Live blog: Apple updates iPods, Jobs takes stage
Earlier Wednesday, we brought you live coverage of Apple's rock 'n' roll-themed event, which kicked off in San Francisco just after 10 a.m. Pacific time. The event has concluded, but for more iPod-related coverage, click here.
9:55 a.m. PDT: Good morning. We're inside and seated, just waiting for the event to begin. There's quite a crowd in here with some notable names already appearing. Greg Grunberg from TV's "Heroes" is sitting right behind us, and Herbie Hancock and Google's Eric Schmidt have also been spotted.
The crowd awaits Apple news inside the Yerba Buena center in San Francisco.
(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)9:59 a.m.: Now playing "It's Only Rock 'n Roll" by the Rolling Stones, also the title of the event per the invitation. It looks like we'll be starting momentarily.
10:01 a.m.: Steve Jobs walks out. Standing ovation.
10:02 a.m.: People are still clapping.
He encourages everyone to be an organ donor, and extends a heartfelt thanks to the Apple community. Also, on Tim Cook: "He ran the company very ably during that time." "I'm back at Apple, and loving every day of it," he says.
10:03 a.m.: "I'm very happy to be here today with you all," he says. "As you may know I had a liver transplant. I have the liver of a mid-20s person who died in a car crash. Without that, I wouldn't be here without that person's generosity."
10:04 a.m.: Today we're talking about music. Phil Schiller and Jeff Robbin will join him. First, iPhone stuff. "Thrilling to report that in two years we've sold 30 million iPhones."
10:05 a.m.: In the last year, the reason is the App Store, he says. There are 75,000 apps. 1.8 billion apps downloaded by users, he reports. That doesn't include updates, though.
10:06 a.m.: Today: iPhone OS 3.1. Some bug fixes and new features are coming. The Genius playlist technology is now going to work for apps in the App Store. It will recommend apps to you based on the apps you already own. The recommendations will get better as people say what they like and buy, he says.
Steve Jobs announces iPhone OS 3.1.
(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)10:07 a.m.: Also: as Greg Sandoval previously reported, there will be ringtones for sale for $1.29 each. You can buy them the way you'd buy music.
10:08 a.m.: iPhone OS 3.1 is free for iPhone and iPod Touch users who have 3.0. It will be made available today. Update 2:58 p.m.: Earlier, it was reported that it would cost iPod Touch users $4.95. The update only costs money to those who had not yet upgraded their iPod Touch to 3.0 or higher.
10:08 a.m.: Now on to iTunes: Steve says iTunes is the No. 1 seller of music in the world. 8.5 billion songs have been purchased and there are 100 million accounts.
Jobs says the iPhone is popular internationally.
(Credit: Stephen Shankland)10:09 a.m.: Today, iTunes 9 is out. A new look. Cleaner-looking, better navigation.
10:11 a.m.: In iTunes 9: Genius Mixes. Like Genius Playlists, Genius Mixes is like a DJ that plays mixes of songs that go together from your own library. Will make up to 12 mixes at a time.
Steve Jobs takes the stage.
(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)10:12 a.m.: He says syncing will be better now, too. When syncing playlists you can also sync particular genres or particular artists. Also specific photo albums or specific faces from iPhoto, and specific movies from iTunes. You can also manage your apps syncing in iTunes.
10:13 a.m.: Also something called Home Sharing. With it, you can copy songs, movies, TV shows to up to five authorized computers in your house. Can see what's in all the other authorized computers right from your iTunes account.
10:14 a.m.: The iTunes Store also gets a new look, along with improved artists, movies, and TV pages--a "cleaner" layout, Jobs says.
10:15 a.m.: Another new feature: iTunes LP. "Some of us here are old enough to have bought LPs," Steve says. You can get album art, videos, liner notes, credits, etc. This is clearly the "Cocktail" we've been hearing about. The artists and labels can now have access to adding extras to their albums now.
10:17 a.m.: Jeff Robbin, vice president of consumer applications and lead software designer for iTunes, is now demonstrating the new iTunes. He shows how to drag and drop apps in iTunes to rearrange how they appear on an iPod Touch or iPhone. You can check and uncheck which games or apps you want on the device.
10:19 a.m.: He also shows us how Home Sharing works. You can drag a song or series of songs from other authorized computers to your own library. Can sort by songs that others have that you do not, and can set it so that when others buy new content from iTunes it can be automatically transferred to your library.
10:21 a.m.: There's a new navigation bar in the iTunes Store: music, movies, TV shows, podcasts, audio books, etc.
10:22 a.m.: Can also preview songs directly in the Top Charts section. When browsing the store, you can click an "i" button for a preview of the songs on the album which will allow a quick listen without going to the actual artist or album page. You can also Twitter info and post to Facebook about songs you find in the iTunes Store.
Album view in iTunes 9.
(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)10:24 a.m.: Now Jeff is showing us iTunes LP. He picks a Doors album. You can see all the songs, all the lyrics, and lots of photos.
10:25 a.m.: There are also videos that he says are exclusive to iTunes LP. For example, Ray Manzarek is talking about how they decided to name the band The Doors.
10:27 a.m.: There's also something called iTunes Extras. Using the movie "Wall-E," he shows there are extra features like short videos, and a way to navigate chapters in the movie.
You can see lyrics with the album view in iTunes 9. Shown here are Dave Matthews lyrics.
(Credit: Stephen Shankland)10:28 a.m.: Jobs is back on stage. He says iTunes 9 is free and ready to download today. Phil Schiller will come up to talk iPods now.
Twenty million of those sold are iPod Touch, he says.
Schiller mocks Dell's non-pocketable small PC.
(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)10:29 a.m.: First Schiller's going to talk sales numbers. 220 million iPods sold to date, he says. He says they have 73.8 percent of the market, "with Microsoft pulling up the rear with 1.1 percent." There are a few giggles.
10:33 a.m.: Now Schiller's talking up the computing aspect of the iPod Touch, with Wi-Fi, browsing the Internet on Safari, e-mail, etc. "It fits in your pocket. Not everybody can say that," he says. And he shows a picture on screen of a Dell Netbook. More giggles from the audience.
10:35 a.m.: He says the iPod Touch is a better gaming platform than the PSP or Nintendo DS. He points to $30 game titles on those devices and the buying experience as "too expensive" and "not a lot of fun." He says there are 21,178 "game and entertainment" titles on iPhone OS, compared to 3,600 on Nintendo, and 600 on Sony.
Phil Schiller brags about the iPhone as a gaming platform.
(Credit: Stephen Shankland)10:37 a.m.: A few developers of those games are going to come up on stage now. Ubisoft is up first. Ben Mattes from Ubisoft is talking about Assassin's Creed II and how it's coming to the App Store. It'll be out November 11.
10:42 a.m.: Now, Bart Decrem, founder of Tapulous (maker of Tap Tap Revolution) is up. Riddim Ribbon is their new game built "especially for iPhone and iPod Touch." It's a DJ game where you race down a rhythm of a song, Guitar Hero-style. You can remix the song by going different directions down the "ribbon."
10:44 a.m.: Mark Hickey from Gameloft, one of the more prolific App Store game makers, is up. He's showing a new first-person shooter called Nova, where you have to defend humanity against an alien attack in space.
10:47 a.m.: Only one more game developer, Schiller promises. It's Travis Boatman from Electronic Arts. He's talking Madden NFL 10, which is coming to the App Store for the first time.
10:49 a.m.: You can draw plays right on the screen, which draws lots of applause from the audience. Madden 10 is available today in the App Store, Boatman says.
Travis Boatman from Electronic Arts shows the new interface to control the Madden game.
(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)10:52 a.m.: "$199 is a magic price point in the iPod market," Schiller says. As of today, the iPod Touch is $199 for 8GB and $299 for 32GB. It now also comes in a 64GB model for $399.
10:53 a.m.: OpenGL ES 2.0 is also on the iPod Touch now, so games are faster--except for the $199 version, which will not have that.
Phil Schiller shows new prices and memory configurations for the iPod Touch.
(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)10:54 a.m.: Now Schiller is discussing the iPod Classic. Now it will be 160GB for $249, which is up from 120GB.
10:57 a.m.: The iPod Shuffle gets its turn. Now it will come in more colors. Pink, green, and blue in addition to the silver and black. It's also now $59 for 2GB and $79 for 4GB. There's also a special edition in stainless steel for $99.
Phil Schiller talks new iPod colors.
(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET )10:58 a.m.: Steve's back up. One more thing...a video camera.
10:59 a.m.: "Video has exploded in the last few years," he says. All those streams are coming from solid-state video cameras. He shows a picture of the Flip Video and its 4GB $149 price point. "We want to get in on this," he says. There will be a video camera in the back of every iPod Nano. There's also a mic and a speaker inside.
11:00 a.m.: He says it's just as thin as before, and shows a quick demo video from the device's camera. The videos will sync back to your iPhoto or to YouTube, with one click (another feature of the Flip Video camera).
11:02 a.m.: The voice-over feature from the iPod Shuffle will also be in the Nano, as well as Genius Mixes which were discussed earlier. The Nano will also have an FM radio, a voice recorder app, and pedometer. The pedometer will sync online with Nike Plus.
Jobs shows new iPods.
(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)11:04 a.m.: It will come in a variety of colors: pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, silver, black. 8GB for $159 and 16GB for $179, both will be available today.
Jobs touted brilliant new iPod colors.
(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)11:04 a.m.: We're getting a preview of the new ad, which highlights the video feature and colors of the Nano--with a cutesy pop song as backing, of course.
People clap, but there seems to be some palpable disappointment for those expecting a Beatle or Coldplay, which were some of the rumors. She starts with "Come Away with Me."
11:06 a.m.: Now Jobs is talking music. "It's the primary reason we do this." Live performance coming up. It's Norah Jones.
Norah "Not a Beatle" Jones closed the event by performing two songs.
(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)11:11 a.m.: Jones says: "Thanks to Steve Jobs for having us. Really happy to see he's doing well." Now we get a preview of a song from her upcoming album called "Young Blood."
11:15 a.m.: Norah Jones concludes her performance. The lights are back up and Steve's on stage.
11:16 a.m.: He thanks everyone for coming. That's the end, folks. We'll have continuing coverage including reviews of the new devices coming later today from CNET's Donald Bell and plenty of video and further analysis from CNET News. Thanks for joining us!
Erica Ogg is a CNET News reporter who covers Apple, HP, Dell, and other PC makers, as well as the consumer electronics industry. She's also one of the hosts of CNET News' Daily Podcast. In her non-work life, she's a history geek, a loyal Dodgers fan, and a mac-and-cheese connoisseur. E-mail Erica. 
there was nothing new or interesting here.
a 3 dollar camera on the back of the nano is just not "apple exciting".
what a dissappointment
Meanwhile the competition usually (if they're lucky) has their biggest announcements reported on by the mainstream media after-the-fact, in the tech segments, and even then maybe.
I think mainstream news is trying harder to be involved in tech news.
Over the years, this is somewhat true, but seriously? I wouldn't want my product getting the kind of attention that Vista got... ;)
:D
right now it's a joke , we need something like categories or folders or something
searching though a mess of homescreens is a pain
Plus using iTunes single windows style to browse the store feels like using some 90s software
Intact of late I've given up on iTunes and am using 148apps.com to find apps ,its so much better
The iTunes store needs a tabbed interface.
Hopefully they wont be ******* and try to kill the classic, and either upgrade it with new hardware instead of ditch it because "who carries their entire music library"
so what if the new devices have cameras, EVERYTHING has a camera in it, so adding another low resolution camera to a media player doesnt really matter (but most people will be amazed)
OH YEAH and a new $20 service pack for the ipod touch...ill be getting my zune update next week for free, chumps.
According to the Wall Street Journal (apple charged for macbook updates too):
"If Apple had given the enhancement away free, Apple's auditors could have required it to restate revenue for that period and could possibly have required Apple to start in the future to defer all the revenue from computer sales until all such enhancements are shipped... That would have had a devastating impact on Apple."
I believe Apple is just being very conservative in playing by the rules, as the SEC is already investigating them for other things, they would rather err on the side of caution. I'm not saying it is right or wrong, just saying... US GAAP is the regulation i believe the SEC requires publicly traded companies to follow....
I don't know if you were joking or not when you said that but I tend to listen to my music from the time I step out of my apartment till I come back from work and I almost always listen in shuffle mode so its important for me to have my entire collection. Unfortunately, thats the reason why I'll stick with my Zune 80 instead of upgrading to the Zune HD but I bet a lot of other die-hard music lovers that have iPods would agree that having their entire collection is important to them.
What are you drinking this morning? The ZUNE store is better than Itunes? not in a million years, As of January 2009, the Itunes store has sold 6 billion songs,] accounting for 70% of worldwide online digital music sales and making the service the largest legal music retailer. The Itunes store has a much larger following than the Zune store does, that alone will keep the Itunes store going for a very long time. BTW that music you get with Zune pass, is it DRM free? Let face the truth here people, Microsoft is way behind the trend cause if it wasn't then this article would be about some new ms box and not the Apple event.
Since when does bigger mean better? Does iTunes sell the most digital music worldwide? Yes. Does that mean it's the best marketplace to buy such content? No! Get you head of the sand (or apple kool-aid) cause the Zune marketplace is a better place to buy music (unless you insist on using the lame AAC format). Also, any idiot knows the music that is downloaded with the Zune Pass is not DRM free (it is rentedl after all), but apparently you don't know the 10 FREE songs per month included with each Zune Pass subscription are most definitely DRM-free and mine to keep forever. Bottom line... No Subscription Service = FAIL!!
@ Acesteph
Since when does bigger mean better? Does iTunes sell the most digital music worldwide? Yes. Does that mean it's the best marketplace to buy such content? No! Get you head of the sand (or apple kool-aid) cause the Zune marketplace is a better place to buy music (unless you insist on using the lame AAC format). Also, any idiot knows the music that is downloaded with the Zune Pass is not DRM free (it is rentedl after all), but apparently you don't know the 10 FREE songs per month included with each Zune Pass subscription are most definitely DRM-free and mine to keep forever. Bottom line... No Subscription Service = FAIL!!"
@ Ray180--This bigger is better non sense is old and BS. Since you say that iTunes is not better just because it is bigger, I guess the same could apply to that little OS Microsoft makes. Where does that rule not apply. When it suits your point?? That's what I thought.
Well there are those of us, and a lot at that, who would rather own the music we have not not pay $14.99 a month to do so. Big woop you get ten free songs, Guess what? you still just payed $14.99 for 10 songs! and and bunch of rented music, I can get 15 songs and do what I want with them because they're DRM free!!!! Now I cant speak for everyone, but I simply cannot justify paying a monthly fee for music I may or may not download, Id rather just buy it and keep it for life, unlike the rented MS dribble your allowed to listen to. And on another note your comment didnt prove a thing, we all know that if there was a better place to get music Itunes wouldnt be so big, so get your head out of Bill Gates Ass.
Please filter out these idiots who think it's cool to use expressions such as 'CRAPple', 'Micro$oft' etc. On the rare occasions these posters have anything insightful to say, only those that already subscribe to the exact same partisan opinion actually agree. So how can this be anything other than an exercise in self-validation?
BTW I get 'CRAPple' and 'Micro$oft' - they were quite funny the first thousand times. But please explain to me the intended pun in 'iPot'.
One typo is a spelling mistake, a dozen is not.
'iPot" is very special pot made fro very special pple like you
awww, come on, have a sense of humor!
---- Proud Apple FanBoy ----
Well no, Windows 8 and Zune HD.
Same way that Apple fanboys can hope for another non-free service pack.
Who, indeed, could get excited about forthcoming releases of Windows, Office, gesture-driven XBox, Server 2008 R2, Visual Studio, Sql Server, and nearly every other product Microsoft releases? After all, the past versions have been so entirely unworthy of notice that no one uses them any more.
Oh, wait.
wanorris (and reality) 1 Microsoft haters 0
* Windows 7 (covered that)
* Office 2k10 (now with an even bigger screen-sucking ribbon!)
* "gesture-driven XBox" (you mean it'll finally get something like what the Wii has had all this time now? Hrm, wonder how much that's gonna cost you to get?)
* Server 2008 R2 (you mean they're finally going to fix the numerous bugs that have kept the masses from bothering with it all this time, starting with KMS fer frig's sake?)
* Visual Studio (oh, boy - so that's why nobody has really bothered with any version after 2005?)
* Sql Server (yeah, that's gonna excite the masses, yes sir! Oh, wait... nobody really cares about it outside of the admins who implement the crap that requires it.
Long story short - I have and use a toilet, but I honestly don't get all that excited about all the new crapper models coming out every year, either. ;)
I'm kinda surprised you didn't start crowing about SharePoint and, well, the non-selling Zune HD thingy your buddy was slobbering over.
'course, maybe you could tell me which of any of these products outside of Windows 7 got coverage on CNN and the like... Oh, wait - pretty much none of them outside of Windows 7. ;)
@ Perry:
Kinda hard to tell with them sometimes - after all, it takes awhile for the morning light to reach into a basement, and I'm sure their mothers have long since given up on kicking them out of bed and demanding they get jobs...
Funny that. How longs it been out? Oh wait, it's not out yet.
Appalling, I know. Not even out yet and it hasn't sold any.
I'll agree with you though, the original Zunes never did any well. My main reason for saying that, they never even reached the UK. And they'll also have a hard time starting over here, cause no ones really heard of them.
It'll be interesting to see how they do. I don't think they'll do nearly as good as the iPods. Ok maybe that's guaranteed. Congrats to Apple, they have done an awesome job with them.
I'm not trying to step on anyone's toes here...just courious about what they have in store today. Like it or not, you don't have to buy it if you don't like it. It's just a device.
Gimme Gimme!
"The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed."
I don't need an ipod...got an iphone.
Don't care about what itunes looks likes as long as i can get some music and some apps off of it.
Let me know when I can tether my iphone.
Let me know when I can send files via bluetooth.
Did I forget anything that actually matters? Everything else is just marketing fluff.
The only thing known so far is the estimated size so it will stick out of your pocket like that dell pictured above.
http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2009/09/09/apple-slashes-ipod-prices-up-to-120/
- by snicka12 September 9, 2009 8:18 AM PDT
- i wonder what steve is going to wear...and i wonder what the announcement is going to be
- Like this Reply to this comment
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- by Dust_Puppy September 9, 2009 9:19 AM PDT
- A black turtle neck and a Beatles mop-top.
- Like this
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