London: Still looking thin and gaunt, Apple CEO Steve Jobs took to the stage in San Francisco for his first keynote address since undergoing surgery for a liver transplant five months ago.
Jobs, who has been the centre on intense speculation since he took a temporary leave of absence in December of 2008, spent little time discussing his illness. He thanked the Apple community for its support during his illness but then launching into promoting the company's new range of iPods, an updated operating system for the iPhone and iPod Touch, and the latest version on iTunes, which now allows users to share files over a home network.
While there were no new products announced at the show, the Silicon Valley-based company repeatedly discussed how its was moving its products in new directions or integrating new features, such as social media.
The iPod Touch, which was initially nay-sayed by many people as just an iPhone without the phone, is now being promoted as a mini-computer and gaming device that could challenge handheld gaming devices from Sony and Nintendo. Apple says the device has sold over 20 million units.
Developers from Electronic Arts and Ubisoft, both giants in the gaming industry, also spoke at the event about their latest releases for the platform.
Social media seems to be playing a larger roll in Apple's products, with iTunes 9 allowing users to post information directly from the application to sites such as Facebook and Twitter. A new version of the iPod Nano, which now includes a video camera, will give users a “one-click'' option to post the videos on YouTube.
Despite a lot of speculation before the event that focused on the release of the Beatles' catalog on iTunes, the Fab Four never came up during the event. The event was still focused heavily on music with Apple trying to recreate the LP experience, according to Jobs, who lamented the loss of “extras'' such as liner notes and printed lyrics that disappeared during the switch from LPs to digital media. Apple is now developing extra content centered on an artist's album, which will include timelines, interactive pages, music videos and interviews.
Jobs also promoted the companies success over the last few years, announcing that Apple had sold over 30 million iPhone since the device's launch two years ago. He said users have download 1.8 billion applications from the company's App store since its launch last year, and that iTunes is now the largest music retailer in the world with $8.5 billion in sales.
The Apple event took place in San Francisco, but was broadcast live to a group of journalists and other attendees in London.
New iPod Prices
Apple also announced that it will be increasing the storage capacity of its iPod line while reducing prices. Touch - In the US, the iPod Touch will be available for $199 for an 8GB model, while larger models such as the 32GB and 64GB version will retail for $299 and $399 respectively.
- Classic - A larger version of the iPod Classic (160GB) will be available for $249.
- Shuffle - A new iPod Shuffle with 4GB of storage will be available for $79, with the 2GB version will sell for $59
- Nano - The new iPhone Nano, which will include a 640 by 480 pixels video camera, will come in 8GB and 16GB models for $149 and $17
