Apple's farewell keynote: No Jobs, no shocks, no last hurrah

 

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By Barry Collins

Posted on 6 Jan 2009 at 19:04

Apple has gone out with a whimper at its final MacWorld keynote, with the company merely unveiling a series of upgrades to existing products.

Perhaps the most significant announcement was the widely-trailed move to DRM-free music on iTunes.

Apple has signed a deal with all the major record labels to bring eight million DRM-free tracks to iTunes immediately, with all 10 million tracks to be stripped of their DRM by the end of the quarter.

The company has bowed to record company pressure to introduce flexible pricing, with US tracks ranging from $0.69 to $1.29 for the latest chart hits. UK pricing remains at 79p for a single track, although variable pricing may follow.

Apple has boosted the quality of the DRM-free tracks to 256Kb/sec AAC. However, those who've already invested in DRM-protected music will have to pay 20p per track to upgrade to DRM-free versions.

iPhone owners will now be able to download tracks over-the-air, rather than having to connect to their PC.

New MacBook Pro

Apple's Phil Schiller - standing in for the ill Steve Jobs - also announced a new 17in MacBook Pro.

Click here to discover the extraordinary price tag Apple has slapped on MacBook Pro RAM upgrades

The new MacBook is less than an inch thick. The screen offers a 1,920 x 1,200 resolution with a 700:1 contrast ratio, and there's an option to trade in the glossy display for a matte finish for an extra $50.

In what looks set to become Apple policy on laptops, the company has sealed the MacBook's battery into the casing. The company claims the new design has allowed it to increase battery life to an impressive eight hours, although it awaits to be seen if it hits the quoted figures in our real-world tests.

The 17in MacBook Pro will cost $2,799 for a model with a 2.66GHz processor, 4GB of RAM and a 320GB drive. UK pricing hadn't been announced at the time of publication.

App updates

Elsewhere, Apple's iLife and iWork suites have both been updated to 09 versions.

The new iPhoto includes face detection and geotagging with Google Maps - two features already in Google's free rival, Picasa, which was was earlier released on the Mac - suggesting Google got wind of what was coming in Schiller's keynote. iPhoto 09 will also offer Facebook and Flickr synchronisation.

The new GarageBand, meanwhile, includes tutorials on how to play musical instruments such as piano and guitar, with video lessons from stars such as Sting costing an extra $4.99 per video.

The most notable newcomers in iWork 09 are the ability to publish and collaborate on documents online. The iPhone and iPod touch can now be used as a remote control for Keynote slideshows.

Fond farewell?

In short, there was little to get excited about at Apple's farewell to the MacWorld Expo. And with the biggest announcement uncharacteristically leaked before the keynote, the crowd was left with nothing but an anti-climax.