This year’s Macworld keynote was, well, different. With rumors flying left and right and the next generation of operating systems right around the corner, this keynote had the potential to be the biggest of them all. Now that they keynote is over, I feel a little disappointed. Not one product I can run out and purchase today. Not one enhancement to Apple’s software. Not one mention of Apple’s computers or next generation operating system, Leopard.
Alright to be honest, I did enjoy the keynote. I enjoyed every moment of the keynote up until the last moment. When they announced that the iPhone would be a widescreen iPod also, I was practically foaming from the mouth. However, when the Steve Jobs walked off the stage with not one mention of Leopard, the foam dried up quickly and the excitement level dropped.
Sure, the Apple TV and iPhone are amazing; it’s just they’re not obtainable now. The Apple TV doesn’t come out until February and wasn’t a surprise to begin with, while the iPhone won’t be released until June and is way out of my price range anyway.
Still, that’s not main reason I’m disappointed. I’m disappointed because the keynote has always been about the Mac. Steve Jobs always tells the crowd about Mac sales. He always talks about how well the Apple stores are doing. He always releases a new iLife and iWork during the keynote. And, he always has a new Mac or something OS X related to show us.
This year we got nothing. Nada. Not even a sales report. Kind of hard to swallow when Vista is being released in three weeks. You usually use the time before your competitor’s product release to talk about how good your product is. Why people should hold off on buying the competitor’s products and wait for yours instead. But, no. Steve doesn’t even mention that Leopard exists.
If Leopard isn’t ready to be shown yet, then Apple should have at least talked about iLife and iWork. Both of those application suites are something which can enhance Tiger and make new Mac more appealing. The suites also have the benefit of giving people something to buy right after the keynote; a tradition since the beginning.
Maybe I’m just crazy, but I was really hoping that Apple would have shown some attention to their business’ main product, the Mac. Maybe they’re still going to do that sometime during Macworld, or they figured the iPhone would be so popular it would overshadow anything they mention about the Mac. Either way, it doesn’t make me happy and leaves me wondering how Apple is going to compete against public enemy number one, Vista.
54 Comments
No, you’re not crazy, Ron. I completely agree with you. I was totally shell-shocked when the iPhone announcement dragged on and on and left no time for the Mac-related stuff. I’m guessing they’ll have another event soon where they’ll talk about Leopard, iLife and iWork.
While I too am disappointed, I have been able to rationalize it. Maybe Leopard will come up closer to the release of Vista to really try and one-up Microsoft. And really there was so much hype that went into this keynote - the rumor sites set us all up for disappointment. I am just hopeful there is more to come in the next few weeks, and I am confident Apple wouldn’t intentionally leave out the mention of such important releases without having “one more thing…”
I must say Ron, I didn’t watch the full keynote, but I’ve read about it. Very disappointed myself. I was looking up the tech specs on the iphone, cause it actually looked interesting, but then I saw a little note about battery life being 5 hours. Let’s face it, a cell phone with a 5 hour charge is completely useless. I was also hoping to hear something about Leopard, but, we’ll see.
I was actually waiting for Leopard, and some new hardware in MacBookPros (quad cell maybe)… but instead of “one more thing”, I won’t become a switcher yet.
But then again, the iPhone does overshadow everything and makes one
droolwonder what Leopard will offer.Touchscreen? Or will there be MacBooks with touchscreen (no no tablets).
That’s 5 hours of talk time. They didn’t give a number for idle time like most cell providers usually give. So, the battery life shouldn’t be too bad. Maybe a charge a night.
Idle time is 11 hours, Ron.
Well that is a little low. In fact, very low. You would think the phone would at least be able to go morning to night without a charge.
Yeah, well… let’s hope they improve it by June.
Smaran, the reported playback (iPod) time is 15hrs, so I don’t know where you get 11hrs on idle (did you mean standby?) from.
Uh… dunno, I think I read it on either Engadget or MacRumorsLive.
With a 16hr music playback time I can’t see idle time being 11hrs… think…then post.
http://www.apple.com/iphone/technology/specs.html
I was hoping for a little more as well, but with that said I dont think Mr Jobs could have just done 15 mins on the iPhone, after all the wanted to ‘reinvent’ the phone. It would have been a very long speach if they had included everything that was on the rummor mills. Considering how much time and effort they have put into the iPhone, they had to give it a good demonstration. Also I think as battery life goes, its about the same as most window CE xda’s things. which no word about 3rd party apps go (ex widgets), it more palm poliot thing than just a cell. I would not be surpirsed if they came out with two models, one more of a phone/ipod than an everything pod
Well, I wasn’t the least bit disappointed by the keynote content. Jobs confirmed the existance of products which were shroaded in rumour. Leopard, iLife and iWork revisions are pretty much given.
I would find it rather hilarious if you actually had to play music to have a longer standby time. 15 hrs music playback, 11 hrs standby.
All kidding aside, I think the standby would probably be upwards of 20+ hours if you can have music playing for 15. I imagine the backlight for the phone would have to be off nearly the entire time to actually get ~15 hours, correct?
Notice how they took the “Computer” out of “Apple Computers”. Diversification, thats why Job’s didn’t introduce or talk about Macs, 2006 was a big year for new Macs, 2007 is starting with Apple’s diversification further into products that connect Macs to the world. The iTV and the iPhone are a step from Mac’s to the world.
That SUCKS. Because Apple is, and always have been about the computer. In my mind, the Macintoshes are Apple’s most amazing creations, the iPod, iPhone and iTV are all secondary. If you look at the company’s history you’ll see that products like the Newton have come and gone, but the Mac has always prevailed. I am very disturbed by the name change.
There’s a reason why Jobs took the “computer” out of their name… get used to it. Apple… the new Sony.
I’d just like to point out that as Steve announced, they are no longer Apple Computer but just Apple.
They are becoming a home consumer provider and aren’t just providing Computers anymore so things are likley to change in terms of their Keynotes etc.
They don’t just build computers anymore
I’m not going to accept it. Apple’s main focus should remain the computer.
@ Keir: Yes, we all know. That’s what this is about.
This year’s Macworld keynote clearly emphasizes Apple’s shift to consumer electronics rather than their main focus being on Mac. I hope you would have heard the announcement about ‘Computer’ dropping off from their official incorporated name of ‘Apple Computer Inc.’ There you go - ‘Apple Inc.’. That’s it.
Secondly, Apple’s marketing team over-achieved(IMHO) their target with not only their stock price jumping 8% but their rival’s (not Microsoft but other phone manufacturers ;-)) plummeting the same degree.
Now, does it make sense why he didn’t speak on what we were expecting?
iPhone = myPhone,
Varun
Yeah, I was hoping to hear more about Leopard too. This and the announcement that they dropped “Computer” from their name kinda made me sad.
I guess it’ll come full circle when phones, TVs, and pods bring people back to the OS X platform.
yeah no mention of anything new for the softwares… i was really waiting for that. then it eneded. steve jobs should have said something about Leopard. like something we havent seen before on any os. just to keep the excitement.. a little teaser.. but oh well the iPhone looks nice but imho kinda big…. a little too big..
Legit get paid to surf
btw does howcome it doesnt support 3g????
I’m a mac lover. Not for mac but for waht they make.
I don’t care what they make because they always do the best job and they make the best product. To love Apple for Apple is stupid.
It’s not as if they’re going to stop making computers, they’re just indicating that they don’t only make them.
Microsoft don’t just make software anymore, maybe they should call themselves Micro. But then they don’t make anything anymore, they just copy and paste.
CTRL+C and CTRL+V= Microsofts innovations in the last 10 years.
I wasn’t disappointed at all. I think we did get a preview of Leopard, in the form of a condensed OS in the iPhone. One of the listed features of the iPhone is Core Animation, which is incidentally one of the features of Leopard. It stands to reason that the iPhone is running Leopard. If the slickness of the iPhone’s interface is any indication of what Leopard will be, sign me up!
A few of the UI elements also seemed to point toward the rumored “illuminous” look. Does this mean that Leopard will only come out in June? I doubt it. But I would rather Apple take a little longer and put out an exceptional product, which obliterates Vista, than rush something out just to compete with Microsoft’s release schedule. Should be an interesting year for Apple.
I wasn’t disappointed by the keynote. The new iPhone is really amazing and is a huge breakthrough in the world of PDA/Smartphone/iPod.
I’m sure that their is more to come (Steve Jobs hinted at 3G) like a version of iWork design of the iPhone (that could be a big plus and possible with the same zomming approach than Safari).
But what’s more, the better of this is that we still have something to wait for: Leopard, iLife, iWork and more…
Sometime the wait is exciting in itself…
I was also disappointed in not hearing one bit of information about the mac except that Apple is going to drop computer from its name. The mac is the core product of the company and not a word.
It is disappointing. MacWorld had became “AppleWorld”.
yeah, im abit bummed about no ilifde so far, whats with that?!? and no newmacs, and the iphone will get to australia in OVER A YEAR?!?!?!??!?!??????? what a bad keynote for an aussie student with no hdtv.
Ermm.. The iPhone *IS* a COMPUTER.
What constitutes a computer changes drastically, every few years. Whereas you young uns’ might’ve grown up in a world where there was ‘always’ a computer on the desktop or on a table in Starbucks, or in someones hot lap, for other people, Computers haven’t always been the same ..
Get over it. Apple are still in the computer business. The iPhone is a computer. Computers are changing. Soon, carting around a laptop is going to be as old, fuddy duddy and antiquated a form of personal computing as it once was to sit in a Halon room with naught but Amber to illuminate ones late night hacks ..
SORT the sht guys… Gee .. how many Fin presentations you WANT.
Gee we Know how Rocka the macs are .. we dont need to be told every mac world. : man, anyway I think MWSF is a dum date it should be later in month
Ie.Give the guy a break he needa to have some time for holiday etc before talking to a bunch of ..”some Loosers” .. MWSF should be 1 feb:
PS also Iphone WAYYYY to cheap.
Thank you for voicing exactly what I was feeling. I live in Canada, so I have no idea how long it will take for the iPhone to get here, and if I’ll be able to afford it when it finally does.
I wanted to hear about Leopard, I wanted resolution independence, I wanted software! This fancy new MacBook is just itching for new toys. P
I’m expecting… well, hoping… that there will be a super sneaky Apple event in the coming weeks. That’s all I have left to hope for!
30 Nic Waller on Jan 10, 2007 at 8:25 am (Quote):
Hey Nic Ta was that to me… Yeah. Um if we had some more competetion apple have heaps of cool thingsd … waiting for tech to catch up ….
Fortums are cool huh… PS MS shoud really be suied over Vista: not that i am sue pro.
I think there is a larger picture here. Notice that Apple has changed their name from Apple Computer to Apple Inc. Obviously this is a recognition that they are more than a computer company. While being disappointed with lack of iLife and Leopard Info, I did give thought to the fact that there is no reason there won’t be a shiny new Touch iPod before the next holiday season. I really don’t care about the phone just give me everything else for a bit less.
Gue man Patience people: Why do nt we all get togeather to make some products… I mean it I personally Pro Designer.
We should work on a iwatch anyone up for it? .
Anyone else -not- want and iphone? First of all, i have 20gb of music and the whole point of my ipod is to be able to carry it all. Price point is high, especially if you consider that is -with- a service contract. Oh, and Cingular blows, that’s a dealbreaker too. I would be much more inclined to buy the iPhone if it didn’t play music, as I don’t need my phone to do that, unless it can play all of it. That’s really the shitty thing about “crossover” devices, is that they usually don’t do anything well. I would, however, buy an iPod that did everything but telephone. Oh, and that Apple TV thing, wow, total disappointment. Where’s the PVR? I was literally drooling for what might be announced at Macworld, and now I’m completely bummed out.
36 Josh BUtts on Jan 10, 2007 at 9:28 am (Quote):
What your problem man.
What have you made ???
Jon BUTT
It is tough, but the truth is that their iPod is more popular than their “Computers”.
This event shouldn’t be called Macworld anymore… Its Appleworld
Macworld is dead - long live to “Appleworld” event
But the iPhone IS a Mac. It’s got a computer in it. It runs OS X. The version will probably be Leopard.
The focus for the majority of consumers will continue to move away from *computers* per se — because they’re in *everything*. With the iPhone, Apple is trying to capitalize on the popularity of the iPod to be seen as something more than a computer company.
The question is whether they’ll keep making computers … if music and telephone make them much, much bigger. Once Jobs leaves, that might happen.
Worst Keynote Ever!!!
I don’t care about the iPhone… i’m 16 and can’t afford it. I care about the Mac and am waiting to buy my first mac when leopard and ilife 07 come out. I’m currently outraged that we didn’t even get a release date. I really want a mac but don’t want to have to spend an extra £145 for the new software.
Steve Jobs…….. It’s MACworld… take a hint….
Macs costs more than a (i)phone, right? :p
Adam
Loosee the retard attitude.
you sound like a 80 year old cynic.
Oh and Dude Move out of UK before you bcome to boring an angry
I’d of liked to have seen some stuff on Leopard too, but would OSX moving from 10.4 to 10.5 make as big a hit on Apples share price as the iPhone (and iTV to a lesser extent)?
Uhmm… this is just a guess here — and you’ll probably think I’m crazy — but I don’t think Vista is enemy #1 anymore, not until Apple decides to allow OS X to run on non-Apple computers. In fact, judging by the way Apple’s been acting lately, it seems that Microsoft itself isn’t all that much in the picture. I mean, sure, it’s hard to miss the 800 pound gorilla, but… well, the gorilla’s lost some weight, no?
Here’s where I’m getting at: Apple has always always always tried to bill itself as a hardware company. They can’t do that anymore, really. They’ve been a software company pretending to be a hardware company as long as I can remember. Now, finally, they’re starting to become a hardware company — with one hell of a software side — by producing things like the iPhone and iPod.
Enemy #1 Vista? Hardly. Microsoft? Likely. Sony? Definitelly. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me to see a partnership between Nintendo and Apple, seeing as Nintendo’s behaving a lot like Apple lately when it comes to product design. (I’m sure you all know much more about that than I, since I don’t really pay much attention to the world of Apple. Maybe that’s already been discussed.)
Apple’s doing something spectacularly well: taking all the devices across different industries — cell phones, mp3 players, pvp’s, pda’s — and putting them in one device. By doing this, they’re waging war not on one company, but on various industries. Frankly, I think they can win, unless someone learns to beat them at their own game, and with Jobs at the helm I’ve never seen anyone really do that.
Gnorb, excellent incite. While I agree with you completely on who the real enemies are, right now Vista is first in line. No other product is as much of a threat to Apple’s business than Vista. Besides, Steve Jobs despises Vista. Vista cloned Mac OS X in many aspects, and Apple needs to show the world what Leopard had that Vista doesn’t. In six month’s it’s back to worrying about Sony and other electronic makers. Right now it’s Vista they need to focus on.
Anthony sounds drunk. xD
Ronald: Call it a weird hunch here, but if Apple decided to completely get out of the computer market, I doubt they’d go under. Vista may be their copying Apple OS X (and dear god does it ever), but Apple has 2 things Windows doesn’t:
1) A dedicated fanbase that will not switch to anything else.
2) Technological superiority in software.
Jobs knows this. He also knows that if he creates success with the aforementioned devices — cell phones, mp3 players, pvp’s, pda’s, etc — by taking the Apple philosophy of usability and art in design, and is able to create a strong enough profit from both the iPod and iPhone, he won’t have to worry about what’s happening on the computer side: that, I will almost guarantee, will sustain itself, at least in the short run. (Besides, Vista’s gotten so much bad press that Apple doesn’t need to chime in. They just have to lead by example.)
No, Vista is no threat to apple now. The oft-talked about, but never materialized iPod killer is, since — don’t know if you’ve noticed — but Apple share’s been going down in the MP3 market (from a high of 82% to currently 75% now, IIRC). Apple needs the iPhone to succeed in order to keep their momentum. They don’t need to beat Vista in order to do that. Jobs is choosing his battles VERY wisely here. If he wants to beat MS — and I’m sure that’s whetting his appetite — he’ll beat them in the device arena (hence Apple TV vs. the Windows media system), then move to the software side. Still, unless Apple can gain leverage by looseing their restrictions on the OS, they stand no chance there anywhere. If you have only one computer type to rely on, no matter how great it is, you still lose. If you have many, then the merits of the software (in addition to the marketing) will show themselves.
Wow, a lot of comments on this one Ron, good job. Anyway, back to battery life, either way, if you use the iphone everyday for what it is made to do, it won’t last the whole day, which to me is pointless. Now, on to other things.
Nintendo Apple partnership? Not very likely, considering the different realms of technology they live in, pure videogames and computer hardware are still very different, plus Nintendo being based in Japan makes them different enough already.
I definitely agree with what a lot of people have said about the portable device problems. For about a year and a half now, I’ve been dreaming of a portable device that does everything. Portable videogames, music, phone, internet, pretty much the 4 basics aspects of my life. PSP let me down a little bit, the games part has gotten better, however, no phone, not good storage for music, and the internet part is slow and hard to use. The iPhone, no good games, better storage, but still not enough for my personal use. I think the company that manages to make this device, the device that is a must have for everyone to have on them at all times, is the one that will take a huge leap in front of everyone else. It’ll take doing all those things well, being not too expensive, easily upgradeable, and small. Maybe one day soon…
iPhone is available with Cingular ONLY!? And what if I am stuck under contract with a carrier OTHER than Cingular but still want a iPhone?
Well, the only solution I could fine was http://www.Cellswapper.com - they get you out of any cell phone contract!
Well I see no point in this. All I care about is Leopard. Now I hear it’s coming out in June? I thought it would be in mid March or even May…
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