11:23AM - Huge shout out to the amazing team at Rackspace. We couldn’t have done it without the hard-working folks there!
11:23AM - That’s it!
11:23AM - “Across the year you’re going to see a lot more of this kind of innovation, we are just getting started.”
11:23AM - Tim: “It’s the privilege of a lifetime for me to work with the most innovative people on Earth. Only Apple can deliver this kind of innovation in such a beautiful, integrated, and easy to use way. It’s what we love to do, it’s what we stand for.”
11:22AM - Ad: When a screen becomes this good, colors become more vibrant, words are pin-sharp, everything is more brilliant.
11:21AM - “We have redefined once again the category that Apple created just two years ago with the original iPad. We are so proud of this product that we’ve prepared an ad, I’d love to play it for you.”
11:20AM - “There really is something for everyone at everyone. I’d like to turn it back to Tim.” Tim’s back, applause.
11:20AM - “This is really huge — so many more people can afford to get into this groundbreaking technology. This is a really big deal.”
11:20AM - “We’re going to keep the new iPad 2 in the line as well — I’m really excited to tell you that the iPad 2 will start at just $399.”
11:19AM - Phil’s back. “I think the new iPad what people think is possible in this category of device.”
11:19AM - “It’s the ultimate iPad, and we think it’s going to change how you see and do just about everything.”
11:18AM - Talking about all the bands on the new iPad – WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G, 4G LTE…
11:16AM - Apple is claiming a major breakthrough in the iPad’s Retina Display, lifted the pixels out of the signal paths so there’s no interference in communication.
11:15AM - Oh, my bad, it’s just an Apple executive whose voice sounds a hell of a lot like Tom Cruise.
11:14AM - “So if you can’t tell by now we absolutely love the new iPad and the software it runs. When we absolutely love a new product, we create a video for it.” Video time! And it sounds like it’s narrated by Tom Cruise. Bokay.
11:13AM - “We’ve brought ALL of iLife to the iPad. Don’t let anyone ever tell you that you can’t create on an iPad.”
11:13AM - “Priced at $4.99, available today.”
11:13AM - Demo’s over! Phil’s back.
11:12AM - Publishes to iCloud! Outputs a link for sharing. Sounds kind of like .Mac. Remember .Mac?
11:12AM - Insert various elements in to photo journals: maps, dates, notes, even weather (which pulls the date and location and pulls in the archived weather data).
11:11AM - Still demoing!
11:08AM - Showing image color rebalancing, brush palettes — rub over the image to make changes. I can’t wait to try this.
11:07AM - By the way, while we’re waiting for the demo to wrap up I’d like to give a shout out to Gazelle for sponsoring us today — take some of the pain out of that upgrade and trade in your old iPad for cash over there!
11:04AM - Does multi-photo comparisons — works with images up to 19 megapixels. Pretty crazy.
11:02AM - Demo time! Randy Ubillos, who we know as the dude who reinvented iMovie (a couple times).
11:01AM - It’s all about photo editing — effects, editing, photo-beaming (from device to device), and new photo journals.
11:01AM - “Why do it need iPhoto for iPad? If you’re someone who truly loves photos, that’s what it’s for.”
11:00AM - “Today we’re introducing iPhoto for iPad. And it is amazing.”
10:59AM - This video is pretty damned impressive. Not just just for being done on an iPad, but being done on any consumer platform. Wow.
10:58AM - “For the first time you can do outlining and storyboarding, then record in 1080p, and play it back all on the same device.”
10:57AM - iMovie also updated!
10:57AM - Good timing though, just showing some updates to Garage Band, which is available today.
10:56AM - Sorry, Apple’s Wifi is really crapped out there for a sec, but we’re back.
10:55AM - Phil: iWork is updated
10:53AM - “This new device has more memory and higher screen resolution than an Xbox 360 or PS3.” Hmm, interesting way of looking at it.
10:51AM - Dungeons: craft the Infinity Blade. Looks a lot like Diablo.
10:49AM - Phil: “For our third and last demo: Epic games. They’ve pushed the boundaries of what anyone thought was possible on a mobile device.” Mike Capps is up.
10:48AM - While we’re waiting for more details, tell us what you think of the new iPad!
10:47AM - In Autodesks’s 29 year history they had over 10 million desktop customers; on iOS they’ve reached tens of millions of users in just two years. “It’s absolutely amazing.” Introducing Sketchbook Ink — focuses on line art.
10:45AM - Phil’s back. “It’s absolutely incredible to see that level of gaming on a device you can carry around with you. Next up: Autodesk.”
10:44AM - Bail bail!
10:43AM - Namco demo time.
10:42AM - Still no name on this thing, they keep calling it “the new iPad.” Womp.
10:42AM - “As you’ll remember, when the iPhone 4 went to the Retina Display developers didn’t have to do anything to make their applications run on the Retina Display. Everything will still look great, but if developers take a little time, as with the iPhone, they can do stuff that looks amazing and incredible on the new iPad.”
10:41AM - “Back to the software — the team has world really hard to make all the software look gorgeous and take full advantage of that Retina Display. Everything’s been fully updated to take full advantage of that amazing color and resolution.”
10:40AM - “If you want one as badly as I do, you’ll be happy to know pre-orders start today.”
10:40AM - 499, 599, and 699 for 16, 32, and 64GB. 629, 729, and 829 with 4G — same prices. March 16th!
10:39AM - Comes in black and white, starts at $499.
10:39AM - “It remains amazingly thin at 9.4mm and light at 1.5 pounds.”
10:39AM - “The new iPad delivers the same 10 hours of battery life, and 4G is 9 hours.”
10:38AM - “You may be thinking, a lot of these technologies consume a fair amount of power. So how does it do on battery life? You may recall we claim 10 hours of battery life, and 9 hours on 3G.”
10:38AM - “This new iPad has the most wireless bands of any device that’s ever shipped.” You know, I believe that claim. Pretty crazy stuff.
10:37AM - Both models are 3G world-ready. “We’ve added software to make it a personal hotspot if your carrier supports the personal hotspot feature.”
10:36AM - “As you remember, when 3G started showing up there were many different bands. The same thing is happening on LTE with many bands around the world. We’ll have two versions in the US.”
10:36AM - “That’s what it’s like to use these high speed new networks.” AT&T and Verizon in the US, as we know.
10:35AM - Showing video loading — LTE is loading faster than it can be viewed, but still buffering on 3G.
10:34AM - Showing a demo video: 5 huge photos downloaded on LTE before even one downloaded on 3G.
10:33AM - “LTE for max of 72Mbps. It’s amazing, you’re going to love using it on these new high speed networks.” Crazy.
10:33AM - “Now the new iPad supports HSPA+ for up to 21Mbps, and if you haven’t heard about dual-carrier HSDPA for up to 42Mbps.”
10:32AM - 4G LTE!
10:32AM - “The new iPad supports English, French, German, and of course now, Japanese.”
10:32AM - “Of course, we have our great software keyboard. We have a new key on the bottom — just tap it, speak into your iPad, and it’ll dictate what you have to say.”
10:31AM - “It is perfect to watch these videos back on this gorgeous large Retina Display. Fourth feature: voice dictation.”
10:31AM - Built-in stabilization. Looks pretty great!
10:30AM - “Wherever you are, you’ve got a great camera built-in to record full 1080p video with.”
10:30AM - “Number three: HD video recording now in 1080p resolution!”
10:29AM - Auto-exposure, auto-focus, auto-face detection, great edge-to-edge detail, AF-lock, “It is just a blast to use.”
10:28AM - “Second feature: an iSight camera. As you know, on the front of our iPad we have a FaceTime camera. The new iPad has a great rear iSight camera — we brought the optics system from the iPhone 4S…”
10:28AM - “This is the best mobile display that has ever shipped, and it’s a real revolution. That’s the first feature.” Big applause. Okay, you win, Apple.
10:27AM - “How’s it compare?” 4x the performance, “It’s a graphics powerhouse.”
10:27AM - “We needed even more horsepower for the new iPad and its Retina Display, so we created the A5X chip. What’s the x for? Quad-core graphics.”
10:26AM - “Now, there’s four times the pixels on the new iPad display, and we need a lot of horsepower.”
10:26AM - “You may recall that with an iPhone held at a normal distance your retina can’t discern individual pixels. When the iPad is held at a normal distance [15-inches] it’s the same result.”
10:25AM - “There are 264 pixels per inch in this display, and that’s enough to call it a Retina Display. Why is that?”
10:25AM - “Put another way, you all have an HDTV at home , 1080p — an iPad has more pixels. That’s incredible.”
10:24AM - “Text sharper than a newspaper. Photos will look incredible. Fonts look amazing, it’s a huge step forward.” 2048 x 1536 pixels!
10:24AM - “When you turn on that new iPad you’re going to see graphics, text, icons sharper than you can imagine. Everything you do is going to look stunning.”
10:23AM - “To this day no one has yet matched that display technology on any mobile device. We’re going to bring it to the 9.7 inch screen of the iPad. This presents a problem for us though… for the first time an iPad has a higher resolution than even the display behind me.”
10:23AM - “Until you see it you can’t understand how amazing it is.”
10:23AM - Retina Display!
10:23AM - Phil: “Good morning everyone, you want to know about the new iPad? I’m glad.”
10:22AM - “It makes amazing improvements on the most fundamental features.” Phil’s up!
10:22AM - “It is amazing. We’ve taken it to a whole new level, and we are redefining the category that Apple created with the original iPad.”
10:22AM - The new iPad!
10:21AM - “Well, stop wondering. We are.”
10:21AM - “Everyone’s been wondering who will come out with a tablet that is better than the iPad 2? Everyone’s been wondering this.”
10:21AM - “Look at Yelp. Lots of white space. Tiny text, hard to read. Compare that to the iPad. This is a reason momentum on the iPad that continues to build.”
10:20AM - Showing a Twitter app running on a Samsung tablet on Android. “It kind of looks like a blown-up smartphone app — because that’s exactly what it is. Compare that to Twitter on iPad…”
10:20AM - “In some estimations there are over 100 competitive tablets that came to market just last year. And you won’t find that great experience.”
10:19AM - “These apps are groundbreaking.”
10:19AM - Tim’s rattling off categories that the iPad is users’ favorite in: book reading, web browsing, gaming. “For so many activities they responded: iPad. Part of the reason is the incredible bundled apps with iPad, and the over 200k apps that have been custom built to take advantage of the big, beautiful multitouch screen.”
10:17AM - “We said that in order to do that, the iPad had to be the best device for doing the things you do most often, like browsing the web and checking email. This is a tall order, but when we asked iPad users, they told us this is exactly what we’d done.”
10:17AM - “iPad is showing up in peoples’ lives all around the world. Now, when we set out to create the iPad, we set out to create not just a new product, but a new category.”
10:16AM - “We’ve sold almost 15.5 million iPads last quarter alone. We sold more iPads in the last quarter alone than any PC manufacturer sold in their entire line.”
10:15AM - “That brings us to iPad. We think the iPad is the poster-child of the post-PC world.”
10:15AM - “The new Apple TV retains the same very low price of $99 and it’s available next week. Get your orders in starting today, and I’d encourage you to do that.”
10:14AM - Ha, Apple is hassling me about taking photos. What?
10:13AM - “Let’s take a look at movies!” New movie UI, also has Genius.
10:12AM - Photo stream support! “Now when I take a photo on my iPhone it automatically appears on my Apple TV without my having to do anything at all.”
10:12AM - Eddie Cue is up. All new UI: 1080p! TV shows the day after they air, iTunes Match support.
10:11AM - Demo time.
10:11AM - New Apple TV! “Apple TV comes with a new streamlined user interface.”
10:10AM - “We’re also announcing that movies and TV shows in the iTunes store support 1080p HD. They are absolutely incredible quality.”
10:10AM - iCloud: “In just a few months we’ve gotten to over 100 million customers on iCloud. Part of iCloud is iTunes in the cloud. Today we’re announcing that it now supports movies.”
10:09AM - The virtuous app cycle: “Great apps lead to more downloads, which leads to more great apps, which leads to more downloads.” 25 billion app downloads! “This is a mind-boggling number we couldn’t have even imagined when we launched the App Store.”
10:08AM - “Siri in Japanese is part of iOS 5.1, available today. Now, you can’t talk about the post-PC world without talking about the App Store.”
10:07AM - “We thought it might be fun to let you listen to Siri in other parts of the world.” Australian, French, German… “And today we’re bringing Siri to Japan.”
10:06AM - “Siri is your best friend, your intelligent personal assistant who gets things done just by asking. It’s a whole new way of interfacing with your phone, and our customers tell us that they love it.”
10:06AM - “Another key element of our post-PC success is iOS, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system. We’ve now sold an astonishing 352 million of these devices, and 62 million just last quarter.” Hope I got those numbers right!
10:05AM - So far this video is just showing people playing with Apple devices set to music. Surprise!
10:04AM - Video time! Showing the story behind the making of the Grand Central Apple Store.
10:03AM - “Towards the end of last year we opened a new store in the historic Grand Central Station. The turnout for the opening was off the charts.”
10:02AM - Apple Store: “There needs to be a place to learn about these devices, to discover them.” Talking about their newest, largest store, in Amsterdam.
10:02AM - “The post-PC world plays to our strengths.”
10:01AM - 76% of Apple’s revenues in these three product lines. “Apple has its feet firmly planted in the post-PC future.”
10:01AM - “Any company would be thrilled to have just one of these devices. At Apple we’re fortunate to have all three, and the momentum has been staggering.” 172 million of these three devices. Damn.
10:00AM - iPod, iPhone, iPad — “The revolutionary device that defined a whole new category. In many ways iPad reinvented portable computing.”
10:00AM - “We have three blockbuster post-PC products.”
9:59AM - “We’re talking about a world where the PC is no longer the center of your digital world, but is just another device. The devices you use the most are more portable, more personal, and dramatically easier to use than any PC has ever been.”
9:59AM - “I’d like to get started by talking about the post-PC revolution, and Apple is at the forefront of leading this revolution.”
9:59AM - “Good morning! Thank you very much for joining us. We have a great morning planned, and I’m very excited to be here.”
9:58AM - Tim!
9:58AM - Lights are dimming! Looks like we’re about to go!
9:56AM - I’m just waiting for the moment the internet craps out here at Yerba Buena. Event starts in what, four minutes? So yeah…
9:47AM - Looks like a journalist or two might be getting ready to do some coverage.
9:46AM - Apple’s kicking out the jams, as per usual. M83, Black Keys, been a while they’ve played this much new music at an event. Usually we’re in for some great jams by the Stones and Dylan.
9:39AM - Alright, I’m in and getting seated!
9:23AM - So… many.. tech journalists. Hopefully they’ll start admitting in the next ten or fifteen so we can all get set up.
9:06AM - Aight, the flacks let us hacks through the line and we are in the traditional pre-event holding pen.
8:08AM - We’re still a little less than two hours out, so stand by while I gather my rig and head on over to the Yerba Buena Center.
8:07AM - Good morning! Are you ready for a new iPad? One with a Retina display? Good, because I am too. So very ready.
