Live Blog From Apple Event: Steve Jobs Appears

CNBC.com

Steve Jobs

This is the live blog from the Wednesday's Apple event with Steve Jobs making a long awaited public appearance. The first post is at the bottom of the page and works up to the most recent.

2:16 PM/ET: Steve on stage, gives Norah a nice kiss on the cheek. And says "that's what we have for you today. We'll see you soon." And the event is over.

2:15 PM/ET: Norah now playing a cut from her new album called "Youngblood." Too cool. She sounds great. Also, says she's happy to see Steve doing so well.

2:10 PM/ET: She's singing "Come Away with Me." Sultry, perfect. Even though she confides that "This is probably the earliest I've ever played."

2:07 PM/ET: Steve adding some final thoughts: great teams of people, but we're driven by great music. Introducing a special guest: Norah Jones is here to perform (a personal favorite of mine, by the way. Wow. 3 albums, 36 million sold, and 9 Grammies.)

2:06 PM/ET: Sounds to be wrapping up the event. All environmentally sensitive, says Jobs.

2:05 PM/ET: A larger 2.2 inch display. And it comes in "awesome" colors. Finally figured out how to do colors that are just unimaginably beautiful, says Jobs. 8 gigs for $149, and 16 gigs for $179. All available TODAY! So what about all those reports of manufacturing snafus that could delay release? Apparently not true!

2:04 PM/ET: A new, built-in FM radio, voice recording, a pedometer.

2:02 PM/ET: Apple's already sold 100 million iPod Nanos, adding "voiceover," and Genius Mixes.

2:01 PM/ET: So, to be clear: Apple unveils a new Nano with camera, and NOT a separate video camera device. But this will supply new competition for the Flip, and Cisco should take notice.

Source: apple.com

New iPod Nano

2:00 PM/ET: 8 gigs, for free! "This is the new Apple!" He's kidding. On the back of every new Apple iPod Nano will be an awesome video camera. It's 1.1 cu inches, versus the Flip at 10.1 cu inches. Pretty amazing when you think about it.

1:59 PM/ET: And now we know why Eric Schmidt is here. Apple unveiling its own camera that will compete with Cisco owned Pure Digital Flip. Wow.

1:58 PM/ET: Steve back on stage. But there is ONE MORE THING!!! AN APPLE VIDEO CAMERA!

!1:55 PM/ET: iPod Classic: 120 gigs today is $249. Increasing to 160 gigs, but same price. Now 40,000 songs. New headphones coming to the iPod Shuffle. New headphones coming from other manufacturers.

1:54 PM/ET: Talking iPod pricing now. $199 is a magic price point in the iPod market. $229 becomes $199 for the 8GB version, $299 for 32 gigs, and $399 for the 64 gig version. New versions are up to 50 percent faster. A "more affordable gateway to the App Store." Now showing the new iPod Touch ad.

1:51 PM/ET: Madden NFL 10 launches today on the App Store.

Gameloft

Gameloft

1:50 PM/ET: Stellar graphics here. And deep content, including playlists, replays, and "hot routes," letting you draw the play you want to run right on the screen using your finger. This is VERY cool.

1:48 PM/ET: Up next, Travis Boatman from Electronic Arts. Bringing Madden NFL 10 to App Store.

1:46 PM/ET: Integrated media player so you can listen to your iPod music while you're playing the game. Nice!

1:45 PM/ET: Gameloft's Mark Hickey coming up, shipping 35 new titles as of today for App Store, with 20 million downloads so far. Unveiling first-person shooter game called Nova, 12 levels, 5 weapons, and stunning graphics. This looks cool.

1:44 PM/ET: The guy actually playing the game with the music mix, Andrew, is stealing the show right now, bouncing to the rhythm. Hysterical!

1:42 PM/ET: Now showing Tapulous, games and titles specifically for iPhone/Touch. Its first title has 10 million users. Bart Decrem, founder and CEO on stage now. His goal was to grab 1 million users in his first year. He did it in 3 weeks. Stunning.

Tapulous

1:40 PM/ET: The graphics of this game are impressive. Sony execs recently told me that iPhone/Touch couldn't offer the kind of console or mobile experience that they could. I'm no gaming expert, but this stuff looks damn close. Impressive.

1:39 PM/ET: In case you missed Steve's opening statement: "I'm very happy to be here today with you all. As some of you may know, about five months ago I had a liver transplant. So I now have the liver of a mid 20's person who died in a car crash and was generous enough to donate their organs. And I wouldn't be here without such generosity."

1:37 PM/ET: 07 titles on Sony's PSP, 3,680 on the DS, but an astonishing 21,178 game titles on Apple's App Store.

1:35 PM/ET: A great gaming platform, better than Sony's PSP and Nintendo's DS. No multi-touch and other tech that's standard on the Touch. And the games are expensive, and hard to find at stores.

1:34 PM/ET: And it fits in your pocket (shows a Dell laptop trying to be crammed into a back pocket) and not everyone can claim that!

1:30 PM/ET: Customers have figured out it's a great pocket computer, thanks to WiFi connection and the mobile browser Safari. Email too.

1:29 PM/ET: So how does he look? Still thin. His movements seem slower, his voice too remains thin. Not frail by any measure, but definitely not "robust" either. In charge? Absolutely. Controlling the room? Definitely. If there were a question about whether his return was in name only, make no mistake: Jobs is back.

1:27 PM/ET: While this demo is going on, let me share some thoughts on Steve. His appearance is key, and not surprising if you've been watching our coverage. What was surprising is the detail Jobs offered on his liver transplant, and the deep emotion he shared in the experience as well as his heart-felt thank yous to his supporters. It struck exactly the right tone, and supplied the kind of emotion not necessarily associated with Jobs. And the assembled crowd of media and invited guests was absolutely silent. It's as if the entire room stood still.

1:25 PM/ET: iTunes 9 demo is over, and Steve is back on stage. Why such success for the Touch? It's a great iPod, says Schiller. A great video experience, too. Treat for discovering new music, thanks to WiFi and the link to iTunes, and Genius.

CNBC.com

1:20 PM/ET: Phil Schiller now talking about iPod. 73.8 percent market share in the US. Over 220 million have been sold. Of all iPods sold today, 50 percent are to NEW customers! The iPod Touch is the fastest growing seller in the family, selling over 20 million iPod Touch to date.

1:18 PM/ET: Steve off stage now while another handles the actual demo of iTunes 9.

1:17 PM/ET:Introducing iTunes LP: liner notes, essays, artwork. Showing American Beauty from the Dead, videos, lyrics, chronology. Showing Bob Dylan, Doors, Norah Jones, Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews. Artists get involved too.Rich content.

1:14 PM/ET:Home sharing is also introduced: letting you copy songs, movies, everything on up to 5 computers in your house. Streaming content from one comp to the next, or dragging and copying.

1:13 PM/ET: Syncing photos, albums, events and faces, movies, offering specific control, but now adding a way to sync apps from iPhone and Touch to desktop and back again.

1:12 PM/ET: As Steve describes the new Genius mixes, he's also discussing new and improved syncing capabilities.

1:10 PM/ET: Now applying "Genius" to other parts of iTunes. 54 billion songs submitted and analyzed, enabling Apple to create new Genius playlists. Applying the same tech and databases to Genius mixes.

1:09 PM/ET: To music now, starting with iTunes, now in 23 different countries. The number 1 music retailer in the world now. Sold 8.5 billion songs, but a statistic even more amazing to me, says Jobs, is the 100 million accounts now on iTunes. Introducing iTunes 9 today.

1:08 PM/ET: iPhone 3.1 software is a free download. Adding ringtones, 30,000 of them at $1.29 from four recording labels.

1:07 PM/ET: New version of iPhone software. The same Genius music recommendation software now applied to the App Store, and makes recommendations for new apps based on the ones you've already purchased.

1:06 PM/ET: Apple has sold 30 million iPhones. Over 75,000 apps in the App Store. Users have downloaded over 1.8 billion apps, not including updates.

1:05 PM/ET:Running tape to our truck so you can see and hear Steve's very moving opening comments.

• Bartiromo: A Leader in Innovation: Steve Jobs and the Apple Mystique

1:04 PM/ET: Jobs says - I'm very happy to be here today. About 5 months ago, I had a liver transplant. Now have a liver of a mid-20s, who died in a car crash. I wouldn't be here without that generosity. Espousing the virtues of organ donation. Thanks the Mac community, customers, Tim Cook.

1:03 PM/ET: Steve Jobs on stage. Standing ovation!!

CNBC.com

Apple Event

1:02 PM/ET: Lights dimming.

1:01 PM/ET: Rolling Stones now on the PA, "It's Only Rock & Roll but I Like It." But no Mick Jagger sighting

12:53 PM/ET: It is packed in here. The Who is on the PA, and there's probably 30 cameras inside.

Let the LiveBlog begin!

Walking into the event now.

Bizarre, but Google's Eric Schmidt just walked by and said hello. Why he's here, I haven't an idea especially after his departure from Apple's board last month.

Odd.

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