Comments on: Apple refreshes iPhones, MacBooks, and OS X at WWDC

It unveils a faster version of the iPhone, as well as faster notebooks. It also showed off the upcoming Snow Leopard software, iPhone OS 3.0, and more.

[Sprintguy1376]

Compared to the other two iPhone announcements, I'm not impressed at all. At least a small design change would have made this even a little more interesting. But Apple gives me a compass.

Yeah, the increased processor speed is great, but it's not nearly as awesome as the first iPhone. And then the addition of 3G and GPS. This was really disappointing to me. I wanted more.

[tadbittipsy]

What more do you want? What are other phones offering that are soooo more impressive?

[Sprintguy1376]

It's not that it isn't cutting edge. But compared to the last two iPhone announcements. The first of which introduced the ground breaking phone. And the 2nd which cut the price dramatically while adding two features I use everyday, this one just doesn't hold up. I've come to expect more from Apple.

OLED screen would have been a good start. Definitely a bump in resolution. VGA at least. It's recording in VGA, why shouldn't I view in VGA? And with the new processor and RAM, why not offer background processing. Yeah it might kill battery but at least give me the option to use it. Even a new look would have been awesome. Something to separate the generations.

But no, I get slightly improved battery, a compass, video, and better performance. The only REAL feature there is video.

[jpg27]

yep I agree with sprintguy the only new feature is the video and the way it is edited on the phone without having to download the raw footage to your computer. Everything is done in and on the phone itself. I think that feature is brilliant. The copy and paste feature across apps is very handy as well as the autofocus/focus by touching camera. Also porting the spotlight feature to the iphone will be very useful. Compass is so so.
1. Video and in phone editing
2. Camera and 2 ways of focussing
3. Spotlight
4. Copy and Paste
5. Compass
I'm impressed but not that much compared to when the first two came out. Didnt reali care for a design change either. The current design is quite good.

[xilonic]

The most requested feature from all people I talked with is a physical slide-out keyboard.

[Sprintguy1376]

I'm mostly talking about the hardware aspects. I have no reason to buy an iPhone now. iPhone 3.0 is where everything really is. The new iPhone brings no real new features except the video camera. But the SOFTWARE brings us a lot of features which are great.

iPhone OS 3.0 is way more exciting than the hardware of the iPhone 3GS

[seven7dust]

the battery life increase is pretty impressive
9 hrs of web use is a huge improvement IMO
plus video editing and camera shots were impressive too
I wonder if they improved the lens !
OLED would have been a good way to go , but ah well
it's not bad actually , at least for new customers !

[dracoaffectus]

@tadbittpisy

For a "major iPhone update" it just seems to me like they're playing catch up with the G1. Honestly, it seems like video capturing, voice dialing and copy/paste are the "major" improvements with the new OS, and those are features already available on the G1 (admittedly, video capturing was just added last week with the Cupcake update). So what separates the iPhone from the G1? My answer is...the iPhone lacks the physical keyboard, and the G1 supports tethering through 3rd party apps. (note: the new iPhone supports tethering, but AT&T reportedly does not.)

[sunnwest]

@dracoaffectus

"So what separates the iPhone from the G1? My answer is...the iPhone lacks the physical keyboard"

Your not serious are you... you wouldn't really want to go back to using a physical keyboard would you... You might as well request an intena that pulls out of the top for better reception... I thought we were trying to go forward with technology not backwards... if the iPhone hadn't ever come out you wouldn't have the G1 or anything else like it... in case people have forgotten where the mobil phone use to be... we would still be there if it wasn't for the iPhone... people have such short term memory... its only been three years... what more do you want from them... they've done so much in such a short amount of time... they're not even a cell phone company...

[dracoaffectus]

Well, after using the on-screen keyboard for the last week, I'd have to say I find the physical keyboard much easier and much more accurate than the on-screen keyboard. I suppose I'd get used to the on-screen keyboard if I keep using it, but to me that just means the physical keyboard is better. Just because something is a little more technologically advanced does not mean it's better. Now that's not to say that physical keyboards will always be better, but current on-screen keyboards are lacking in my opinion. I'd like to see the general responsiveness, feedback and accuracy of on-screen keyboards.

The main difference I've experienced is in usability. Right off the bat, I find the on-screen keyboard in portrait view completely unusable at this point. It's too inaccurate and I can only type probably no more than 10 wpm on it. (for comparison I can type closer to 30 wpm on my phone's physical keyboard). The landscape view is much more usable, but I can't touch type accurately on it. I suppose that might come with practice, but I can actually touch type on the physical keyboard without much difficulty, so how is the new technology better? Cause as of right now it just seems inconvenient to me.

[sunnwest]

"I'd have to say I find the physical keyboard much easier and much more accurate than the on-screen keyboard."
"I find the on-screen keyboard in portrait view completely unusable at this point. It's too inaccurate and I can only type probably no more than 10 wpm on it. (for comparison I can type closer to 30 wpm on my phone's physical keyboard)." "Just because something is a little more technologically advanced does not mean it's better."

I assume that you are referring to your own experience with the G1... and not the iPhone... in which case I completely trust your judgment being that you are a G1 user and I am not.... I am sure that in the G1's case it most definitely needs a back up plan for a poor quality touch screen and/or software... hence a physical keyboard. I completely agree with you that just because something is more technologically advanced it does not mean it's better, Quality is key... How long did they work on research and development before they released it? could that possibly be the reasons for poor quality... Like you said "Just because something is a little more technologically advanced does not mean it's better." Features, features, features...look at all the features the G1 has that the iPhone doesn't... but does it work properly?

As an iPhone user I can honestly say that I don't have any of the problems you are having with your G1... it works great and isn't that the point.
In Apple's case they spent 5 years in research and development before the first iPhone was released... and on top of that they used there own OS they had been developing for years priar... Who's catching up with who?

[lakorai2]

So let me see...

Apple REMOVED the expresscard/34 slot and then replaced it with an SD slot? Wow, way to go Apple, you saved $3 on each machine to make it far less upgradable.

That's stupid. Now you can't add eSata or other nexgen devices and the machine becomes even LESS useful to professionals, like people that need to do video editing on the go. Now you have to go out and buy a $2700 17" Macbook Pro to do stuff like connect hi-speed external drives, SAS drives, RAID, specialty audio cards, additional USB ports or if you blow one of the ports on your machine you can get the functionality back by buying a FW800 expresscard for example.

FW800 is much slower than eSATA.

And you can do this all on a cheap $450 PC laptop. Wow.

And now the iPhone has features that old as hell Windows Mobile phones had, like Copy and Paste and Data Tethering (which doesn't work with AT&T).

yawn

[Jonathan Monahan]

You know they dropped the price on the 17" too. Only 2499 now same price as a high end 15" yesterday.

[kcotham]

expresscard/34 is not used by many people at all. Neither was PCMCIA. Most of what you need is already in the computer.

As for eSATA, it's not a common standard. FireWire is more common. "blow one of the ports"? What are you, a drag racing mechanic? If you need some speed for data transfer, get a drive with 1000Mb Ethernet. You could network it and have high speeds, albeit not as fast as eSATA's advertised bandwidth.

Whine and moan, whine and moan.

[G|Net]

I too am disappointed to hear of the jettisoning of the ExpressCard on the 15" MacBook Pro; I love how the implication was "we're leaving it on the 17-inch for the pros".....um, does that mean that the other other MacBook PRO models are not for PROS?

Mobile musicians/recording engineers are going to be up in arms over this, as it means they will soon only have one mobile Mac option for using recording interfaces like the UAD-2 and for some Pro Tools users. And that one option will be the most expensive one.

[kcotham]

Personally, they could have left the card reader off of them. I rarely ever use a card reader. I've got a huge card in my camera and I hardly ever store photos on it anyway. I almost never gets filled up Only once, on a job did it ever get filled up. I always have my cable with me or plenty of room or a spare card anyway. For the rare times I need to offload the photos without a cable, I've got an USB card reader that reads all the major types of cards except xD (which my newest point and shoot camera uses).

I don't miss the expresscard or PCMCIA either. I've never needed them. But I can see why some would panic. Just in case they need it, it's gone.

[winstein]

eSATA IS a common feature. I recently bought an HP because I specifically want eSATA. I bought my HP laptop last month for $800 (it was on sale) with Core 2 Duo T8600, eSATA port, Express Card slot, a remote control, and 1680x1050 resolution.

I'll gladly buy an Apple laptop if the price is right. I have a Mac Mini and a Mac Pro (8 core). But I also have a PC desktop and a HP laptop.

[kcotham]

Winstein, I meant that you don't see a lot of peripherals with eSATA interfaces on them yet. I personally am looking forward to FireWire 3200.

[bernzeppi]

Totally agree... the expresscard was an enabler for the new media emerging in the film market....35mm film is almost dead.... p2, SxS, express ssd's, is what's happening.... it is now deliberately blocked by the engineers at apple.
Insane!
And now I know you spent engineering money to knobble your product and frustrate me.
I wanna punch the idiot that championed that idea... he/she should be sacked and a public apology issued because apple, I feel like you just punched me in the face.

[stokedawg]

Is the voice control part of the 3.0 software update? Or is that only for those who purchase a new iPhone 3GS? I think I can wait another year for a new iPhone, but I want to milk the OS update for all it's worth!

[G|Net]

Since Phil announced voice control as part of the unveiling of the iPhone 3GS, I assume it's only available on that model, along with the video capture, etc.

[stokedawg]

that's lame...seems like it should be part of the OS update

[skatemusiclife64]

It's only on the new iPhone 3G S

[MaggieRed]

Sour grapes.

Personally, I'm happy about the changes. iPhone OS 3.0 is a big bump, adding more features and abilities, plus opens the door for more apps. Free update for me!

OS X lots of nice new features plus a more optimized code set so my machines are more efficient now. No more requirement for QT Pro. Exchange support. All for $29. Thanks Apple.

Although I have a 24" iMac and a couple MacBooks, all looks good to me.

[karpenterskids]

Yeah, the $29 upgrade to Snow Leopard was the greatest surprise for me today!

And the more I think about it...the more sense it makes.
People shouldn't have to re-install an OS simply because the previous one was buggy.
Much less pay a lot of money to do so.

(And yes, I'm sure Snow Leopard has more than just bug fixes, but that's the main emphasis this time around)

Apple keeps winning me over with their smart moves...it's keeping me a happy customer.

[CTO_Dude]

Apple is essentially forcing users to pay for a Service Pack release of the OS.

[Perry_Clease]

"Apple is essentially forcing users to pay for a Service Pack release of the OS."

Yes because if you don't upgrade within 1 week from when Snow Leopard is released then your current version of Leopard will no longer run and your Mac will be bricked. Pretty good way to FORCE users to upgrade to a service pack.

Are you REALLY a Chief Technical Officer or does the CTO in your handle stand for something else?

[sproutdaddy]

While the updates were nice, I suppose, none of them merited the attention of previous WWDCs. The iPhone updates seem pretty weak for a 3.0 version of the software, the hardware updates might be necessary, but are hardly exciting, and all of it...still...depends on AT&T being able/willing to carry their share of the load, which up to know has met with mixed success. That tethering is not an option on AT&T, that MMS - a service available on nearly every competitive product - is a "in a few months" option now, that processor speed increases are still likely to be little noticed if network speeds don't pick up - all of it speaks to AT&T's shoddy performance as a partner. I'm not upgrading any time soon from my 4GB original - thus far, nothing has emerged to suggest increased trust in AT&T or a definite need for the product.

The platform updates were nice, I suppose. I couldn't help but chafe at all of the updates to the 13" Macbook since I'm typing on 2-month-old version of that machine that's now significantly diminished in comparison to the new model, but I guess it had been long enough to avoid an SD card slot, which while it won't please pros much, was I believe a wanted and useful option for legions of casual users and was departure from other competitor's laptops.

Snow Leopard = yawn, which surprised me given the forum here. I thought they should have spent more time on snow leopard, given the impending release of Windows 7, but I'm not sure there was much more to talk about, which is kind of sad.

Perhaps they're saving some stuff behind the curtain for an event with Steve Jobs in the near future. One can only hope...

[drhamad]

Snow Leopard is all about 64-bit, not feature improvements. They have said that for months/years. So to the average user, that's going to be a total yawn (in terms of marketing)... hence the low price.

[G|Net]

- "Handwriting recognition is now built into the OS."

I know I won't be the only one to point this out, but.....it was built-in to the *OS* several years ago....and can be harnessed when using a graphics tablet. A better statement would have been "handwriting recognition is now built-in to the multi-touch trackpad."


- "The halo effect seems to be true. Apple says that OS X users have tripled since the release of the iPhone."

The 'halo' effect is usually described to imply the number of Windows-using iPod/iPhone users coming over to buy Mac hardware. The "OS X" users number is simply expressing how the majority of "OS X" users are iPhone/iPod users - it doesn't neccessarily mean more people are buying Macs.

[drhamad]

Yeah I thought that was a strange way to talk about the halo effect too.

[Josh.Lowensohn]

Apple has talked about the halo effect as part of Mac purchases since the iPod. Today it was showing off that sales chart in relation to when the iPhone was released. Sorry if that was murky.

No ExpressCard? That means no eSATA. And that means you just eliminated my ability to buy my favourite laptop. As a pro editor, I can't use a 17" - too big. I need the 15" BMP to actually be a Pro model, not a consumer toy. What do I give a #%^ about an SD card slot?

BRING BACK EXPRESSCARD! Or add eSATA!

[Yelonde]

At least you will be glad to know that the price of the 17 inch is now the same as the price of the old 15 inch.

I know, it sucks that you have limited choices, but hey, you can always go for the refurb store. With the recent changes in price, in sure you can get an older pro with an expresscard slot for about $1500.

[sevort]

Hey, just buy the now discontinued one - at great price, btw, while they are available...

[bernzeppi]

Totally agree!
The professional segment relies on this connectivity.
!7" is too big on set.... Apple should put express slot on the 13" with a firewire to enable it to capture media in the field.
The macbook pro's are NOT pro... that word meant something once.
They used to be good apple did....

[cylon004]

But can the iphone send MMS yet? (with out paying for a 3rd party app)
I submit not..

I agree the iphone is a nice phone.. But why so much hype of it?

[pennmike]

"But can the iphone send MMS yet? (with out paying for a 3rd party app)
I submit not.."

You "submit" wrong, Cylon. Were you even paying attention to this whole event? YES, the iPhone can MMS once it hits stores.

[ewestby]

Yes. iPhone OS 3.0 -- which will run on all iPhone models -- includes MMS.

[jpg27]

hahahaha.....OWNED!!!

[bigwhite2k9]

I have an Iphone 3G already. I'm happy with the same design so my Incase Power Slider will work on the new phone. But unlike last year if you already have an Iphone you don't qualify for the upgrade. So it will be $500 instead of $300. I'll wait to June 17 and download 3.0 before I make my final decision. At $300 its a no brainer because I can sell my 16GB and recover most of my money back but at $500 I'm not sure even though I would like the extra memory.

[seven7dust]

you can pretty much buy a new phone and sign a new contract actually
or a buy a unlocked version too !
this is ridiculous ! why does Apple like At&t again ?

[kcotham]

Supposedly they have the best distribution of their 3G network in the US. Other than that, I can't imagine why Apple would like AT&T. With AT&T dragging their feet, I wouldn't be surprised to see Apple make some new deals with some other carriers.

[seven7dust]

I don't get this sudden obsession over a SD slot
people have screamed about this for years and finally gave up
when they realized that not many people cared about it
but with the express card slot you can add a lot more functionality like a data card etc.
I'll take a expresscard slot over a SD slot anyday or even firewire !
even though I can make do with the USB alternatives
the convenience of a Expresscard slot is a huge !
C'mon Apple even 400$ Pc notebooks have this feature !
even though they brough down the price of the macbook pro to 1699$
this is ridiculous !
I might be forced into a hakintosh for my future laptops !

[kcotham]

I'd probably not ever use an Expresscard, but I agree, I'd rather see it than a SD slot. My main camera right now uses xD.

[assman]

I wanted an iPod Touch upgrade dammit. Guess I'll have to wait longer before i buy.

[ppratik96]

Will updating from Tiger to Snow Leopard still be $29 and will iLife 08 for tiger work on Snow Leopard?

[riodejaneiro2007]

If I'm going to have to wait until 12/12/2009 before I can pay $299 for a 32gb iPhone 3GS, I might as well wait another 6 months to see what Apple introduces next summer. Great job Apple and AT&T.

[creative36]

I'm pretty impressed. iPhone is already the best cell phone on the market. Apple made some modifications to make even better. Why mess with success? I don't think I will buy on though. I buy something with features I will use sparingly, if at all. My only question is why would a cell phone maker make a physical keyboard at this point for there device? It's like going backwards.

[Josh BSN]

CURSE YOU ETERNALLY for not having HDMI. The next laptop I buy WILL have HDMI.

/rant

[kcotham]

Just get the adapter to go from DVI. DVI and HDMI are electrically compatible.

[dd7979]

These are just features already in other smartphones, like the HTC Touch Pro/ ATT Fuze. What they still have that's better is the VGA screen 640x480 resolution, TV out, etc. Also they don't treat you like children and you can remove your battery and have an SD slot, tether.

[stevicus]

handwriting recognition on the trackpad - sweeeeet. No more multi-radical kanji lookup (though I assume most have no idea what I'm talking about)

[hemen thacker]

The most worst was in built battery. Why would they do that to laptop?

[kcotham]

Because you can get four times the life out of the battery. Replacing the user-replaceable batteries is expensive, IF you can find one at all. This way, you don't have to worry about that for four times as long. And that can translate to many years. You'll probably never have to worry about swapping out batteries in these machines. And when you do, the fee for them to do it is on par with what a user-replaceable battery with 1/4 the life costs.

That's why.

[ankeshsm]

thanking.........................................................

[nuclio]

Wow!!! what a disappointment about the Macbook "Pro" 15"... seems more like the Mac Book Semi-Pro, or the Mac Book Wanna Be Pro. To pay that much $ for a laptop and to not get an ExpressCard port is ridiculous. SD Card Slot you have got to be kidding!!! What the hell is a pro supposed to use that for? Almost every device that has a SD card for memory can direct inject AND charge via USB or FW? Granted pros, especially those in audio/video/media have peculiar needs that might not make sense to office types or consumers but isn't that the target for these machines? I thought the corporate machine was the AIR... no drive yet another brilliant move...and the consumer version was the MacBook. I'm worried about Apple with Steve Jobs out of the office.The bean counters are running amok making decisions based on just numbers. Artists and Media pros supported Apple through the $hit years, and created their aura of cool and this is how we get treated. One overpriced, under featured computer... at least they put FW back on the 13"... Hope the bean counter that made that great decision got fired. Man I'm done with Apple HW. My pre-Unibody 15" will be the last HW I buy from Apple.

[bernzeppi]

Totally agree!
This is a stupid move of the order of removing firewire... or remember Apple Lisa!?
... a new bunch of idiots have taken over apple and aren't they arrogant?
This would have to be the ********* move made by this company for years.
We are now on notice as to the new policy from apple.
When noises were made about charging for Mpeg4 players, BBC invented Dirac and open sourced it so professionals wouldn't get trapped....
Apple has become one of those companies who want to trap us... time to shift... AVID, other editing brands and alternate hardware providers now look attractive to me!
sad... I was a big apple fan