|
By Mel Duvall
Apple Inc. made a number of announcements at its annual conference for software developers in San Francisco Monday, but perhaps the biggest news was the fact that even red-hot Apple saw a need to lower prices.
Apple introduced a new iPhone 3G S model which it said was on average twice as fast as the iPhone 3G, and boasted longer battery life, a high quality 3 megapixel camera, and easy-to-use video recording. With the launch it said it was dropping the price of its current eight-gigabit iPhone model to $99, from $199.
Analysts believe the price cuts are meant to protect marketshare in face of stiffer competition from BlackBerry maker RIM and the newly released Palm Pre smartphone. But the iPhone wasn't the only place Apple is cutting prices.
The company also unveiled two lower-price laptops and cut the sales price on its upcoming operating system, dubbed Snow Leopard. Its current operating system is called Leopard.
Apple announced a new 17-inch MacBook Pro laptop and shaved the price by $300 to about $2,499. Similarly, the revamped MacBook Air price was chopped to about $1,499, and a 13-inch MacBook has been lowered to $1,199. The new Snow Leopard operating system will cost just $29 for Apple users, a dramatic drop from the previous $100 upgrade.
Here are some of the highlights of the new Snow Leopard OS:
- The Finder Mail function has been rebuilt to load messages 85% faster and conduct searches 90% faster.
- The "Time Machine" backup function performs 50% faster.
- A 64-bit version of the Safari Web browser is built-in, which Apple says boosts performance of the Nitro JavaScript engine by up to 50% and is more resistant to crashes caused by plug-ins.
- A new QuickTime X player allows users to more easily view, record, trim and share video to YouTube, MobileMe or iTunes.
Two other key things to note from the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference: There was no announcement of an Apple netbook to compete in the fast growing market for sub $300 computers and there was no appearance by iconic founder Steve Jobs. In fact, there was no mention of Jobs in the opening keynote, only adding to the mystery surrounding his health and plans to resume the Apple helm.
Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register. |
