Steve Jobs just finished the 2008 World Wide Developers Conference keynote and, other than a confirmation of the rumor that the next Mac OS X version will be nicknamed “Snow Leopard”, it was all about the iPhone. A very brief summary:
New iPhone
The next generation iPhone will be called iPhone 3G and ship next month worldwide. Major new features: 3G communications (duh) for much faster Net access; built-in GPS; plastic back versus current metal; available in white; cheaper! 8GB will sell for $199, 16GB for $299. Available July 11th worldwide.
OS X iPhone 2.0
The first major update to the iPhone software will be available next month and will be a free update for existing iPhone users (iPod touch users will have to pay $10 for it.) Main feature is support for third party iPhone applications but there are other goodies as well such as contact list searching. It will also provide support for Microsoft Exchange servers which is very important for business iPhone users.
Third Party iPhone Applications
Lots of demos of third party applications, especially games. Again, the standard method for people to acquire these applications will be via a new iTunes iPhone Applications store however Apple also announced that corporations will have a mechanism to distribute their own applications internally without using the iTunes Store at all. Also, small developers will be able to distribute their applications without the iTMS with a limit of 100 authorized iPhones.
.Mac will be MobileMe
The current .Mac will soon be transformed into Mobile Me. Similar features except the emphasis will be on seamless synchronization of contacts, bookmarks, photos and now email across your different devices. Same price, $99/year, and current .Mac accounts will be automatically converted to Mobile Me. More details are available at the .Mac web site.
Mac OS X “Snow Leopard”
Some details are emerging about the next major update to Mac OS X. Code-named “Snow Leopard” it will emphasize improving the performance and stability of existing features over adding new ones. Not a whole lot of details yet but Apple has posted some basic information:
Not a lot of glamorous stuff there but the under-the-hood changes discussed should substantially improve the overall experience which beats new eye candy any day.
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