Welcome to TechNews.biz’s live coverage of Apple’s 2010 Worldwide Developers Conference.
11:55 And, that’s a wrap. Share your thoughts in the comments!
11:54 Steve is giving thanks to all the key team members and people that made iPhone 4 and iOS 4.
11:50 Yes, there is a Dock as expected, but please disregard what you may have seen on other sites. The iPhone 4 case is called Bumper, not Bunker.
11:46 Wind down video playing, summarizing everything we’ve just told you.
11:45 iOS 4 ships on June 21. And, it’s finally free for all devices supported (no more $9.99 for iPod touch owners).
11:44 iPhone 3GS to live on in 8GB form for $99.
11:43 Available June 24.
11:42 iPhone 4: $199 for 16GB, $299 for 32GB. AT&T will let you upgrade early if your contract ends at any time in 2010; up to six months early upgrading for iPhone.
11:40 Steve commits to making FaceTime an open standard, cites that it’s based on open standards as well.
11:38 “Wi-Fi only in 2010… we need to work a bit with the carriers.”
11:36 FaceTime requires both an iPhone 4 and a Wi-Fi connection. Not clear if you initiate a voice call or a separate VoIP call arrangement.
11:32 One more thing. Lights raised on stage. Steve making a video call. Or, as Apple calls it, FaceTime.
11:31 Apple claiming 48% of the projected mobile ad market for the second half of 2010.
11:30 iAd launches July 1. $60 million committed already from advertisers for the second half of this year.
11:28 Steve’s going through the iAd demos, Nissan Leaf, Toy Story 3, etc.
11:25 Apple has automated the process so that apps do not need any significant retooling to integrate into existing apps. Revenue share is handed off through iTunes Connect, and no additional accounting or signups are needed.
11:18 The eighth feature is iAds. Yes folks, a demo of iAds.
11:17 iBooks will sync purchased books across iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, similar to purchased music.
11:15 iOS 4 Golden Master ships to developers today.
11:14 Bing being added alongside Yahoo! and Google as search options for Safari.
11:13 During the demo of iOS 4 (nothing new folks, all this was demoed at the last event), a lot of people on Twitter are noting that iOS is trademarked by Cisco, setting the stage for a repeat of the iPhone trademark debacle.
11:08 And now, a review of iPhone… err… iOS 4.
11:07 Apple is renaming iPhone OS to iOS.
11:06 There are apparently over 500 base stations in the conference hall, due to ad-hoc connections and MiFis. Steve is asking everyone to put their laptops on the floor.
11:04 iMovie for iPhone will cost $4.99 “… if we approve it.”
11:03 Exporting is done completely on the device, with the A4 processor handling the re-encoding to the resolution of your choice. Share right from device.
11:02 Comes with five themes, and transitions dynamically change when themes are changed.
11:00 iMovie for iPhone includes all the same basic features as iMovie for Mac, clip editing and trimming, transitions, titles, Ken Burns effect, etc.
10:59 Since iPhone now records video at the quality of a cheap HD camcorder, Apple is introducing iMovie for iPhone, with Randy Ubillos on the stage to talk about it.
10:58 Demo of photos taken with iPhone 4. 720p HD at 30 frames per second, with tap to focus on video as it records.
10:55 The camera’s image sensor has jumped two megapixels, but without a size reduction in each pixel’s space on the light sensor. Effectively, this means each pixel has more quality in it.
10:54 On to cameras. “A whole new camera system.” In addition to the LED flash, it adds a five megapixel sensor with a “backside-illuminated sensor”.
10:53 Steve is demoing the gyroscope with 3D blocks of wood. Think Jenga.
10:51 iPhone 4 adds a gyroscope. Tied in with accelerometer and compass for six-axis motion sensing.
10:50 Quad-band HSPA data. But, no comment as to which bands… 1700/2100?
10:48 Apple A4, the same processor as inside iPad, is used for iPhone 4. microSIM was used instead of SIM to keep the device smaller. A4 will give iPhone 4 a 40% bump in battery life (3G talk time), also due to a slightly larger battery as well.
10:46 iPhone 4 also uses IPS, which Steve calls better than OLED. iPhone 4 has 78% of the pixels on an iPad. OLED screens can’t support that many pixels currently.
10:45 960×640 resolution on iPhone 4. And yes, the iPhone 4 being demoed is connected to AT&T.
10:43 Now would have been a great time to be able to use internet from USB… Steve is asking people in the audience to get off Wi-Fi because it’s too congested to load the demo.
10:42 Steve is comparing the iPhone 4′s display to iPhone 3GS’s in a side-by-side on various tasks. Photos don’t really show it well in many of these cases, you’re not missing much. But, in real life, the display difference is clearly noticeable.
10:38 Retina display. Over four times the pixel density of previous models. Claims more pixel density than the human eye can interpret when held at normal viewing distance.
10:36 Steve explains that the lines on the outside case of iPhone 4 represent the structural elements of the phone. The bands are part of the antenna, allowing steel around the sides without impacting reception.
10:34 After showing off iPhone 4 “some of you have already seen this”, Steve declares it the thinnest smartphone in the world.
10:31 Introducing iPhone 4. “… over 100 new features, only going to focus on eight of them.”
10:30 Versus Android, iPhone has twice the web browser market share, 58% versus Android’s 22.5%. Of course, this is Q1 data, and Android’s growth rate has outpaced iPhone at times since.
10:29 “Now, I’d like to talk about the iPhone.” iPhone controls 35% of the smartphone market, Windows Mobile has fallen to 28%, as of the first quarter.
10:28 The App Store has celebrated its five billionth app download. Developer revenue shares just crossed the billion dollar mark.
10:27 Steve returns to the stage.
10:25 We’re still here. Zygna was up to show you about farms, and Activision is up now to talk about Guitar Hero. If we thought you cared, we’d be risking a repetitive stress injury to bring you the latest on both.
10:19 Netflix Watch Instantly demoed for iPhone, full functionality coming to iPhone and iPod touch soon.
While they’re showing off apps you either already own, or don’t care, now’s a good time to remind you to sound off in the comments… unlike other sites, they’re open and fully operational!
10:18 App Store third-parties are on-stage. First eBay, now Netflix.
Sorry folks, Verizon’s poor signal ate a few updates here. Bottom line, Steve notes that 5% of apps are rejected each week, and cites poor app quality and use of private APIs as the two main reasons.
10:12 Steve turns his attention to the App Store, and begins with another embrace of HTML5, calling it an open and uncontrolled platform.
10:11 A new bookshelf is also available to store and view PDFs from inside the iBook app, and annotate them similarly. Update will be available later this month.
10:10 Notes and bookmarks will both be added to the app, as well as an area for you to instantly view all notes and bookmarks made for each book.
10:09 iBooks and the iBookstore are going to get an update. But first, a review of iBookstore’s performance (of course). Over five million books downloaded so far, just from iPad owners
10:07 Over 85,000 iPad-enhanced Apps have been released since launch. Over 35 million app downloads on iPads, for about 17 apps per iPad owner.
10:05 Two million iPads sold already, with one being sold every three seconds.
10:04 The reviews of past product launches are under way. Steve is talking about iPad’s success so far.
10:02 Applause as the lights dim and Steve walks on stage.
10:00 The keynote is expected to begin shortly.
Google today took the beta label off of Chrome for Mac.
