My Take on Apple’s WWDC Keynote Announcements: iPhone 3GS

I followed Apple’s WWDC (World Wide Developers Conference) thanks to MacRumor’s live text & photo coverage and Leo LaPorte’s TwitLive (pirate) video stream. Here’s a list of what I found in the announcements made today…

- 13-inch MacBook rebranded as MacBook Pro. It now has a SD card slot (finally!), FireWire 800 and backlit keyboard
- The Mac OS X Snow Leopard update will be available to existing Leopord users for $29 for invdividual purchases or $49 for a family pack in September
- iPhone OS 3.0 brings the ability to purchase (or rent) and download movies and TV shows directly on the iPhone.
- Tethering an iPhone to a Mac OS X or Windows notebook is supported by OS 3.0. However, AT&T is not among the carrier launch partners for this feature. It appears that AT&T may provide the feature later this year. No tethering fee prices were discussed
- The “Find My iPhone” feature can help you located a lost or stolen iPhone. However, it requires a MobileMe subscription.
- The increased support for communications between the iPhone and hardware accessories was reported weeks ago. However, it was good to have it officially mentioned during the keynote. These accessories can communicate with the iPhone either using the Dock connector or Bluetooth
- ScrollMotion allows direct purchase of books, magazines and newspapers on the iPhone
- TomTom demoed a turn=by=turn driving directions app. I wonder if the iPhone’s screen is bright enough to use in daylight conditions in a car
- iPhone OS 3.0 update will be free for iPhone owners and $9.99 for iPod touch owners. It will be available on June 17
- iPhone 3GS (S == Speed of iPhone not the wireless network) – $199 for 16GB, $299 for 32GB model available on June 19 in the US
– iPhone 3G with 8GB repriced down to $99
– Faster than iPhone 3G
– Camera now provides auto-focus and Tap-to-Focus for still photos
– Video recording (finally!) in VGA resolution (640×480) at 30 fps (frames per second)
– Voice control/dialing (another – finally!)
– Digital compass
– Data encryption support
– Improved battery life (I’ll believe this when I see it for myself)

So, what was missing?
1. No netbook or netbook-like device
2. No appearance by Steve Jobs

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