Mac OS X Snow Leopard arrives Friday and will cost $29 for those who already use Mac OS X Leopard. However, there are some deals out there.
(Credit:
Apple)
The best of the deals comes from Apple. With its Mac OS X Snow Leopard Up-to-Date Program, users can get the new operating system for $9.95. To qualify for that price, they must have purchased a qualifying Mac on or after June 8.
Apple is pretty open with the number of computers that qualify for this offer. Everything from iMacs to its MacBook notebooks is included. Specific model numbers are listed on Apple's Web site.
Apple's deal ends December 26.
For those who don't qualify for that deal, Amazon.com has an alternative one. Amazon is selling Snow Leopard for $25 for upgrades from Leopard. Apple said that Amazon also has reduced pricing--$149--on the Snow Leopard Box Set, which includes iLife '09 and iWork '09, for those upgrading from Mac OS X Tiger. (Amazon specifies that the box set is for those upgrading from Leopard. But Apple's site and an Apple rep said only Tiger users need the box set.)
Here are CNET's full review of Snow Leopard and hands-on look at the OS.
Could Apple have an e-book reader in mind with the 10-inch screens rumored for a large-scale iPod Touch?
(Credit: CNET)More Apple tablet/Netbook rumors surfaced Wednesday as one Apple watcher wonders what the company is doing with all those books.
Reuters is reporting that Apple has ordered 10-inch touch screens from Wintek, a contract manufacturer in Taiwan that makes the touch screens used in the iPhone and iPod Touch. The screens are expected to be ready by the third quarter of this year, setting the stage for a possible late 2009 introduction of the long-rumored Apple tablet and/or Netbook.
But one interesting possibility for that rumored device comes from longtime Apple writer Andy Ihnatko, who is wondering if Apple has some sort of Kindle clone in mind. Ihnatko told Newsarama that he has heard several times that Apple has been receiving truckloads of books--actual real paper-bound books--at its headquarters in Cupertino, Calif. He cautions that this doesn't "rank as high as a rumor, but it's an interesting story that I keep hearing."
The thinking is that Apple is scanning the books as to have a library of electronic titles available when it decides to launch an e-book section on the iTunes Store, perhaps accompanied by the iTablet or MacTablet Pro or whatever Apple appears to be cooking up in its labs that isn't quite an iPhone, and isn't quite a MacBook.
When Apple allowed Amazon to develop a way for iPhone users to get access to Amazon's library of e-books, it appeared the company was ceding the mobile computing e-book market to Amazon. Apple CEO Steve Jobs has dismissed the e-book reader and market in general, declaring last year that "people don't read anymore." But as has been pointed out many times before, Jobs is notorious for turning his nose up at a new product or concept right up until the day Apple ships a similar product.
Apple has taken a cautious approach to the fast-growing Netbook market thus far, saying that it is monitoring the situation but expressing concerns at the design trade-offs and low margins of most Netbooks.
However, it does seem people are interested in something that falls between a smartphone and a laptop, and if Apple was able to integrate a portable tablet computer, gaming machine, and e-book reader all in one using the maturing iPhone OS X operating system, it would be able to justify a higher price for that gadget and therefore better margins than the rest of its competitors.
roundup Got an iPhone or iPod Touch? Amazon's new Kindle for iPhone app lets you use those gadgets to read electronic books.
Kindle is not the best iPhone e-reader
Who needs a Kindle when you have an iPhone? We take a look at some of the best ways to read eBooks on your iPhone or iPod Touch.(Posted in Webware by Don Reisinger)
March 6, 2009 7:30 AM PST
First Look video: Kindle for iPhone
Here are some first impressions of Amazon's new Kindle application for the iPhone and the iPod Touch.(Posted in The Download Blog by Nicole Lee)
March 4, 2009 5:29 PM PST
Comparing Kindle 2 with Kindle's iPhone app
We came to the conclusion that the Kindle iPhone application is great for reading short passages, but the Kindle 2 is better for longer reading.(Posted in Crave by Nicole Lee)
• Images: Kindle for iPhone
• E-books lost on Kindle, found on iPod
• Kindle, schmindle...I've got your $350 e-book reader right here
March 4, 2009 4:03 AM PST
Why people won't pay for e-books on the iPhone
While Amazon might be able to find a market for $9.99 books on the Kindle, here's why it won't be selling too many e-books to iPhone users.(Posted in Fully Equipped by David Carnoy)
March 4, 2009 9:26 AM PST
Kindle opening could cripple iPhone competitors
Amazon's decision to launch an iPhone application for e-books is a one-way street that should drive more Kindle devices and e-books purchased, not fewer.(Posted in The Open Road by Matt Asay)
March 4, 2009 8:07 AM PST
First impressions of the Kindle iPhone app
At the stroke of midnight Eastern Time, Larry Magid downloaded the Kindle for iPhone applications and found it a bit lacking.(Posted in Larry Magid at Large by Larry Magid)
March 4, 2009 12:01 AM PST
Amazon offers e-books on Apple devices
Free application will allow users of the iPhone and iPod Touch to read the same e-books, magazines, and newspapers that are sold to Kindle users.(Posted in Digital Media by Steven Musil)
March 3, 2009 10:20 PM PST
See also:
• Authors Guild: Contracts forced Amazon to flip on Kindle
• More heady Wall Street predictions for Kindle 2
• IBM voice ace: Kindle no threat to audio books
• Full coverage: Kindle 2 unveiling and launch
• Review: Amazon Kindle 2
• Photos: Amazon Kindle 2
The iTunes Store is still the top destination for U.S. music shoppers, according to new data.
(Credit: Apple)Apple is still the No. 1 music retailer in the United States, but Amazon.com's online store is coming on strong.
More U.S. music buyers are getting their music fix through iTunes than from any other source, according to data released on Tuesday by NPD Group. Earlier this year, Apple took over the top spot from Wal-Mart Stores, and it maintained that lead during the six months from January to June, NPD said.
Wal-Mart is still in second place, followed by Best Buy. Taking fourth place from Target was Amazon, whose own music store has been growing in popularity since it launched last September, perhaps in part due to its DRM-free stance.
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