Tuesday, September 7, 2010

The Gospel of Apple According to Keynote


Good old Steve Jobs is still up to his Keynote schemes! Being a disciple of Apple since 2002, I remember being made fun of for buying a white laptop with the Apple symbol posted upside down and paying $400 for the first static touch IPod. I said, “One day Apple will be huge.” It seems today that Apple is becoming a household name in America, beginning with the revolutionary iPods which evolved to iPhones and the OSX 10 operating system that has raised the bar for computer software stability. Of course, I never can wait to hear about the new products or upgrades that will be announced in the next Keynote speech. Unfortunately, I am a grad student that has no money to buy those innovations.

Keynote September 2010 had many high hopes for the new product line because of the holiday markets. Like most Keynotes, Steve Jobs had the usual types of changes and upgrades (more touch options, software, and looks of previous products in IPod family: Shuffle, Nano, and IPod Touch). The most noticeable product innovation for Apple was the Apple TV. This product I felt was lacking for so many years. The revamp of this model has drastically changed the size, leaving it with one-fourth the footprint of the previous model. Apple also removed the hard drive with loud irritating sounds, and added 1080p HD. Also, the cost for rentals was lowered to 99 cents; the added Netflix capabilities also got my attention. Apple TV

After listening to the Keynote presentation I felt that Apple is changing their strategies to create new ways to raise up sales for their movie line. Lately driving around Austin, Texas I have noticed more Block Buster, Hollywood Videos, and many other rental business closing up, but seeing millions of Red boxes at the corner of every Walgreens and McDonalds. Is Red Box about to take over the world? I believe that Red Box, Netflix, and Video on Demand are the ones contributing to the rental stores going out of business. Seems like Apple wants a piece of the pie. After hearing the cost drop on the Apple TV to 99 dollars, I feel this product is quite more affordable to the public from their previous price that was in the 250 to 300 hundreds range. It thought it was also pretty sweet that it is able to stream your iTunes music and pictures with out the hassle of adapters.

iTunes is the foundation for almost everything that Apple has conjured up in the past decade. Adding this new social network called “Ping” to iTunes is a brilliant strategy, introducing a new, niche market for iTunes users. This new social network is a place where music enthusiasts can talk about what they love, and are able to check out new and old music. Then, at a press of a button, iTunes users can buy albums or rock videos. I don’t believe that Facebook has pushed music enough, and now Apple is beating them to the punch. I just joined Ping and it is pretty awesome to be a “follower” of the bands that you love and being able to get updates on tours and new releases.

As you can see, I could talk about Keynote all day, but this is some of the stuff that sparked my attention. The only thing I was not sure of is the new upgrades for the HDR camera option for the iPhone. Is it going to work on the iPhone 3gS?

No comments: