone Re-Launch
The new iPhone is out! Here are the posts of the live blog from the Apple event at the Moscone West building in San Francisco, California. If you weren't able to follow along at the time we posted, they are here for you now. You might want to start at the bottom as the most recent posts are at the top. Enjoy!
2:55 pm EST: That's it for the live blog. Thanks for tuning in. I'm off to do some TV reports.
2:51 pm EST: Wow, how weird is that? Unveils the phone with a TV commercial, but doesn't "show" it by holding it. Very, very strange. His talk just concluded.
2:47 pm EST: Available in 22 countries to start on July 11. Now showing the new iPhone TV ad.
2:46 pm EST:The 16Gig, in both black and white, for $299.
2:45 pm EST: The iPhone 3G will sell for $199 as I reported on the air earlier today. This is for the 8Gig model.
2:44 pm EST: Our stretch goal was 25 countries, and we'll be in 70 countries this year, says Jobs.
2:43 pm EST: Six countries today. 12 countries for iPhone 3G and 25 countries over the next several months. The goal. How'd we do? Playing "It's a Small World" in the background (good to be Disney's largest shareholder!) he's showing a global map of iPhone's penetration: 70 countries!
2:40 pm EST: Enterprise support: Full Microsoft Exchange and Cisco Systems support.
2:38 pm EST: The 3G version of the iPhone is approaching wi-fi speeds, without sacrificing battery life: 300 hours of standby, on 2G talktime: 10 hours. On 3G talk-time, an industry leading 5 hours, browsing: dive to six hours, video seven hours, audio 24 hours. Very important. Also, built in GPS, which becomes a problem for Garmin and others since your iPhone might someday replace those devices.
2:36 pm EST: Using wi-fi, the download time is 17 seconds for the same page. And 36 percent faster than Treo from Palm or the BlackBerry from RIM .
2:35 pm EST: 3G offers faster data downloads. EDGE Network versus 3G: wow. Exponentially faster. 21 second download time in 3G versus, well, versus... The EDGE network phone is still trying to catch up! Still waiting. And waiting. 59 seconds on EDGE. 2.8 times faster.
2:33 pm EST: It's beautiful. Thinner at the edges. Full plastic back. Solid metal buttons. Same 3.5 inch display, camera, flush headphone jack, dramatically improved audio.
2:32 pm EST: New iPhone will be 3G. We need to sell iPhones in more countries. We're in six countries so far, but believe me they're in use in many more countries. IPhone will be more affordable. This is the NEWS now!! Today, introducing iPhone 3G.
2:31 pm EST: 90 percent customer satisfaction. 98 percent are browsing. 94 percent are using email. 90 percent are text messaging. 80 percent are using at least 10 features. We've sold 6 million that first year.
2:30 pm EST: Shipped first iPhone on June 29, and will soon celebrate its first birthday. "This is the phone that changed phones forever."
2:28 pm EST: Mobileme comes with 20Gigs of online storage, with Apple offering a 60-day free trial. Mobileme replaces .mac. Current users of .mac will automatically be upgraded. Apple will charge $99 a year for the service. Jobs is back on stage.
2:27 pm EST: Schiller wrapping up his mobileme demo.
2:22 pm EST: So far, the most noticeable part of this "Steve Jobs" keynote, aside from the nifty apps (some more nifty than others) is the decidely small amount of stage-time for Jobs himself. Intriguing. And unusual.
2:21 pm EST: A web-based application that will certainly be compelling for both enterprise users and consumers, and what could be a big-time new competitor for Microsoft. Google has been focused on similar kinds of web-based apps, but these are pretty powerful. Look good and are very desktop-like (and that's a compliment!)
2:19 pm EST: Schiller now demo'ing the service.
2:18 pm EST: All accessible at "me.com." Web-based email but it feels like a desktop application.
2:16 pm EST: This is Apple's foray into Cloud computing. Email gets pushed to all my mobile devices, laptops, iPhone. Make changes on the fly to calendar and meeting changes or contacts, and ALL your devices are updated automatically by mobileme. Works not just with native Apple apps, but also Microsoft Outlook.
2:14 pm EST: Now something "entirely new" called "Mobile Me." Phil Schiller unveiling this brand new service. "Exchange" for the rest of us. Schiller talking about "ActiveStink, I mean, Active Sync." Laughter.
2:10 pm EST: Reiterating that developers keep 70 percent of revenue, and Apple doesn't charge hosting or credit card fees. Enlarging scope of Apps Store from 22 countries to 62 countries.
2:09 pm EST: IPhone 2.0 software FREE in July for all current iPhone users. $9.99 to "Touch" users.
2:07 pm EST: Available in September, but developers get access next month. Steve Jobs now back on stage. Now showing some new software features: "contact search," "full iWork document support," "Word," "Excel," and now "PowerPoint too." Bulk "delete and move." Save images from emails right to your photo library. Added parental control. "Some teenagers might not like this but that's the way it'll have to be," says Jobs. Added many languages, including two forms of Japanese and Chinese.
2:04 pm EST: One feature request: instant messaging even when the user isn't running an application. Some software makers use "background processes," where the application runs even if you think you've quit it. It eats CPU cycles, lowering performance and eating battery life. A knock on Microsoft which offers a "task manager" to prompt you through a solution. "This is nuts," says Forrestall who says Apple will now offer a "push notification service." Apple will maintain the IP connection to the phone and apps creators and Third Party companies--like eBay--can work through Apple's systems to reach customers and subscribers.
2 pm EST: The last demo comes from Digital Legends Entertainment from Barcelona, Spain. Xavier Carrillo Costa now on stage. The graphics of his adventure game, only two weeks in development, are striking. Truly stunning and makes you consider that iPhone could truly become a competitor to Sony's PSP and Nintendo's DS. Wow. Round of applause for all iPhone developers!
1:57 pm EST: A dozen more educational software titles as well. Now MIMvista, and medical imaging software. Mark Cain is now on stage. (And yes, a few more groans that these demos are continuing.) MIMvista showing a CT and PET scan blended on the screen, moving together. Nifty. Think of doctors now accessing data once reserved only for the hospital. Or on a desktop. Doctors can now be "in the loop" with key data access--the way it looks in their offices--wherever they happen to be.
1:53 pm EST: Now Modality showing off medical apps for the iPhone. When Apple first showed med apps, they focused on Hippocrates. Dr. S. Mark Williams now showing educational software. Think, flash cards but electronic and infinitely more informative than mere paper. Images are crystal clear, and then students can jump out to the web, from that image, for more data. Very neat.
1:50 pm EST: Major League Baseball, and is on stage now with Jeremy Schoenherr to show a brand new app exclusive to the iPhone. It's called "At Bat." Game details, line score, automatically updated. Taking advantage of iPhone's media player, now you can access real-time video highlights of the game you're interested in. Clips can be accessed minutes after they happened in the game.
1:48 pm EST: Each of the games will be available for $9.99. Yet another developer: An individual guy from the insurance business in England. Mark Terry is showing off his "Cow Music." His app is called "Band.". Turns the iPhone into a two-octave piano, you can add percussion (Funky Drummer), there's Bar Blues that give you all the elements you need to compose your own blues tunes. And a bass guitar. Crowd LOVES this. Laughter and wild applause. Everything can be mixed together. No price yet. Very cool!
1:45 pm EST: Enigmo first, then CroMag Rally. Yes, caveman racing. Graphics are stellar. Neat stuff. But you gotta wonder about so many demos. I'm hearing scattered moans from nearby media who want to see the new iPhone. If there is one. (Kidding.)
1:42 pm EST: And yes, the AP app will also be free. Pangea Software, a game developer, is now on stage with Brian Greenstone. Games originally developed for the Mac OSX, now available for the iPhone.
1:41 pm EST: Now the Associated Press is on stage. With Benjamin Mosse, showing off the "Mobile News Network." You can automatically retrieve "local" news no matter where you are because the iPhone knows where you are. Not just text and photos, but video as well.
1:39 pm EST: TypePad also available for free at, you guessed it, when the apps store launches.
1:37 pm EST: TypePad's Michael Sippey is showing off mobile blogging software. Easy to type. Easy to add photos. All mobile. Really capturing the multi-media strengths of the iPhone.
1:36 pm EST: Loopt will be free on the iPhone when the apps store launches. (Kinda makes you wonder when the apps store actually launches! Stay tuned!)
1:35 pm EST: Now, Loopt is on stage, with Sam Altman. The site is about connecting with people on the go. The device shows you where friends are, how close they may be to your actual location. "We've developed for every major mobile application and this is by far the most powerful."
1:34 pm EST: Sun is searching for a Nintendo Wii, and here's the power of the iPhone. You might be "mobile," but your experience is very desk-top looking. In other words, what you see on eBay on your Mac or PC is what you now can see on the iPhone. The eBay app is available for free when the apps store launches.
1:32 pm EST: Next up is eBay . 84 million active users. Ken Sun from eBay showing Auctions on the iPhone. iPhone is the number 1 mobile device for accessing eBay, he says.
1:30 pm EST: The iPhone's accelerometer an important tool for gamers. Tilt control works beautiful. A fantastic gaming experience. This game is available at the launch of the apps store for $9.99.
1:29 pm EST: Now inviting a number of developers on stage to show off new apps. Sega is first. Ethan Einhorn from Sega is demo'ing Super Monkey Ball. Back in March, Sega showed off 4 stages. Eight weeks later, more than a hundred stages. Five distinct worlds and four key characters.
1:27 pm EST: These capabilities have been out for about 3 months. More customer testimonials about how easy it is to develop new apps for the iPhone.