Apple Unveils New iPhone, Vows to 'Revolutionize' Mobile Sector
Apple Computer on Tuesday announced its entry into the mobile phone market, proudly unveiling its "iPhone" that the company hopes will emulate the revolutionary success of the iPod.
Apple chief executive Steve Jobs introduced the sleek new device -- which also offers Internet access, a music player and a digital camera -- at the Macworld Conference and Expo in San Francisco, showcasing Apple technology.
"Every once in a while a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything," Jobs said.
"It's like having the Internet in your pocket," the Apple CEO said. "It's the ultimate digital device. It's like having your life in your pocket."
Apple's shares surged 4.20 dollars, or 4.9 percent, to 89.67 dollars in the immediate wake of the company's announcement.
The iPhone will be ultra-slim -- less than half-an-inch (1.3 centimeters) thick -- boasting a phone, Internet capability and an MP3 player as well as featuring a two megapixel digital camera, Jobs said.
Two versions of the iPhone will be released, a four gigabyte version priced at 499 dollars and an eight gigabyte version priced at 599 dollars. The devices will be shipped to U.S. retail stores in June, Jobs said.
Apple expects to make it available in Asia by 2008.
"This is a leapfrog product with a revolutionary new interface with software five years ahead of any other phone and desktop class applications, not those crippled applications you find on those other phones," Jobs said.
"Most advanced phones are called smart phones," said Jobs. "But they are actually not so smart, and really not so easy to use. "When you get a chance to get your hands on it, I think you'll agree, we've reinvented the phone," he said.
Analysts had been expecting Jobs to unveil the nifty new device at the conference, a move that aims to capitalize on the company's wildly popular iPod digital music player.
Jobs said he was confident the three-device-in-one iPhone will become the next iconic, must-have gadget, following on from the iPod phenomenon, despite competition.
"We always have stiff competition," Jobs said. "That's just the nature of the business."
Apple has crushed competitors in the music player market since the release of the iPod. To date, Apple has sold two billion songs on iTunes, its online music service. "That's five million songs a day, making Apple the fourth largest music vendor," Jobs said.
The new device will also boast desktop class applications, Jobs said.
To demonstrate, he accessed Google maps satellite imaging and within seconds zoomed in on the Washington Monument, then the Eiffel Tower, and finally checked Apple's rapidly rising stock.
He also phoned a local coffee bar and jokingly ordered 4,000 lattes for his assembled guests.
Jobs also unveiled a separate device that will allow users to transfer video from their computers to televisions.
The set-top unit known as Apple TV enables viewers to stream digitally downloaded video from a desktop or laptop computer to a television, complementing Apple's online film service which is available through its iTunes store. "This is a really cool box," Jobs said.
Apple TV comes equipped with a 40-gigabyte hard drive capable of storing up to 50 hours of video programming. It will be able to store videos, photos and music sent from computers within wireless range.
The video box will be available in February and be priced at 299 dollars.
Battle Between Google, Yahoo Goes Mobile
Internet icons Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. are intensifying their efforts to become more accessible on mobile phones, a platform widely seen as the next big battleground for the longtime rivals.
The Silicon Valley foes underscored their commitments to the mobile market Monday at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where they brandished dueling partnerships.
As more people spend more time using their mobile phones for things besides talking, Google and Yahoo believe they can boost their profits by selling advertising targeted at consumers outside their homes and offices. Spending on mobile ads is expected to rise to about $1.5 billion this year and at least double in size by 2010.
Sunnyvale-based Yahoo is hoping to fare better in mobile search than it has in traditional Web search, where Mountain View-based Google has been steadily increasing its already sizable lead to devour an even larger chunk of online ad spending.
The lopsided competition has punished Yahoo's stock, which has plummeted by about 35 percent over the past year. The downturn triggered a reorganization that will include the March departure of Yahoo's chief operating officer, Dan Rosensweig.
Both Google and Yahoo will feature some of their products on mobile phones manufactured by Samsung Electronics under deals announced at the nation's largest gadget-fest.
Yahoo also hammered out similar arrangements with several other leading handset makers, including Motorola Inc., Nokia Corp. and Research In Motion Ltd. as it tries to popularize a new feature designed to make it easier for consumers to find information while they are on the go.
With its "oneSearch" product, Yahoo believes it will do a better job delivering vital information to mobile phone users without forcing them to click through as many links as conventional searches on the Web require.
OneSearch is a part of a major upgrade of mobile software Yahoo unveiled at last year's electronics show. The company plans to aggressively promote the software on its Web site, where visitors will be able to determine if the applications are compatible with their phones. Yahoo says the software currently works on about 70 different phone models.
With its Samsung alliance, Mountain View-based Google also is hoping to make it simpler to use its search engine, maps and e-mail on mobile phones.
Mobile search has been slow to take off, largely because of handset providers have different operating standards that have made it difficult to develop applications for a mass market. The small screens and keyboards of mobile handsets also make searching more cumbersome.
Coming Soon: Hotmail to go 1GB (1,000 MB) of storage
I have been working for Hotmail for 8 years and currently am a program manager in the Windows Live Mail Platform group. During my time here, I have seen Hotmail transform into a major global communication service. I take a particular pride in the fact that during that time we have probably delivered over a trillion emails connecting people.
For years while talking to my friends, family and acquaintances about Hotmail, I’ve been frequently asked: - “when will you guys give more storage” or “I forgot to login and my account got “killed” – can you help?” Yeah … those were the days of 2MB storage limits that in now days is the size of one wedding photo.
I’m happy to say now is quite an exciting time for Hotmail. The great news is that later this month, we are upgrading all Hotmail accounts regardless of the market and account age to 1GB of space. That means a new account created after the change will get 1GB instantly - no more small accounts at the initial sign on and probation for 30 days account feature.
This update is part of our initiative in transitioning our web e-mail service into a next-generation communication service - Windows Live Mail, which is in beta now. As we build out your e-mail service to get ready for this change, we are making big improvements to areas like storage.
We’re also making another change for our loyal Hotmail users who have been with us for 2 years or more. Right now, you need to log in once every 30 days to maintain your account -- we’re now extending that log-in grace period to 60 days. So, if you’re planning a really long vacation (somewhere w/ no internet connection), you don’t have to worry about your Hotmail account being closed when you return. We’ll continue to make additional improvements and updates to ensure a smooth transition to the next-generation web e-mail for our current 260+ million Hotmail active accounts.
Something you can look forward to as we move forward is that Windows Live Mail has a bunch of cool features and a great new design. But the improvements I am most excited about are that once you migrate to the new service, we will double your allowances to 2GB and 120 days for free accounts and 4GB and no account expiration for premium accounts.
Microsoft's Vista Operating System Ready for the world
Microsoft declared its long-awaited new Vista operating system finished saying the software was now shifting into an "RTM" phase in which computer programmers and manufacturers tailor their wares to the new operating system.
"It is rock-solid and ready to ship," Microsoft co-president of platforms Jim Allchin said at a press conference after Vista was given final approval by the Redmond, Washington, software giant.
"This is a significant milestone for Microsoft."
"We are giving it out as fast as we can right now," Allchin said.
Vista would be released to "volume customers" before the end of November and would be available worldwide in PCs on January 30, 2007, Allchin said.
"We've made some big claims about Vista and I truly believe we will deliver them," Allchin said.
Vista was more secure from hackers, performed more reliably, was more energy efficient, and worked with more devices and applications than the Windows XP operating system it was replacing, Allchin said.
The changes to the operating system were necessarily evolutionary instead of revolutionary so users wouldn't need to buy new hardware to use it, said analyst Michael Cherry of Directions on Microsoft.
"It's worth upgrading, but I don't believe everyone is going to run out and buy the new system," Cherry told AFP. "If you think it is time for a new computer you should really consider having that machine run Vista."
"And if you are currently running anything older than Windows XP Two, you should upgrade."
Microsoft will release the RTM operating system in five languages and will have it available in 18 languages by the consumer market release early next year. Allchin said Vista eventually would be available in 100 languages.
"There is no question this is the most reliable system we have every shipped," Allchin said. "We've done more testing than on any other product."
Power management software built into Vista reduced energy consumption and provided a "quick on-off experience" that users craved, according to Allchin.
Microsoft said it beefed up security on Vista to thwart attempts to break into computer systems or infect them with malicious software such as viruses or worms.
"This is an escalating situation," Allchin said of protecting computers from online attacks. "The hackers are getting smarter and there is more at stake."
"There is no way for us to say some perfection has been achieved, but knowing what I know about Vista, I am very confident."
Allchin said his young son used Vista on a home computer and that the software had the machine "locked down" complete with controls that let the parents determine which websites the boy could access.
"Honestly, I couldn't say that with Windows XP," Allchin said.
Testing of the operating system included letting an army of outside computer security specialists attack it at will, according to Microsoft. A common lament among Windows users has been vulnerabilities exploited by hackers.
"Customers will not only feel safer when they are running Vista, they will be safer," Allchin said.
The security improvements were the most substantial upgrade from Vista's predecessor, Windows XP, and included encrypting stored files to keep contents secret if computers were lost or stolen, said Cherry.
Vista will run more applications "out of the box" than did Windows and "tens of thousands" of retailers will be selling computers pre-loaded with the new operating system at the consumer debut, according to Microsoft.
The final version of Microsoft's Office 2007 business applications software was to be available to business customers along with Vista by the end of November.
Microsoft has been criticized and its stock bruised for delaying the release of Vista several times to further refine the system.
The delays were believed to have hurt holiday-season PC sales because shoppers would be averse to buying computers with operating systems that were soon to be obsolete.
It has been five years since Microsoft introduced the Windows XP system that Vista will replace. Windows software is used by approximately 90 percent of the world's computers with 70 percent of the machines running on Windows XP.
Google Earth Maps History
Google added historic map overlays to its free interactive online globe of the world to provide views of how places have changed with time.
Google Earth engineers digitized one of the largest U.S. map collections and integrated the information into its program, which lets users virtually navigate the planet and swoop in for closer looks.
The collection of David Rumsey Historical Maps dated from 1680 to 1892 and included Cassini's Globe of 1790; Africa in 1787, and a map of Asia from 1710.
"It is wonderful to see the cutting edge technology of Google Earth introduce people to the geographic history of our world in a new and innovative way," Rumsey said.
"The cartographers who made these historical maps hundreds of years ago would be amazed and pleased to see their treasures in Google Earth."
Google also added an interactive National Geographic quiz focused on Africa.
"Today, anyone hooked into the Web can explore any place on Earth at the click of a mouse," said National Geographic vice president Terry Garcia.
"Caring begins with seeing."
There have been over 100 million downloads of the Google Earth program to computers since it was launched in June of 2005.
