Mac OS X Lion

A major release with over 250 new features, of which ten were featured at the keynote.

Multi-Touch Gestures – disappearing scroll bars, fluid momentum based scrolling, swiping, and taps.
Full Screen Apps – takes advantage of every pixel on the screen. Standard method for developers to create full-screen apps. There is a new Full-Screen button. You can have more than one full-screen apps running at same time. Not like how it used to be. You can three-finger swipe to the right to go back to your desktop without closing the full-screen app.
Mission Control – Expose and Spaces combined. A simple three-finger swipe upwards takes you into Mission Control which is a bird-eye view of everything going on in your system. Multiple desktops and multiple full-screen apps, all easy to see and get to.
Mac App Store – Built-in to Lion. In-app purchases, push notifications, sandboxing for better security, and delta updates.
LaunchPad – A pinch motion makes all your applications fly onto your screen. The screen looks very similar to the iPhone and iPad icons grid interface.
Resume – Brings you right back to where you were when you quit the application. It works system wide, not just in apps.
Auto Save – Lion will automatically saves everything for you in the background. Adds a new History dropdown to your menu bar including Lock, Duplicate, Revert to Last Opened, and Browse All Versions.
Versions – can take manual snapshots, only changes are stored, not entire document in each version. Looks a lot like Time Machine, but works per document rather than your whole system. You can even cut and paste between the versions.
AirDrop – easy way to share files. Peer-to-peer WiFi-based network. Your system automatically detects who else around you is also running AirDrop. You can drag and drop files to them in this way. Auto-discovery, auto-setup. Confirmations on both sides to be safe, plus data is encrypted.
Mail – Interface revamped with full height message, favorites bar, and message snippets. New search suggestions, boolean searches, and conversation views.

Over 3000 APIs for developers. Easy to upgrade. Available in the Mac App Store. Requires 4GB of space when you buy one, it works on all your Mac devices, you don’t need separate licenses for each device. Priced at only $29.99. Available in July.

iOS 5

iOS 5 is a major release for developers and consumers. There are more than 1,500 APIs for developers and more than 200 new features for consumers. Again, the keynote highlights ten of those features.

Notifications Center – a complete and much needed revamp of the notifications system. Pulls together all notifications into one place that is accessible by down-swiping from the top of the screen, similar to how it’s done in Android. The Notifications Center essentially shows a list of different notifications organized by app. Non-obtrusive notification animation at the top of the screen that quickly goes away but can be easily accessed again later via Notifications Center. Improved lock screen shows more notifications. Sliding your finger across any notification takes you directly to the app where the notification came from. Notifications can also be individually dismissed or dismissed altogether.
News Stand – now easier than ever to access newspapers and magazines on iOS devices with integrated subscriptions feature. Content is downloaded in the background.
Twitter – is now deeply integrated into iOS. Can use single sign-on similar to Facebook’s single sign-on. Twitter becomes a native app and gets its own pane in the settings menu. Twitter is also integrated into native apps such as Camera and Photos, so that you can tweet directly from those apps. You can also tweet from Safari, YouTube videos, and from Maps. Contact photos can also be pulled directly from Twitter profiles.
Safari – a new Safari Reader button has been added that pops up in the address bar, just like how it does on Safari for desktops. Reformats pages to make it easier to read on an iPhone or iPad. Can also email contents of stories compete with its link.
Reading List – allows you to pull various articles together to look at later, much like what third-party service “Read It Later.” It syncs across all iOS devices so that if you didn’t finish reading something on your iPad, you can finish it on your iPhone.
Reminders – a native to-do app that can create virtual post-its and assign reminders and locations to different notes. Location-aware.
Camera – can be accessed faster directly from the lock screen. The volume button can now be used to take the photo. You can now pinch-to-zoom and you can hold your finger on part of an image to set autofocus and exposure lock. You can also edit your photos natively, such as red-eye reduction, quick-enhance, and cropping tools.
Mail – now gets rich-text formatting, indentation support, draggable addresses, and flagging to mark mail items unread. Search now works across the entire message, not just the subject. Better enterprise support with S/MIME support added for encryptions. New split-keyboard option for iPad interface for more convenient thumb typing.
PC Free – no longer needs to be synced with your desktop computer. A new iPhone or iPad will automatically setup and activate. Software updates are now over-the-air and there are now delta updates, which means you can download just what’s changed instead of the entire OS.
Game Center – now more social. Adding photos and you can even compare yourself against your friends and friends of friends. Friends and game recommendations. Support for turn-by-turn games.
iMessages – native enchancement to messaging. Now can do talk with individuals as well as groups. Supports text, photo, and video messaging. Delivery receipts and optional read receipts. You can also see if someone else is typing and the messages are pushed to any device that you’re logged in on. It works over 3G and WiFi and it’s all encrypted.

iOS 5 is scheduled to arrive this fall. Will support iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4, both version of the iPad, and the 3rd and 4th gen of iPod touch.

iCloud

iCloud automatically stores your content in the cloud and wirelessly pushes it to all your devices. It’s integrated with all your apps.
“We have the solution: we’re going to demote the PC and Mac to be “just a device” – we’re going to move your digital life into the cloud,” says Steve Jobs.

MobileMe – syncing contact, calendar, and email are now to be offered through iCloud for free. MobileMe will cease to exist.
AppStore – purchase history can be seen on all devices now even if it isn’t installed on the device. A cloud button is added that lets you download the app to that device at no extra charge.
iBooks – purchase history on all devices as well. Push the cloud button and downloads to the device. Reading a book on one device and bookmarked a page, you can finish reading it on another device.
Backup – wireless backup to the cloud. Once daily, your content is automatically backed up to the cloud. If you ever switch to a new phone, just enter your username and password and your data is automatically synced to that new device from the cloud. Purchased music, apps, books, camera roll for both photos and videos, device settings, and app data are all automatically backed up to the cloud.
Documents in the Cloud – sync documents via the cloud automatically for Pages, Numbers, and Keynote.
Photo Stream – brings your photos to the cloud. Syncs all your photos to all your devices.
iTunes – now you can sync your songs across all your devices. Purchase history is added and allows you to re-download previously purchased songs. There is also the addition of the cloud button that lets you download an already purchased song to a device if its not already on that device. A new iTunes Match feature scans your music library and find a match in Apple’s music library. This way you do not have to upload all your songs to the iCloud, which can take a lot of time. iTunes Match takes only a few minutes. It can even scan and match music that wasn’t purchased from iTunes and stream those songs at 256kbps AAC DRM-free audio quality. This feature, however, costs $24.99 a year.

iCloud will be available with the launch of iOS 5 this fall.

Here’s the link to watch the full keynote.

The new notifications system in iOS 5 will feature essentially a list of notifications ordered by app. The notifications list is called “Notifications Center” and can be accessed by down-swiping from the top of the screen, similar to how it’s done on Android. It’s also less obtrusive, with alerts going away quickly.

A new lock screen will now show missed calls, message, alerts, and notifications listed under the time. Any notifications listed can be dismissed altogether or dismissed one by one. For instance, if you want to just get rid of SMS notifications you can. We will definitely go more in depth on the new iOS 5 notifications system, so make sure to check back. Other iOS 5 developments are still unfolding as we type.

The new Mac App Store will be built into OS X Lion and will be adding in-app purchases, push notifications, and built-in sandboxing mode to ramp up security. There will also be delta updates added to make patching much easier and quicker.

New apps you can get for OS X Lion will support gesture features. Icons will also have the same download/install progress bar as we’re used to seeing for iOS apps.

This was only the beginning, Steve handing off the mic to Phil Schiller and eventually Craig Federighi, both of them showing off the next big Mac OSX project, known simply as LION. For this day they’d only be showing off 10 features, they said, revealing a screen of logos for everyone’s enjoyment and titillation.

UPDATE: we’ve got everything for you in strides! More than we could have ever dreamed of on all of the subjects we’ve listed and more. You can access it all by heading over to the big [WWDC 2011 Portal] and have yourself a click fest!

Again, this is nonsense. Apple, as we know from many moons of reporting on such matters, never confirms anything of this magnitude. This is an unsubstantiated rumor, and ETNews ought to be tossed out of news readers worldwide for producing it as fact. Another small tidbit they mention is that this phone will get a simultaneous release in Korea – maybe, possible, perhaps, but again, irrelevant because they have no real source.

When you hear a true release date for the iPhone 5, if such a product exists (it surely will in the near future,) it will be from Steve Jobs mouth, not a “rumor” perpetuated by “journalists” claiming they’ve got “industry sources” confirming Apple news to them. We guarantee it.

[via ETNews]

The allure is the opportunity to get up close and personal with the Cupertino mothership, with a week of coding workshops, access to Apple engineers and the opportunity to bump ideas up against other Apple developers. There’s also the Apple Design Awards, which every year rewards the best in iOS and Mac apps.

For the rest of us, meanwhile, there’ll be the usual WWDC opening keynote, with Apple promising a preview of what’s coming next in iOS and OS X. That likely means iOS 5.0 and OS X Lion, and you can bet SlashGear will be there to cover all the juicy details.

Last year, Apple used WWDC 2010 to officially announce the iPhone 4, prompting speculation that the company will unveil the fifth-generation smartphone at this year’s developer event. Meanwhile, we’re also expecting to see a third-generation iPad later in the year, complete with a higher-resolution display amid other changes. Finally, mid-2011 might be around the time that high-end users are calling out for a Mac Pro refresh; the last significant update was back in September 2010.

However, various sources are suggesting that the software-themed event won’t be the time for shiny new hardware. The Loop has heard from sources that it’s definitely software-only, which might mean the iPhone 5 has to wait a little longer; after all, it’s not been long since the Verizon iPhone 4 went on sale.

Among the focus this year will be coding for Mac OS X Lion, the next significant update for Mac on the desktop, which itself is expected sometime over the summer. There’ll also be the usual attention paid to iOS, as on the iPad 2 and iPhone; Apple is expected to preview iOS 5.0 complete with new cloud-services and streaming media.

Tickets for WWDC 2011 are available now, with the show running from June 6 to June 10. They’re priced at $1,599.

Press Release:

Apple Worldwide Developers Conference to Kick Off June 6 at Moscone West in San Francisco

CUPERTINO, California—March 28, 2011—Apple® today announced that it will hold its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) June 6 through June 10 at San Francisco’s Moscone West. At this year’s five-day conference Apple will unveil the future of iOS and Mac OS®, including exciting demonstrations of the new kinds of apps that developers can build using Apple’s advanced frameworks and more than 100 technical sessions presented by Apple engineers.

“At this year’s conference we are going to unveil the future of iOS and Mac OS,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “If you are an iOS or Mac OS X software developer, this is the event that you do not want to miss.”

Mobile developers will be able to explore the latest innovations and capabilities of iOS and learn how to greatly enhance the functionality, performance and design of their apps. Mac® developers will see and learn how to develop world-class Mac OS X Lion applications using its latest technologies and capabilities. Developers can even bring their code to the labs and work with Apple engineers, applying development techniques and best-practices to enhance their apps.

Activities at Apple’s WWDC 2011 include:

more than 100 technical sessions presented by Apple engineers on a wide range of technology-specific topics for developing, deploying and integrating the latest iOS and Mac OS technologies;
over 1,000 Apple engineers providing developers with code-level assistance, insight into optimal development techniques, and guidance on how they can make the most of iOS and Mac OS technologies in their apps;
the opportunity to connect with thousands of fellow iPad®, iPhone® and Mac developers from around the world; and
Apple Design Awards which recognize iPad, iPhone and Mac apps that demonstrate technical excellence, innovation and outstanding design.
Go to the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2011 website (developer.apple.com/wwdc) to purchase tickets, as well as for updates and more information.

Apple officially announced the iPhone 4 Monday, which was certainly the biggest story of the week. The device looked just like the ones we saw leaked by Gizmodo and other sources. Shortly after pulling the device out of his pocket, Steve Jobs announced that the prices for the new iPhone would be $199 for 16GB and $299 for 32GB. Both will ship in June 24.

During the WWDC keynote, Jobs also talked about the new iPhone OS now called iOS with iOS 4 the latest version. iOS 4 adds 1500 features to the device. We spend some hands on time with the iPhone 4 Monday and really liked the device. Vince said you have to hold the device to really appreciate how slick it is.

iPhone 4 hands-on:

Tuesday a slide from the WWDC conference was spied that tipped the fact that iWork was coming to the new iPhone 4. One of the slides showed an option for Open in Keynote. MSI WindPad U100 official promo pics were revealed Tuesday. Previously we had seen pics of the device from Computex.

We already know in the US AT&T will be the only carrier with the iPhone 4. In the UK fans get some choices with O2, Vodafone, and Orange all offering the handset. Later Tuesday T-Mobile in the UK also confirmed that it would be getting the iPhone 4. That rounded out the major UK carriers.

Sony debuted a pair of entry level DSLR cameras mid-week. The new cams included the Sony Alpha A290 and the A390. Sprint had announced some very impressive sales numbers for the EVO 4G claiming that the device sold more on day one than the Instinct and Pre combined. Sprint has now come back and admitted that those numbers were wrong.

A video of the Blackberry clamshell 9670 and its OS6 turned up mid-week. That is still one ugly handset if you ask me. A roadmap leaked this week showing that a Nokia N9 and an unknown S-series handset would be coming. There is no word on when these handsets will turn up.

That Pandigital Novel eReader that turned up at Kohl’s a week or so back has been recalled. Apparently, the device was rife with problems with the touchscreen and more. The shiny new iOS4 operating system unveiled alongside the iPhone 4 will be coming to iPhone 3GS and 3G owners. A hack surfaced that enabled multitasking for the older devices.

Android users were hit with a wild SMS bug this week where messages sent to a specific user would end up going to other contacts. That could have been very embarrassing for some users. Some crazy DIY iPad docks were seen including my favorite, the Mac Classic dock. These things are cool, but don’t look that usable.

A new Asus Eee netbook surfaced late in the week called the 1201K. The device has a 12.1-inch screen and uses an AMD Geode CPU. Pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy S smartphone on the Vodafone network are set to start on June 15. The device will have 16GB of storage.

Microsoft announced that as of October 22 of this year it would no longer allow Windows XP to be sold for netbooks. After that, it will be all Windows 7. Wicked Lasers unveiled the crazy powerful Spyder III Pro Arctic laser this week. The thing can make you instantly blind and burn skin.

We have posted up our review of the Dell Stream MID. The device we reviewed was a pre-release handset and there was already a ton to like. Thanks for reading this week’s edition!

The move would allow for more targeted keynotes, workshops and other sessions, suited to developers who may only code for one half of Apple’s product line.  It would also fit in well with speculation – including from our own Michael Gartenberg – that Apple are looking to leverage iOS as a platform not just for smartphones and tablets, but an overall ecosystem of connected devices and screens.

Thanks to Microsoft’s official Twitter, we can safely say that Ballmer won’t be making an appearance at WWDC. Furthermore, he won’t be showing up on Dancing With the Stars, either. And no, he won’t be riding in the Belmont, either. So, consider us relieved to see the hysteria calm down, but a little disappointed that we won’t have something a bit more “shocking” to cover at this year’s WWDC.

Not that the announcement of the iPhone HD isn’t great and all, but we would have loved to see Ballmer and Steve Jobs on the stage together, discussing things we never would have guessed they’d discuss together. Maybe next year. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t tune into SlashGear’s liveblog of the whole event, because we’re pretty sure there’s going to be enough there to keep you satiated (at least for a couple of minutes). So join us June 7th at http://live.slashgear.com.

[via Microsoft's Twitter]

That’s pretty fast work, considering tickets only went on sale on April 28th, and were a not inconsiderable $1,599 for the full five days.  As well as the new contents of iPhone OS 4.0 to pick over, there will be iAd developer workshops and a hefty dose of HTML5.

Of course, for the rest of us what we’re really excited about is the possibility of a few headline hardware announcements on the day one keynote.  The iPhone HD seems likely to make its first official appearance, Apple’s fourth-gen smartphone, while more recently we’ve heard mutterings of new, Core i7 hexacore Mac Pro desktops making their debut too.  SlashGear will be at WWDC 2010 bringing you all the keynote details in our usual liveblog, so join us on June 7th 2010!

So, what do we expect?  Well, a hardware redesign seems inevitable, and judging by the leaked prototype it’s likely to be a little smaller than the current iPhone 3GS and adopt blunter edges.  A higher-resolution camera with a flash is also on the cards, together with a front-facing video camera.  We’ve seen Apple patents recently for various NFC implementations, though there’s no guarantee that such technology would actually make it into this generation of hardware.

Finally, a speedier processor – tipped to be the same 1GHz Apple A4 as in the iPad – and a higher resolution, 960 x 640 display are probable.  There’ll also be iPhone OS 4.0, of course.  For all the details on June 7th 2010, join us at http://live.slashgear.com/ for the liveblog!

Game Center will also be heavily covered, with developers shown how to integrate Apple’s online multitplayer system with their titles.  We’re also guessing that “Adopting Multitasking on iPhone OS” will be a popular session, as devs get to grips with iPhone OS 4.0′s ability to run some APIs in the background.

Meanwhile Apple will also be awarding prizes to ten software developers as part of their Apple Design Award, with an equal split between iPhone and iPad apps.  Attendance doesn’t come cheap, however; a single ticket to the five day event is $1,599, though we’re still expecting them to sell out relatively quickly.

Press Release:

Apple Worldwide Developers Conference Kicks Off June 7 in San Francisco

CUPERTINO, Calif., April 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple® today announced that it will hold its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) June 7 through June 11 at San Francisco’s Moscone West. The five-day conference includes the first ever iPad(TM) development sessions and hands-on working labs for iPhone® OS 4, as well as Mac OS® X core technology labs.

“This year’s WWDC offers developers in-depth sessions and hands-on working labs to learn more about iPhone OS 4, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system,” said Scott Forstall, Apple’s senior vice president of iPhone Software. “WWDC provides a unique opportunity for developers to work side-by-side with Apple engineers and interface designers to make their iPhone and iPad apps even better.”

WWDC 2010 is focused on providing advanced content for skilled developers across five key technology tracks: Application Frameworks; Internet & Web; Graphics & Media; Developer Tools; and Core OS. Apple engineers will deliver over 100 solutions-oriented technical sessions and labs. WWDC 2010 gives an incredibly diverse community the opportunity to connect with thousands of fellow iPhone, iPad and Mac® developers from around the world.

Sessions offered in support of the five technology tracks include:

– Application Frameworks: Implementing Local and Push Notifications;
Future Proofing Your App; Understanding Foundation; What’s New in
Foundation for iPhone OS 4; Advanced Cocoa® Text Tips and Tricks; API
Design for Cocoa and Cocoa Touch®; Advanced Gesture Recognition;
Integrating Ads with iAd; Building a Server-driven Personalized User
Experience; Using Core Location in iPhone OS 4; and Calendar
Integration with Event Kit.
– Internet & Web: Delivering Audio and Video Using Web Standards;
Getting the Most Out of Safari® Integrated Developer Tools; Using
HTML5 Local Data Storage; Adding Touch and Gesture Detection to
Webpages on iPhone OS; and Creating Info Graphics with Standard Web
Technologies.
– Graphics & Media: OpenGL ES Tuning & Optimization; OpenGL ES Shading & Advanced Rendering; OpenGL ES Overview for iPhone OS; OpenGL for Mac OS X; Game Design and Development for iPhone OS; Introduction to Game Center; Setting Up Games on Game Center; Game Center Techniques; Core Animation in Practice; Discovering AV Foundation; Editing Media with AV Foundation; and Advances in HTTP Live Streaming.
– Developer Tools: Developer Tools Overview; Designing Apps with
Interface Builder; Working Effectively with Objective-C® on iPhone OS;
Mastering Core Data; Advanced Objective-C and Garbage Collection
Techniques; Advanced Performance Analysis with Instruments; Mastering
Xcode for iPhone Development; and Adopting Multitasking on iPhone OS.
– Core OS: Network Apps for iPhone OS; Core OS Networking; Creating
Secure Apps; Developing Apps that Work with iPhone OS Accessories; I/O
Kit Device Drivers for Mac OS X; and Simplifying Networking Using
Bonjour®.

Additionally, there will be five iPad and five iPhone Apple Design Award winners announced at WWDC 2010. There is no requirement to enter and winners will be selected from the App Store based on criteria that includes design, technical excellence, innovation, quality, technology adoption and performance.

Visit the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2010 website for registration and more details at developer.apple.com/wwdc.

If confirmed, these pictures show a few newly implemented designs on the next generation iPhone, including:

1) The LCD appears to be factory glued to the digitizer which is more similar to the first generation iPhones than the iPhone 3G and 3GS. The digitizer can be separated from the LCD on the 3G and 3GS models, which should be interesting to all, but for the repair folks like us–this means that the 4G screen repair price will be higher since both parts will have to be replaced at once.

2) The iPhone 4G front panel seems to be about 1/4″ longer than its predecessors.

3) There is an interesting reflective, mirror-like surface directly above the speaker. This is likely a spot for the proximity sensor. If that’s what it is, it’s in a different location than previous models.

So, so sum up, the new iPhone may be 1/4” taller than all three previous models, sport a relocated proximity sensor, and have some other tidbits revealed above.  One thing may be certain; the next-gen iPhone will probably be unveiled at this year’s WWDC in June.

Full transcript after the cut

07:43 am – We are picking up our WWDC 09 badge
08:18 am – Thanks for joining SlashGear for the Apple WWDC 2009 liveblog. The show kicks off at 10am PT
08:18 am – For all the main rumors about what might be announced today, check out our summary post from earlier today: http://www.slashgear.com/apple-iphone-3gs-to-get-wwdc-unveil-rumor-roundup-0846164/
08:25 am – Crowds of press are stretching round the corner here in San Francisco, waiting to go in and register for this morning’s event
08:41 am – We’ve got our press badge
08:42 am – Meanwhile, the banners for today’s event are heavily promoting Mac OS X Snow Leopard and iPhone OS 3.0
08:46 am – We’re here with PCMag’s Sascha Segan, who doesn’t seem too happy with his MacBook
08:46 am – Plus Engadget’s Josh, who has paid someone to hold his laptop
08:52 am – Apple’s stores have gone offline for “updating”
08:59 am – We’re still waiting to go into the auditorium for the keynote
08:59 am – There’s an hour to go before it’s due to start
09:15 am – We’re still waiting outside, there’s a big crowd of people and the mood is good
09:22 am – Data and wifi networks here are getting overwhelmed – AT&T already failed for many people here
09:30 am – 30 minutes to go
09:31 am – They’re about to open the doors
09:34 am – Everyone is moving into the auditorium
09:34 am – There are a LOT of people here, this may take a long time
09:40 am – We’re in!
09:41 am – Music is LOUD and energetic – and it’s getting the crowd worked up
09:43 am – There’s wifi in here, but who knows how long it will last
09:44 am – We’ve brought along the MiFi “personal hotspot” just in case
09:47 am – Apple has laid on some power connections, so we only have to worry about dying connections, not dying batteries
09:49 am – power-strips are actually fixed to the back of the chairs in front
09:49 am – Still plenty of people to fit in, and the place is filling up fast
09:50 am – Ten minutes to go
09:52 am – If you’re looking for a last-minute catch-up on what might be announced today, check out our summary: http://www.slashgear.com/apple-iphone-3gs-to-get-wwdc-unveil-rumor-roundup-0846164/
09:55 am – Five minutes to go
09:55 am – Steve Jobs is here!
09:56 am – We are having a little bit of problem with our MiFi
09:57 am – We’re being asked to turn off phones and pagers
09:58 am – “Welcome to WWDC 2009″
09:58 am – Can’t see any pagers around me, people must already have them on silent
10:01 am – Lights are dimming
10:01 am – The crowd is cheering
10:02 am – they’re playing an “I’m a PC” ad
10:02 am – John Hodgman: “I want to be the first to wish you a week with some innovation. But not too much”
10:03 am – “Hello, I’m a Mac – PC is trying to say “have a great conference”"
10:03 am – Phil Schiller coming on stage
10:03 am – There are set to be 5,200 developers attending WWDC, from 54 countries
10:04 am – Phil: “Can’t you feel the love in this room?”
10:04 am – Showing us a graphic of OS X user growth from 2002 to 07
10:04 am – “Something incredible has happened over the last two years”
10:04 am – Number of active users has tripled
10:04 am – 75m users
10:05 am – added since iPhone
10:05 am – that is, 75m total
10:07 am – Apple and customers are in love with the new MacBook design
10:07 am – They’re announcing a new version of the 15-inch MacBook Pro
10:07 am – Unibody chassis, built-in battery
10:07 am – up to 7hrs runtime – up from 5hrs
10:08 am – Plus more environmentally friendly
10:08 am – They can squeeze 1,000 recharge cycles out of the battery
10:08 am – rather than 300 from the old battery tech
10:08 am – It’s “just as thin and just as light” as the old machine
10:08 am – and it has the “nicest display we’ve ever put in a notebook”
10:08 am – They’ve dropped the expresscard slot
10:08 am – and replaced it with an SD Card slot!
10:09 am – Something people have been asking for for a long time
10:09 am – Apparently only “single digit” customers used expresscard slot
10:09 am – SD is a standard now
10:09 am – it’s the fastest notebook Apple have ever made
10:10 am – with up to a 3.06GHz dual core CPU and up to 8GB of DDR3 memory
10:10 am – up to 500gb of traditional hard-drive
10:10 am – or 256GB of SSD
10:10 am – Starts at $1,699
10:10 am – which is lower than the model it replaces
10:10 am – by $300, in fact
10:11 am – $1,699 gets you a 2.53GHz model with 4GB RAM, 250GB hard-drive, 9400M graphics and SD
10:11 am – $1,999 steps up to the 2.6GHz model – same ram but 320GB hard-drive and dual 9400M and 9600M GT graphics
10:11 am – $2,299 gets you 2.8GHz, 4GB RAM, 500GB hard-drive and the dual graphics
10:12 am – Also, 17-inch MBP gets an update
10:12 am – 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard-drive
10:12 am – plus the 9400M and 9600M GT graphics
10:12 am – together with a price cut of $300 to $2,499
10:12 am – They’ll both ship today, 15 and 17 inch MBP
10:12 am – New 13-inch MacBook too
10:12 am – Built-in battery and new display
10:13 am – 7hrs of battery life (40% more)
10:13 am – Also gets the SD card slot
10:13 am – You can also specify up to 8GB of RAM
10:13 am – up to 500GB storage
10:13 am – the backlit keyboard is standard
10:14 am – plus there’s a FireWire 800 port
10:14 am – the 13-inch model is being absorbed into the MacBook Pro range
10:14 am – and will cost $1,199
10:14 am – Basic model gets a 2.25GHz processor, just 2GB of DDR3 ram, 9400m graphics, 160GB hard-drive
10:14 am – oh, and the SD card slot
10:15 am – that model costs $1,199
10:15 am – Step up to $1,499 and you get 2.53GHz, 4GB of DDR3, 9400m graphics and the SD card slot
10:15 am – Both models are available to buy today
10:15 am – MacBook Air is next to get an upgrade
10:16 am – Price cut by $300 to $1,499 for the 1.86Ghz model
10:16 am – The SSD version goes down to $1,799 – a cut of $700
10:17 am – The SSD Air has the 2.13GHz processor as standard, and 128GB of storage
10:17 am – Going over how environmentally sound they are
10:17 am – “World’s greenest line of notebooks” apparently
10:17 am – Now moving on to talk about OS X
10:17 am – Talking about Snow Leopard
10:18 am – Betrand Sorre taking the stage
10:18 am – “Great hardware deserves great software”
10:18 am – “What a sharp contrast with Vista our OS is”
10:18 am – people are laughing at that
10:19 am – “Leopard is the most successful software product Apple has ever had”
10:19 am – “By far the best OS written for the majority of customers”
10:19 am – He’s talking about Windows 7
10:19 am – “even more complexity is present in Windows 7 – the same old tech as Vista, just another version”
10:20 am – Talking about Windows DLLs, registry, disk defragmentation, and how “no user should have to do that”
10:20 am – Now talking about Snow Leopard
10:20 am – They’re adding Exchange support to it
10:20 am – The UI of Finder hasn’t changed
10:20 am – but it’s now been rewritten in Cocoa
10:20 am – icons draw faster
10:21 am – trash empties quicker
10:21 am – They’re describing it as refining 90% of the OS
10:21 am – cancellations happen faster
10:21 am – icon previews are better
10:21 am – animations are improved
10:22 am – They’ve built Expose into the dock
10:22 am – and the overall installation process has speeded up by 45%
10:22 am – Plus, you’ll get 6GB back from your hard-drive once you install Snow Leopard, as it compresses system files
10:22 am – They’re demonstrating opening JPEG images
10:23 am – it’s now twice as fast
10:23 am – They’ve changed the PDF handling to better cope with text selection
10:23 am – “We used a little bit of AI”
10:23 am – Mail also gets a speed boost
10:23 am – now talking about Safari
10:24 am – Shipping Safari 4 for Leopard, Tiger and Windows today
10:24 am – having been in beta for a few months
10:24 am – Showing benchmarks of Safari’s javascript
10:24 am – They’re saying it’s 7.8x faster than IE8
10:25 am – Passes all 100 of the Acid 3 tests, the standard for today’s browsers
10:25 am – IE8 gets 21 out of 100, btw
10:25 am – Safari gets new “crash resistance”
10:26 am – mainly from a better way of handling plugins
10:26 am – apparently the number one cause of Safari crashes is plugin failure, so they’re spinning it off into a separate process
10:26 am – if it fails, you’ll get a “plugin not found” error message
10:26 am – but safari lives on
10:26 am – Talking about new Quicktime version, “Quicktime X”
10:26 am – supports color sync and hardware acceleration, HTTP streaming
10:27 am – Modern foundation
10:27 am – Gets a slick new icon
10:27 am – “Super efficient”
10:27 am – the HTTP streaming works with any server
10:27 am – and they’ve given the UI a makeover too
10:27 am – Now going to demo it
10:28 am – the controls and window fade away when you move the mouse away
10:28 am – Craig Federighi coming on to discuss “features and little touches” of Snow Leopard
10:28 am – Dock and FInder first
10:29 am – New Stacks, which can now handle content
10:29 am – you can go deeper through them, to other folders
10:29 am – preview videos in the thumbnail
10:29 am – scroll through pdfs in the thumbnail
10:29 am – Craig’s favorite feature is Dock Expose, apparently
10:30 am – if you click and hold on any app icon in the dock, it exposes just those windows
10:30 am – works really well
10:31 am – You can drop an image directly into Expose from a mail message
10:31 am – Now showing Safari 4′s speed
10:31 am – “it is the fastest browser on any platform”
10:31 am – Demo of Google Maps, and it’s really really fast
10:32 am – Really quick flicking between Maps/Satellite view/etc
10:32 am – Safari 4 also tracks the top sites you visit, gives a preview of your common webpages
10:32 am – You can also get a cover flow style browse through your history
10:33 am – Now showing QuickTime X again
10:33 am – able to trim and share video direct from quicktime
10:34 am – pull up a visual timeline, then can share the edited clip with friends
10:34 am – simply have to grab the ends of the clip region, adjust, then export to something like mobileme
10:34 am – useful for quick edits that you don’t want to open up iMovie for
10:34 am – Bertrand has come back on-stage
10:35 am – Talking about how faster processes have enabled new features in software
10:35 am – “The Power of Silicon”
10:35 am – To take advantage of it, you need new software
10:36 am – talking about three technologies
10:36 am – first, 64-bit
10:36 am – explaining how 32-bit is limited to 4GB of RAM
10:36 am – whereas in 64-bit systems there’s no RAM limit
10:36 am – “All the major system apps run in 64-bit mode in Snow Leopard”
10:37 am – Second, multi-core
10:37 am – number of cores are increasing along with clock frequency
10:37 am – They’re talking about how to take advantage of that, and of threading
10:37 am – “Grand Central Dispatch” is the new system
10:38 am – built-in support for multicore, and it’s across all of Snow Leopard
10:38 am – new Language Extension, Multicore engine, system-wide APIs
10:38 am – New Tools to test your app
10:38 am – object-oriented framework
10:38 am – Demonstrating Leopard Mail
10:39 am – Under Snow Leopard it uses fewer threads when idle
10:39 am – Improves responsiveness
10:39 am – Now talking about graphics
10:39 am – Want to move beyond OpenGL – so they’ve built OpenCL
10:40 am – They want to use the power for “all kinds of things”
10:40 am – OpenCL brings hardware abstraction, c-based language, automatic optimization and numerical accuracy
10:40 am – it can be used for scientific computing
10:40 am – plus it’s an open standard
10:40 am – Now talking about Exchange
10:41 am – Describing Microsoft Office as “a de facto standard”
10:41 am – So they’ve built Exchange support into Mail, iCal and Address Book
10:42 am – enter your email address and p/w once, and it’s linked in all three of the apps
10:42 am – They’re demonstrating the Exchange integration
10:42 am – The Exchange setup is simple
10:43 am – it autodiscovers the server based on your email address
10:43 am – syncronizes straight away
10:43 am – Also get Spotlight search for Exchange messages
10:43 am – You get all the existing folders, to-do and notes you’ve been using in Exchange already
10:44 am – invitations work as expected, in both iCal and Mail
10:44 am – You can schedule a meeting by dragging a contact (or contacts) into iCal
10:44 am – plus details like Room Availability work now
10:45 am – Your personal data is merged with the Exchange data, though not permanently
10:45 am – Exchange demo is over
10:46 am – You’ll need Exchange Server 2007 for it to work, but assuming you have that, support for exchange is free in Snow Leopard
10:46 am – All Intel Macs will be able to run Snow Leopard
10:47 am – Snow Leopard upgrade is priced at $29
10:47 am – Family Pack upgrade costs $49
10:47 am – (assuming you’re using Leopard now)
10:47 am – It’ll be available in September
10:48 am – though today they have a “near final” developers’ preview
10:48 am – Now moving onto the iPhone
10:48 am – Scott Forstall coming on-stage
10:48 am – Released the native SDK less than a year ago
10:49 am – so that devs could create “truly native” applications
10:49 am – There are now more than 50,000 apps in the App Store
10:49 am – They’ve sold more than 40m iPhones and iPod touches, and the apps run on all of them
10:50 am – Passed the 1bn downloads point
10:50 am – back in April
10:50 am – Scott is thanking customers and developerts
10:50 am – Now showing an iPhone developer video
10:50 am – sharing stories from the devs
10:50 am – starts in Tokyo
10:51 am – moves through devs, with them sharing their experiences of the SDK
10:51 am – one dev says its been his “dream” to travel and make his own games
10:51 am – and the iPhone let that happen
10:52 am – others are talking about how great it is they can create something and add it to the App Store so easily
10:52 am – “so pleased to finally get a game published”
10:53 am – “I was at a baseball game and they showed a commercial for my app. I watched a bunch of fans pull out their phones and start downloading the game”
10:54 am – “I have to stop and say “whoa this is a mobile device” because it feels like a desktop”
10:54 am – Moving on to talking about push notifications and streaming video support in OS 3.0
10:55 am – Now having people from all around the world name their favorite app
10:55 am – Video has ended
10:55 am – Talking about OS 3.0 improvements
10:56 am – over 100 new features
10:56 am – including cut/past
10:56 am – nothing new here from the iPhone OS 3.0 event
10:57 am – developer APIs, undo support, etc
10:57 am – landscape keyboard in email, messages and notes
10:57 am – MMS support
10:57 am – Again, nothing new yet
10:58 am – though Scott has described it as “the big news here is MMS”
10:58 am – 24 carriers will support iPhone MMS at launch
10:58 am – sorry, 29 carriers
10:59 am – AT&T will be ready for MMS at the end of the summer
10:59 am – Yep, people, he said END OF THE SUMMER
10:59 am – now talking about spotlight search across iPhone
10:59 am – searching calendars, music, notes, email
11:00 am – iTunes – you’ll be able to rend and purchase movies from your iphone
11:00 am – “great if you’re getting ready to board a flight”
11:00 am – plus of course tv shows, audio books and other on-the-go purchases
11:00 am – parental controls added
11:01 am – can limit apps by age, filter TV and movie content
11:01 am – now talking about tethering
11:01 am – “this allows you to share your connection with your computer”
11:01 am – it works with Mac and Pc, over USB or Bluetooth
11:01 am – “it is a seamless experience”
11:02 am – no tethering software on your computer, once it’s on
11:02 am – requires carrier support, unsurprisingly
11:02 am – tethering has 22 partners in 44 countries
11:02 am – ominously no mention of AT&T
11:03 am – no AT&T tethering at OS 3.0 launch
11:03 am – Safari Mobile on iPhone gets support for HTTP streaming audio/video
11:03 am – works through firewalls
11:03 am – auto-adjusts for your connection speed
11:03 am – javascript is 3x faster
11:04 am – Safari can also autofill forms based on your contacts data
11:04 am – plus there’s password autofill
11:04 am – HTML 5 support
11:04 am – with support for video and audio tags
11:04 am – Now talking about languages
11:05 am – support more than 30 languages
11:05 am – korean, thai, arabic, greek, hebrew, all get added in OS 3.0
11:05 am – New “Find my iPhone” feature
11:06 am – “if you’ve ever lost or misplaced your phone, it can be traumatic”
11:06 am – demo video has the cast of 30 Rock
11:06 am – Liz Lemon has used her iPhone to take “intimate” photos… and lost the phone
11:07 am – Find My iPhone is a MobileMe service
11:07 am – you can log into MobileMe from any browser, and it will locate your iPhone on a map
11:07 am – big applause for that
11:08 am – sending a message to your iPhone makes it bleep, whether or not you left it in silent mode
11:08 am – plus you can have an on-screen message show, with a number that you specify
11:08 am – plus, in a worse-case scenario, you can remotely wipe it
11:09 am – wipe apparently “cannot be undone or cancelled”
11:09 am – though if you later find the iPhone, you can plug it into itunes and it’ll restore from a backup
11:09 am – talking abotu in-app purchases
11:09 am – you’ll be able to renew magazine subs and buy game packs within the game itself
11:10 am – reconfirming that in-app purchase is only for paid apps
11:10 am – free apps stay free
11:10 am – and devs get the same 30/70 split in in-app sales as for the original app sale
11:10 am – Discussing Peer-to-Peer support
11:11 am – e.g it can find a nearby player of the same game, and connect you automatically
11:11 am – Also discussing third-party hardware integration
11:11 am – this is no different from the OS 3.0 launch, nothing new
11:12 am – companion apps that talk to 3rd party hardware can connect via the dock connector or Bluetooth
11:12 am – Now talking about Google Maps
11:12 am – and integration of mapping into any application
11:12 am – plus ability to create custom maps
11:12 am – and turn-by-turn directions
11:13 am – Moved onto push notifications
11:13 am – recapping the three types: text alerts, numerical badges and sound alerts
11:13 am – “it will be an incredible SDK”
11:14 am – Now showing what some devs have been doing with OS 3.0
11:14 am – GameLoft’s Mark Hickey coming up to demo
11:14 am – Mark is showing Asphalt 5
11:14 am – it has a range of cars – Audi, BMW, Bugatti, etc
11:15 am – 27 licensed cars (and 4 motorcycles) can be raced
11:15 am – you can also access music on the iPhone while in the game
11:16 am – Asphalt 5 seems to play fast
11:16 am – “console quality”
11:16 am – and gets new controls and graphics
11:16 am – new lighting effects and high framerates
11:17 am – demo continuing
11:17 am – moving onto a medical app from Airstrip Technologies
11:17 am – used to monitor patient data on a doctor’s iPhone
11:18 am – apparently “the medical community is flocking to iphone”
11:18 am – it can use push alerts to flag up new lab results, emergencies, etc
11:18 am – can stream EKG information over the iPhone’s 3G connection
11:18 am – in real-time
11:19 am – it’s very clever, but wasted on most people here
11:20 am – “If I see a problem I can pause, scroll back, use pinch-zoom and enable touch-calibration to measure the distance of a cardiac event”
11:20 am – Big applause for this medical app
11:20 am – it’s apparently getting FDA approval “shortly”
11:21 am – Now it’s ScrollMotion, an ebook company
11:21 am – They have 1m books, 170 daily newspapers and 50 magazines, all supporting in-app purchase
11:22 am – demo is one of the Twilight books – buying it directly from the iPhone
11:22 am – not sure how Amazon are going to feel about this
11:22 am – ScrollMotion’s app is called Iceberg
11:23 am – you can copy and paste text from a book
11:23 am – Next up is TomTom
11:23 am – Lots of “ooh” from the audience at that
11:23 am – Pete Frans Pauwels, CTO & TomTom co-founder on stage
11:24 am – He’s saying they’ve developed real TomTom navigation on the iPhone
11:24 am – showing a demo
11:24 am – has POIs, favorites
11:24 am – ability to browse maps
11:25 am – night mode and 2D/3D mapping
11:25 am – turn-by-turn directions
11:25 am – Has portrait and landscape modes
11:25 am – plus they’ve developed a car kit for it
11:26 am – basically a sucker-cradle for the windshield
11:26 am – with power connector
11:26 am – works in both orientations
11:26 am – “thanks to the accessory framework we can enhance your GPS data”
11:26 am – has an integrated mic/speaker
11:26 am – Available this summer
11:27 am – though they haven’t said a price
11:27 am – ngmoco is next on-stage
11:27 am – with their founder, Neil Young
11:28 am – They have a game: Star Defense
11:28 am – it’s going to be a big game, too, if the loading times are anything to go by
11:29 am – it’s working, and is basically a version of tower defense
11:29 am – can download new galaxies within the game
11:30 am – the woman developer representing ngmoco is very, very enthusiastic
11:30 am – Star Defense is available now, for $5.99
11:30 am – some updates will be free, some – such as expansion packs – will cost
11:30 am – PASCO come on stage now
11:31 am – with their company which is apparently based on a science fair project
11:31 am – basically it allows you to hook up sensors to the iPhone and record data or use it to trigger different things
11:32 am – uses their own PASCO sensors
11:32 am – demo is tracking air pressure as it comes out of a balloon
11:32 am – plotting that pressure on a graph on the iPhone
11:32 am – Scott Forstall is dressed as a scientist – white coat, huge goggles – and is gingerly holding the balloon
11:33 am – Unfortunately the demo didn’t work
11:33 am – but the on-screen graph did
11:33 am – Spark app is coming this fall
11:33 am – aimed at kids
11:34 am – Now Zipcar on stage
11:34 am – they do short-term car rental
11:34 am – in fact they’re apparently the leading car borrowing service
11:35 am – their app can locate you and show you the nearest zipcar locations
11:36 am – you can tap on the individual pins on the map, to call up the name of the location and a list of the cars they have there
11:36 am – plus you can reserve a car directly from the zipcar app
11:37 am – you can also see details about the indiividual cars, such as how many people will fit in it, how many bags, etc.
11:37 am – you can identify the car you’ve rented direct from the iPhone – it shows a car unlock remote
11:37 am – tapping the horn button sounds the car’s horn
11:37 am – tapping the unlock button actually unlocks the car
11:38 am – Finally, there’s Line 6 and their app Planet Waves
11:38 am – sorry, Line 6 a guitar amp company, and Planet Waves with their app ChordMaster
11:38 am – you can control your guitar and amp from your iPhone
11:39 am – they’re calling it a MIDI Mobilizer – you can control all of the effects from the iPhone display
11:39 am – unfortunately their demo isn’t working very well either
11:40 am – the sounds aren’t matching up to the amps they’re supposed to be modelling
11:40 am – all of the classic controls are replicated on the iPhone’s display
11:40 am – you can tweak gain, treble, presence, etc
11:41 am – they’re saying the problem is in the communication between the iPhone and the guitar
11:41 am – it should be able to change the tuning virtually, move virtual pick-ups, etc
11:42 am – They’ve left the stage
11:42 am – that should be the last demo
11:42 am – iPhone OS 3.0 will be free for iPhone owners – both original and 3G
11:43 am – $9.95 for ipod touch owners
11:43 am – and it’s coming June 17th worldwide
11:43 am – “We think you’ll love 3.0″
11:43 am – developers, though, get the GM seed today
11:44 am – they need to assign a parental control to their apps
11:44 am – then download iphone os 3.0 and test
11:44 am – Phil Schiller is back on-stage
11:44 am – he’s saying iphone 3G was a hit, changed phones forever
11:45 am – changed how poeple thought about phones
11:45 am – “it wasn’t that long ago that we were frustrated with these crappy devices”
11:45 am – showing the Time mag quote about “the phone that has changed phones forever”
11:46 am – 2/3 of all mobile browsing is done on an iPhone or iPod touch
11:46 am – talking about available apps – Palm has just 18
11:46 am – Android has almost 5k
11:47 am – He’s announced the iPhone 3GS!
11:47 am – The * stands for Speed
11:47 am – “this is the most powerful, fastest iPhone ever made”
11:47 am – same design as the 3G
11:47 am – 2.4x faster at games
11:48 am – messaging is 2.1x faster
11:48 am – excel 3.6x faster
11:48 am – nytimes loads are 2.9x faster
11:48 am – 3x faster javascript
11:49 am – compared to iphone 3g, javascript scores in SunSpider at 15s for the 3GS, 43s for the 3G
11:49 am – supports 7.2Mbps HSDPA
11:49 am – gets a new camera
11:49 am – 3-megapixels with autofocus
11:49 am – overall it’s roughly 2x faster than the iPhone 3G
11:50 am – demonstrating a photo taken with the iPhone 3GS’ 3MP camera
11:50 am – you tap to focus anywhere on the preview screen
11:50 am – auto-focus
11:51 am – “amazing hardware and software which works together”
11:51 am – low-light sensitivity is improved
11:51 am – macro mode
11:51 am – plus it captures video
11:51 am – macros can be 10cm away
11:51 am – records VGA quality video at 30fps
11:52 am – with autofocus and auto white balance, plus audio of course
11:52 am – video or stills are selected by a simple flick switch
11:52 am – theyre showing a video demo
11:52 am – videos are stored with the photos in the existing Picture app on the iPhone
11:53 am – you can scrub through the video with your finger, plus edit directly on the iPhone 3GS
11:53 am – then send via email or – if carrier supports it – MMS
11:53 am – there’s also a new API for it, which means devs can built video capture into their own apps
11:54 am – Moving onto voice control
11:54 am – “wouldn’t it be great to dial friends and family from the sound of your voice?”
11:54 am – hold down the home button and the voice control menu pops up
11:55 am – commands are shown scrolling on-screen as you say them
11:55 am – can make calls by voice, but also control iTunes
11:55 am – e.g. “Play songs by the killers”
11:55 am – plus have voice control over playlists
11:55 am – Can ask the iPhone to tell you what’s currently playing
11:55 am – and say “play more songs like this” to create a new playlist
11:56 am – iPhone 3GS also gets a digital compass
11:56 am – shows orientation, logitude and latitude
11:56 am – can link to google maps, and it’ll get the direction you’re facing right
11:57 am – Also talking about new Accessibility features, like VoiceOver – it reads out whatever you touch on-screen
11:57 am – iPhone 3GS also has integrated Nike+ support
11:57 am – other accessibility feaures inclde inverting screen colors
11:58 am – Plus – as asked for by businesses, apparently – hardware encryption on all new iPhone 3GS handsets
11:58 am – They’ve also improved battery life
11:58 am – up to 5hrs 3g talktime, 9hrs of internet over WiFi
11:59 am – 10hrs of video playback, 30hrs audio
11:59 am – 12hrs 2g talktime
11:59 am – greener too, 23% smaller packaging
12:00 pm – The iPhone 3GS is $199
12:00 pm – for the 16GB version
12:00 pm – and $299 for the 32GB model
12:00 pm – they’re the AT&T prices for the US market
12:00 pm – it comes in white and black
12:00 pm – iPhone 3G stays on the market for $99
12:01 pm – starting from today
12:01 pm – iPhone 3GS is available in a week and a half
12:01 pm – the iPhone 3G for $99 is the 8GB model, btw
12:02 pm – iPhone 3GS available on June 19th
12:02 pm – it’ll be available in over 80 countries
12:02 pm – by August
12:03 pm – to confirm, iPhone 3GS 16GB is $199, iPhone 3GS 32GB is $299
12:03 pm – the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and UK get the iPhone 3GS on June 19th
12:03 pm – Now showing the new advert
12:04 pm – a lens is looking at the 3GS and saying “I think it’s the same”
12:04 pm – someone picks it up and plays with it, and it’s super-fast of course
12:04 pm – Schiller now recapping everything from today
12:04 pm – Snow Leopard, iPhone 3GS, etc
12:05 pm – New MacBook Pro range
12:05 pm – And of course the WWDC keeps going for developers
12:05 pm – Lights are coming up – no sign of a “one more thing”
12:05 pm – No, that’s it, show is over
12:07 pm – Thanks for joining us today – we hope you enjoyed the liveblog
12:07 pm – we’ll have all the news up on SlashGear, plus hands-on with the new products, later on today

As for E3, Microsoft and Sony battled it out to gain the motion-controller upper-hand, with the former debuting their fiendishly complex “Project Natal” system and the latter bringing a glowstick.  That’s a little unfair, actually, as hands-on reports coming out of E3 suggest that both systems work very well (and, key, seem more accurate than the Wii).  Sony also announced the much-rumored PSP Go!, a UMD-free all-digital version of the PSP-3000. 

Zipping over to Computex, and its unsurprisingly been a battle of the netbooks.  Psion and Intel finally lay down their swords and agreed that the term “netbook” can be used by one and all, only to find that ARM are attempting to coin the phrase “Smartbook” – to describe a cheaper, long-running alternative to the existing Atom-based netbooks – while Microsoft can’t quite decide what name to use but just want to make sure they can sell the priciest Windows 7 SKU for the hardware.

NVIDIA haven’t been resting on their laurels either, announcing multiple hardware partners who’ll be using their Ion and Tegra chipsets, while Qualcomm have been pushing Snapdragon hard.  It’s a complicated market, but the winner looks to be the consumer: they’ll be the ones spoilt for choice with high-def capable ultraportables at hitherto unseen prices.  There’s too much new tech to realistically cover in this short review, so check out our full show coverage with the Computex 2009 tag.

While we weren’t playing with the Pre, the SlashGear team have been tapping away on Sony Ericsson’s W995a, a megapixel-packed phone now available SIM-free in the US, together with enjoying some big-screen, small-budget entertainment from the BenQ Joybee GP1 pico-projector.  Don’t forget to join us tomorrow, Monday 8th June at 10am San Francisco time (1PM New York; 6PM London) at http://live.slashgear.com/ for all the news from Apple’s WWDC 2009 keynote.

Amid the speculation there’s talk of a front-facing camera for video calls, an FM transmitter for squirting music through your car stereo, and a higher resolution camera.  We’ve just seen what are purported to be leaked photos of the new iPhone Video, which show off the tweaked casing and shifted headphone port; there’s also talk of three different iPhone models, with varying degrees of data connectivity tailored to different markets, in multiple colors.

Whatever gets announced, SlashGear will be there when Phil Schiller takes to the stage on Monday and we’ll be using our homegrown no-refresh-needed Live Blog system to bring you all the details.  Join us at http://live.slashgear.com/ on Monday June 8th: the keynote kicks off at 10am Pacific (1pm Eastern; 6pm London).

The keynote kicks off at 10am PT on June 8th 2009, and begins several days of programming, code-comparing and general hands-on excitement of the sort that makes OS X devs moist.  Apple will also roll out the final Developer Preview release of Snow Leopard.

SlashGear will be attending the WWDC09 keynote, and live blogging the whole event at http://live.slashgear.com/ from 10am PT June 8th (e.g. 1pm ET).  It’ll also be an opportunity for iPhone and iPod touch users to try out our new mobile liveblog client, specially formulated for the Apple touchscreen devices.  The same news, the same automatic refresh, but perfectly to-scale on your iPhone or iPod touch!

Press Release:

Apple Worldwide Developers Conference to Kick Off with Keynote Address on Monday, June 8

CUPERTINO, California—May 13, 2009—Apple® will kick off its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address on Monday, June 8 at 10:00 a.m. A team of Apple executives, led by Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, will deliver the keynote. WWDC will offer in-depth sessions on both iPhone™ OS 3.0, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, and Mac OS® X Snow Leopard™, an even more powerful and refined version of the world’s best desktop operating system and the foundation for future Mac® innovation.

“Last June, we gave developers an early look at the powerful new technologies that form the underpinnings of Mac OS X Snow Leopard,” said Bertrand Serlet, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “At WWDC, we will be giving our developers a final Developer Preview release so they can see the incredible progress we’ve made on Snow Leopard and work with us as we move toward its final release.”

Snow Leopard and Mac technical sessions will showcase hundreds of refinements to the operating system and dive deep into its new technologies including a 64-bit architecture, QuickTime® X, next-generation multicore and GPU processor support, and amazing new accessibility technologies. iPhone OS 3.0 technical sessions will cover introductory and advanced concepts to help developers get the most out of the iPhone OS 3.0 SDK and over 1,000 new APIs available for iPhone OS 3.0.

WWDC also offers attendees the unique opportunity to work side-by-side with Apple engineers to solve code-level issues, gain insight into development techniques and get expert advice on interface design.

Other activities at Apple’s WWDC 2009 include:

more than 100 technical sessions presented by Apple engineers on a wide range of technology-specific topics for developing, deploying and integrating iPhone OS 3.0 and Mac OS X technologies;
over 1,000 Apple engineers presenting the latest in Apple technologies and providing one-to-one direction in hands-on labs; and
the opportunity to connect with thousands of fellow iPhone and Mac developers from around the world.

Visit the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2009 website for registration and more details at http://developer.apple.com/wwdc.

Basically, if the excitement for the Pre is greater than Palm anticipated, the fans will have shot themselves in the foot and caused a delay in the release of Palm’s savior phone.  This is only going to happen if Palm is unable to produce and manufacture more Pre phones than there are people that want it. Here’s to hoping that Palm anticipated correctly.

The May 17th launch date would fit predictions based on recent new phone releases by Sprint, and would fall well within the promised Q2 release window. A June 29th launch date would be a disaster, as it would be well after Apple’s WWDC on June 8th, and whatever iPhone related news is announced can only hurt Palm’s chances of success.  In short, the fervor over the Pre might end up backfiring and hurting the device itself. Hopefully, the people who are excited for the Pre won’t be swayed by iPhone news, and will be buying a Pre anyway. Customers that aren’t already planning to buy an iPhone at the next update probably aren’t the type to follow technology to begin with, so they can still be swayed to the Pre. Here’s to hoping for May 17th.

[Via MyPre.com]

When Snow Leopard was announced, it was emphasized that the majority of the changes would be taking place under the hood, and have more to deal with performance that with features or appearance.

Again, there are rumors circulating that Snow Leopard will hit stores within two months of Apple’s upcoming World Wide Developers Conference.  Users are hoping to see a finalized preview of Snow Leopard demoed at WWDC in San Francisco. This places the release date of Snow Leopard most likely in August of 2009, nearly two years after the release of Leopard.

[Via AppleInsider]

The page and email feature an iPhone with the words “Make Your Mark Here ” (or if you watch the page for a bit, “Make This Your Year” slides over as if you were switching between home pages) spelled out in the place of apps on the iPhone.  This suggests that the focus of the event will be on developers and the new tools featured in the iPhone 3.0 SDK.

There also might be the chance of an announcement for the release date of OS X 10.6 “Snow Leopard” which has seen multiple new seeds to developers in the last few weeks.  It would not be a big surprise, as Jobs confirmed the name “Snow Leopard” and announced the iPhone 3G at the last WWDC in 2008.

This years WWDC will feature sessions on iPhone, and Mac OSX Snow Leopard as well as OS X Server. Registration for WWDC 2009 is $1295 before April 24th, after which the price will jump to $1595.