Bernskiold Media

MacWorld Expo Keynote News

Yesterday was the keynote expo from MacWorld expo which brought some pretty cool things. A lot of people were waiting for more heavy things as upgraded MacMini, new Apple Cinema Displays etc. but didn’t get it. My own take on what’s being released is that it is some really cool stuff. It’s only because of all rumours that much of it gets shoved away. Consider a lot of the features in iLife. They are actually really cool in and of itself. It’s just that all the rumours and craze that sites drag up that they are considered less. Not that I use much of iLife myself…

#1 – iLife ‘09

First release was iLife ‘09, new versions of all products in the suite. The most remarkable though in iPhoto, iMovie and Garageband. iPhoto has gotten quite a few new sorting settings, sorting by faces and places. Both really cool and should work really good. In iMovie we have a lot more advanced editing capabilities again and in Garageband the main new feature is instrument lessons.

You can check out more of iLife ‘09 over on the Apple website. It will be available in late January for $79.

#2 – iWork ‘09

Second release was iWork ‘09. New features in all of the apps in the suite. First off in Keynote, there are some cool new transitions, both between objects and text. Honestly, really cool stuff in Keynote that I know I will love. In Pages the news are fullscreen mode, integration with MathType for example and a lot more. In Numbers they’re working on making it a lot more professional. Better formulas, column sorting and better chart are just few of new things there as well. In all three of the applications, you can find new templates as well.

You can check out more of iWork ‘09 over on Apple’s website. It is available right now for $79. You can also download a free 30-day trial.

#3 – MacBook Pro 17"

The third news was the upgraded 17" MacBook Pro. The most notable news here is a much better battery with up to 8 hours of battery time. Bad news about the battery is that you can’t replace it. You also have the option to get it with a matte screen for another $50.

You can read a lot more about this upgraded MacBook Pro over at Apple’s website. It’ll be available in late January for $2799.

One More Thing – iTunes

Yes, as usual they had one more thing for us as well. The news about iTunes now is that they are introducing three different price tiers at the demand of music companies. They are also making the entire iTunes library available DRM free. If you have an iPhone you can also visit and download music over 3G on the Music Store!

To be honest, Phil Schiller did a great job with the keynote although benefical to Apple would probably have been more new hardware. In any case, they have some great news now! I have a feeling that it’s good for Apple to be able to focus on product releases when they feel they can pull them out instead of on a fixed base in their keynotes. Perhaps they are working on something big!