Wednesday
Jan162008
Tis the night after....
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 6:02AM
Whoo! What a day!
Ended up waking at 3:15am and as previously mentioned, met up with a bunch of people at the Apple Store at 4am.
By 4:20 we were at Moscone and discovered a couple of hundred people ahead of us.
Great vibe in the line and eventually the line started moving properly at about 6:30am at which point I made my play to get into the Speakers Lounge to wait for my priority keynote access. No issues getting in and ended up sitting in the lounge observing various mac luminaries. Really surprised to find no coffee or any refreshments other than water - shouldn't complain but it just seemed strange for such an early start.
Finally herded up to the keynote around 8:50 - starting to get concerned! Pretty much a free for all from that point on - not what I was expecting at all.
So on to the keynote....
Great to actually be in the audience for a change and watching things unfold live.
No real surprises and I suppose that was the major failing, there were no major surprises. Other than the Time Capsule, the other three announcements : iPhone upgrade, iTunes Rental/Apple TV2 and the thin Macbook, were all rumoured well in advance and it turns out most pundits were on the money. Why Apple can keep the design and manufacture of a brand new class of device totally secret last year, and yet be so totally transparent this year was bound to cause some disappointment.
The free update of the iPhone and the Apple TV were nice touches although the inclusion of the $20 charge for the iPod touch seemed a bit strange - might be due to the accounting practices they have to follow.
The iTunes Rental and Apple TV is a major play for the movie market and with the somewhat surprising adoption by all of the major studios it looks like it has a good chance of success. especially with the need to use a computer removed.
MAcbook Air looks to be a very cool device. A brief hands on the device shows it to be deceptively light and the touch gestures are superb.
However, the major issue I have being from the UK is the price differentials between the US and the UK.
The US price is $1799 for the Macbook Air, in the UK it will run you £1200 or $2350 (yes $2350!!!). Sorry but that just lost a sale for me.
Update: You can hear my initial reactions whilst the Reality Distortion Field was still in effect and before I heard about the UK pricing MacLevelten Post Keynote Review
Hitting the show floor properly tomorrow and having an early night - knackered!
Ended up waking at 3:15am and as previously mentioned, met up with a bunch of people at the Apple Store at 4am.
By 4:20 we were at Moscone and discovered a couple of hundred people ahead of us.
Great vibe in the line and eventually the line started moving properly at about 6:30am at which point I made my play to get into the Speakers Lounge to wait for my priority keynote access. No issues getting in and ended up sitting in the lounge observing various mac luminaries. Really surprised to find no coffee or any refreshments other than water - shouldn't complain but it just seemed strange for such an early start.
Finally herded up to the keynote around 8:50 - starting to get concerned! Pretty much a free for all from that point on - not what I was expecting at all.
So on to the keynote....
Great to actually be in the audience for a change and watching things unfold live.
No real surprises and I suppose that was the major failing, there were no major surprises. Other than the Time Capsule, the other three announcements : iPhone upgrade, iTunes Rental/Apple TV2 and the thin Macbook, were all rumoured well in advance and it turns out most pundits were on the money. Why Apple can keep the design and manufacture of a brand new class of device totally secret last year, and yet be so totally transparent this year was bound to cause some disappointment.
The free update of the iPhone and the Apple TV were nice touches although the inclusion of the $20 charge for the iPod touch seemed a bit strange - might be due to the accounting practices they have to follow.
The iTunes Rental and Apple TV is a major play for the movie market and with the somewhat surprising adoption by all of the major studios it looks like it has a good chance of success. especially with the need to use a computer removed.
MAcbook Air looks to be a very cool device. A brief hands on the device shows it to be deceptively light and the touch gestures are superb.
However, the major issue I have being from the UK is the price differentials between the US and the UK.
The US price is $1799 for the Macbook Air, in the UK it will run you £1200 or $2350 (yes $2350!!!). Sorry but that just lost a sale for me.
Update: You can hear my initial reactions whilst the Reality Distortion Field was still in effect and before I heard about the UK pricing MacLevelten Post Keynote Review
Hitting the show floor properly tomorrow and having an early night - knackered!
Reader Comments (7)
"The US price is $1799 for the Macbook Air, in the UK it will run you £1200 or $2350 (yes $2350!!!). Sorry but that just lost a sale for me."
Why not just buy one in the US and then take it home with you?
A couple of reasons....
It's not out for two weeks in the US and I'll be home before then. Otherwise I'd have to get an american friend to buy it and arrange to ship it over but that might complicate warranty issues etc.
Also, I have a discount from my Apple Developers Connection membership (no idea how much) so I need to buy on line.
But good idea though!
On the warranty side of things, I'm pretty sure that AppleCare is worldwide. Something to look into if your ADC discount proves to be fairly modest. Have fun in San Francisco!
Hi Don!
As a matter of fact the MacBook Air costs from 16495 SEK or 2580 USD in the Swedish Apple Store. No sale here either for me.
Don: Great summary. Keep them coming! if the price differential weren't so great, would you pop for the Air? And what's your thinking about that? I know you mentioned retiring the 17" MBP in the MLT podcast. Is it simply a portability issue?
Cheers and have fun!
Ove: Ouch that smarts! 2580 USD - Wow
Steve,
Thanks!
I think I'd be more serious about it if it were much cheaper. It's not that I'm that mobile but for instance, I've lugged the 17" about all day to day and my shoulders are sore. All I've done is access my email.
And before you ask, I can't get the iPhone to work on the Macworld Wifi!!!