Summary of 'It's Only Rock and Roll' Media Event

Here is the summary of the event as it happened:

• Steve Jobs on stage for presentation and receiving a standing ovation.
• Going to talk about music, but first iPhone. Over 30 million iPhones sold in 2 years. 1.8 billion apps sold.
• New today: iPhone OS 3.1. Free. Brings “Genius” to apps. 30,000 ringtones for $1.29 each.
• Now for music. 8.5 billion iTunes songs sold, 100 million accounts. #1 music retailer in the world.
• Introducing iTunes 9: Genius database expanded to include “Genius Mixes”, which automatically plays songs from your library that go together
• New syncing options: artists, genres, etc. Also for photos and movies. Manage iPhone apps in iTunes: arrange home screens.
• Home sharing to manage copying of songs, TV shows, apps, etc. to up to 5 computers in your house.
• Cleaner layout for iTunes Store.
• iTunes LP: Album packages with tons of bonus material - lyrics, photos, videos, etc.
• Now showing a demo of iTunes 9.
• iTunes Extras: Bonus material for movies. Similar to DVD bonus features, but also includes interactive material.
• Schiller on stage to talk about iPods.
• Over 220 million sold to date, 73.8% market share. iPod touch is fastest growing product. Over 20 million sold. Plus 30 million iPhones.
• Fastest growing product is the iPod touch: sold 20 million of them. Going over why it’s so great…music, video, apps, internet, etc. Great gaming device.
• 21,178 games and entertainment apps on the iPhone/iPod touch. 3,680 for Nintendo DS, 607 for Sony PSP. Now showing video montage of games.
• Developer demos: First up, Ubisoft to talk about Assassin’s Creed II. Simultaneous release with other platforms. Put your own photos on wanted posters.
• Tapulous: Previewing Riddim Ribbon, a racing/music game.
• Gameloft: New FPS called “Nova”. Very “Halo-like.”
• EA: Showing off Madden NFL 2010 to wrap up the demos.
• Schiller back on stage. Talking about iPod touch…most affordable gateway to the App Store. Dropping price on 8 GB model from $229 to $199.
• New iPod touch price points: $199 for 8 GB, $299 for 32 GB, $399 for 64 GB.
• Also making the 32/64 GB versions faster, with ability run OpenGL|ES 2.0 like the iPhone 3GS.
• iPod classic bumped from 120 GB to 160 GB. Same $249 price point.
• iPod shuffle: New third-party headphones with iPod shuffle controls built-in.
• Now five colors for the shuffle: $59 for 2 GB and $79 for 4 GB.
• One more thing: video cameras in iPod nanos. Also includes a speaker.
• Also adding an FM radio, and Genius Mixes.
• Built-in pedometer for Nike+, larger display.
• 8GB for $149, 16GB for $179. Bright, glossy colors. Available today.
• Closing performance from Norah Jones.

source:macrumors

New iPhone and iPod Touch details? iPod to get camera?

HardMac claims that they have heard some interesting tidbits about future iPhones and iPods from their sources. 

• The future iPhone models will have exactly the same shape and size than the current iPhone 3G, despite fakes and rumors circulating.
• Apple should refresh models for the iPod nano and Touch in september. Both should now include a camera, similarly to the iPhone.

The iPhone retaining its current shape and size is perhaps consistent with the recent rumors from China, but the addition of a camera to the iPod Touch and iPod Nano is a new possibility.

A camera on the iPod Touch may make the most sense as it would bring the iPhone and iPod Touch closer together in terms of features. A camera addition to the iPod Nano, however, would be a surprise. There has been talk that Apple might be positioning video to be a killer feature in the next iPhones, and this could be an extension of that.

Meanwhile, some Best Buy inventory screenshots reveal some product placeholders for something called “Project Charlie”. Some are speculating that this could be the new iPhone, but we have our doubts of the significance of this. In the past, it’s been shown that Best Buy frequently adds inventory items without any insider knowledge.

source:macrumors|hardmac

Movies finally available on German iTunes Store

Germans can at last access movies from their local iTunes Store, Apple has announced. The company has agreed to distribution deals with a variety of major and independent studios, foreign and local, and posted an initial collection of 500 titles for renting or purchase. Some American titles include The Dark Knight and Pineapple Express, while German ones include Die Fälscher and Keinohrhasen.

Purchased movies cost €7.99 for older titles, €9.99 for more recent ones or €13.99 for new releases. Rentals are priced at €2.99 or €3.99, divided simply between library or current status; an extra euro is charged to watch a rental in HD. Only slightly over 100 titles are available to rent in HD.

Retail traffic shows lower iPhone, higher Mac sales

Recent monitoring of 25 hours of foot traffic at Apple Stores may suggest some unexpected figures for Apple’s Q2 2009 results, claims Piper Jaffray. The research firm fanned out to regular and flagship stores across the US, and noted a weighted average of 22 iPhones being sold per day. The figure is said to indicate a 15 percent drop from Q1, and numbers substantially below the November average of 28 and the July and August averages of 95.

While suggesting sales of only 3.7 million iPhones for the quarter, it is thought that Apple may still be able to meet a target of 4.4 million when sales outside of the US are taken into account. The company may have no problems however meeting Mac expectations, as a weighted average of 28 Macs sold per day is said to be well beyond current modeling. The discrepancy is attributed to the March refresh of Mac desktops, and may hint at quarterly sales of 2.2 million rather than the 2.1 million suggested by the Street.

Piper has also begun its first monitoring of iPod sales at Apple Stores, noting that it does not have any figures to compare a weighted average of 44 against. Nevertheless, the firm suggests that the average is consistent with Street predictions of 10 million in iPod sales during Q2. Piper’s price target for Apple stock remains at $180.

source:macnn

Apple updates VoiceOver Kit for iPod shuffle

Apple on Friday released an update for the recently released iPod shuffle, fixing a couple of minor items.

The 17MB download will install VoiceOver Kit 1.0.1, which contains corrected pronunciations for several artist names. According to Apple, the update also fixes a few minor bugs, but they did not elaborate on what was fixed.

Apple released the new iPod shuffle in mid-March and included several new features, including the ability for the iPod to speak your song titles, artists, and playlist names. The iPod uses the VoiceOver engine to make this happen.

The update is currently not listed on Apple’s Web site, but it is available from the software update mechanism in Mac OS X.

$1.29 songs dropping on iTunes charts

The institution of variable song prices on iTunes has directly translated to a decrease in the popularity of the more expensive songs, Billboard finds in a short-term study of the immediate wake of the change. Those songs that were boosted to a $1.29 price typically fell 5.3 places on iTunes’ Top 100 charts on Wednesday and another 2 places on Thursday. In exchange, those songs that kept their 99-cent pricing rose an average of 2.5 spots on Wednesday and 1.7 on Thursday.

In some cases, the changes were enough to push certain songs off the chart altogether. How 69-cent songs have been affected isn’t clear, though these are usually older or less popular titles that are unlikely to chart.

The music charting organization notes that the price increases don’t automatically translate to lost revenue for labels but that it doesn’t necessarily take a steep drop in unit numbers to swing to a loss. A 23.3 percent loss in the number of songs sold is enough to nullify the advantage of a price increase.

A similar study has yet to be conducted on other stores that have also agreed to variable pricing in return for protection-free songs, such as Amazon and Walmart.

With less than a week of sales, the long-term effect of the price cut has yet to be determined. Billboard also warns that other factors can affect the songs’ positions. However, the initial results appear to support views that variable pricing is more likely to deter single-track sales of popular songs.

source:macnn

Apple Launches '1 Billion App Countdown' Promotion

Apple today launched a 1 Billion App Countdown promotion, offering the opportunity for users to enter to win a package of prizes valued at over $13,000.

As of today, nearly one billion apps have been downloaded around the globe. So we just want to say thanks - a billion. Download an app and you’ll automatically get the chance to win a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card, an iPod touch, a Time Capsule, and a MacBook Pro. Just go to the iTunes Store, browse the App Store, and download your best app yet.

Entries are limited to users 13 years and older from participating countries. Users are limited to 25 entries per day, and the contest closes when the billionth app is downloaded.

Apple offered similar promotions to mark 100 million (2004) and 1 billion (2006) iTunes song downloads.

source:macrumors

iPhone Skype may be tip of the iceberg for carriers

Though mobile operators say they want more open phone platforms and are moving toward packet-based 4G networks, they are stuck between a future of being “dumb pipes” like DSL or cable operators and a present in which the bulk of their revenue still comes from the sale of voice minutes.

The arrival of Skype for the iPhone and BlackBerry platforms at last week’s CTIA trade show brought the issue to a head. The most popular VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) platform, which claims more than 405 million users, has now made it on to two of the hottest smartphone lines. A free Skype application is available now from Apple’s App Store, and software for two BlackBerry models is set to become available next month in beta testing. Skype lets users make free calls to other Skype customers and inexpensive ones to traditional phones.

The announcements were met with mixed reactions from these carriers in transition. The future 4G technologies LTE (Long-Term Evolution) and WiMax are data networks, where everything is transported as a packet. Technically, that will make any pure 4G carrier with voice service into a VoIP provider. But operators are still trying to figure out how to shift their business models to that environment, as most of their money today comes from voice services that are vulnerable to competition from Skype and others. In 2008, data services still generated only 22 percent of U.S. mobile carrier revenue, according to the CTIA trade association, which sponsored last week’s show.

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Video recording interface unearthed in iPhone Software 3.0

Following weeks of evidence and source reports on Apple’s intentions to include video recording features in its next-generation iPhone, a new discovery within betas of the company’s iPhone 3.0 software has all but officially confirmed the plans. Separate hints at Voice Dialing features are also being reported.

The below screenshot of the video recording panel was dug up by MacRumors contacts, showing an interface similar to the existing iPhone camera application with the addition of a digital toggle switch in the lower right-hand corner of the app for switching between still photos and video captures.

“The video recording is not presently functional in iPhone 3.0 beta, and the interface is not accessible by default,” according to the report. “Only when configuration files were modified telling the firmware that a Video Camera was present will this interface appear.”

In addition to the toggle switch, a square interface element on the left-hand side is also visible. This isn’t specific to the video capture component of the application and is actually a fixture of the new Camera application due to ship as part of iPhone Software 3.0. It will display a thumbnail of the most recent image or video captured by the user.

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iTunes Variable Pricing Live, More Countries Supported

As previously reported, Apple has deployed variable pricing on the iTunes App Store today. This means songs can be priced at $0.69, $0.99 or $1.29 based on the artists’ popularity.

True to supply-and-demand economics, the price of music downloads will be geared to the artist’s popularity. Releases from new artists would receive the lower pricing, while tracks from popular acts would get slapped with the higher rate. Even classics, such as Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA,” could retail for the higher price. Most of the 10 million songs in the iTunes catalog are expected to remain at 99 cents.

Apple announced this plan at Macworld San Francisco. The record labels have long requested variable pricing and, in exchange, Apple has been allowed to transition all their music content to DRM-free (no copy protection).

In addition, it appears Apple has greatly expanded the countries that iTunes now supports (screenshot).

source:macrumors