Before we get into roundups for WWDC, there were a few announcements worth recognizing today.
To start off, Sony announced that they are working on a plan to get all your UMD games over to your PSP Go. This raises speculation if the PSP 3000 and below, which actually contain UMD drives, are going to become extinct. Either way, it’s a step in the right direction.
Secondly, Apple has patented “Multi touch Click Wheels”. For those few who don’t know what a click wheel is (probably the one who use Zunes), it is the control wheel that is used by all iPods to use the iPod itself. These click wheels are being shown even for Macs.
Thirdly, Palm Pre’s intro video is now up on YouTube, and showcases some things that you can do with the phone. How cool.
Lastly, Nintendo is set to launch black Nintendo Wiis and Red DSis in North America, due to the fact that they are already in production over in Japan.
NOW, to roundup those expectations for WWDC. (Here’s where I lose those Zune users.)
Firstly expected, are MacBook refreshes, including the addition of a MacBook Mini, which also surfaced in the past on Adium’s (IM client for Mac) logs. Much isn’t rumored on this product, and neither is an Apple Tablet speculated much either.
Also expected is a refresh of current “Pro” software, such as Final Cut or Aperture. Not much has been rumored on this either.
Snow Leopard has been said to be concluding shortly, giving way for it to be announced at WWDC and launched in the near future. Videos have been posted giving demos of new features, although Snow Leopard features mainly on Grand Central, which is Apple coding to allow access to multi-core processor’s full power. 64 bit Leopard also comes along with Snow.
The biggest rumor speculation causer has to be the iPhone by far. iPhone 3.o is expected to be covered, including new video capture and editing capabilities, a compass, FM tuner, camera firmware improvements, and so on and so forth. With these software enhancements, however, comes the speculation of a new iPhone. Multiple pictures have surfaced with 32GB iPhones having placeholders in system/store logs, and leaked photos of a new iPhone ditching the chrome band around the phone. Along with a 3.2MP camera, hardware improvements are expected to be mild, iPhone pricing should remain the same, and a front facing camera is expected. While not much can truthfully be said, these are all plausible options for Apple to take.
And to finish it off, few people are speculating that Steve just might make a surprise appearance at Apple’s keynote. This comes after a sighting of a “healthy” Steve Jobs at Apple’s Campus being confirmed by multiple sources. The fanboys can only hope.
WWDC’s climax will be Monday, during Apple’s keynote, after which Mac and iPhone hands on labs will be available, along with iPhone keynotes and lessons in the vicinity of Moscone West (presentation center).
As usual, we cannot be there thanks to the $1600 price tag, and the fact that we don’t live in San Francisco, but be sure that we will have complete coverage of the keynote around the late afternoon/dinner time. Let’s see what that one last thing is…… (Apple people should know what I mean!)
It’s real, and it’s happening. This multi-platform game is being developed by TT Games in a partnership with Harmonix and published by Warner Bros. Entertainment.
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