Apple Computer Inc. is now ... Apple Inc.

Why'd Steve Jobs go through an entire MacWorld keynote without introducing a Mac product? Because like it or now, Microsoft just spent five years building an irrelevant product in Windows Vista. Apple, just two hours, and with one product ... moved the playing field entirely. Companies like Microsoft and Sony have been trying to do it for years. Problem is, they've been trying to move the battlefield to the living room.

In retrospect, it's obvious. In a global world, your living room isn't how you reach out. It's not going to be in front of a giant screen. It's going to be in front of a tiny one, big enough to fit in your pocket. Look at the sales figures Apple touted. Cell phones trump everything. People are out of the living room more than they're in it. It makes perfect sense that the real fight is for that one device you have in your pocket.

What, then, of Apple TV? Consider it a hedged bet, but it isn't, really. Notice how Apple TV, right down to the name, is all about entertainment. iPhone is about information, connectivity ... reaching people. iPhone is everything a convergence device is supposed to be.

I hardly use my Xbox 360 or even my Wii as of late. I'm too busy, and when I'm at home, I'm probably asleep. My phone is my constant guide. Apple's the one that gets that. Me, a die-hard Windows guy, who's only wish is that his iPod were a phone and that he could get down to one device. Make it play games (watch your ass, Nintendo), and you've got me.

Apple Announces iPhone

From Engadget's coverage of MacWorld ...

9:42am - "Well today, we're introducing THREE revolutionary new products. The first one is a widescreen ipod with touch controls" The crowd goes wild. "The second is a revolutinoary new mobile phone."

9:43am - "And the third is a breakthrough internet communications device." Tepid response on that last one, but he almost got a standing ovation on the phone.

"An iPod, a phone, an internet mobile communicator. An iPod, a phone, an internet mobile communicator.... these are NOT three separate devices!"

"And we are calling it iPhone!"

More soon ...

"The second thing we're doing is we've learned from the iPod, it syncs with iTunes. People know how to sync all their media with their iPod. iTunes is going to sync all your media to your iPhone -- but also a ton of data. Contacts, calendars, photos, notes, bookmarks, email accounts..."

9:52am - "We do that through iTunes." It shows 8GB on the screen.

9:52 - "The third thing -- I want to talk a little about design. We've designed something wonderful." 3.5-inch screen, highest resolution screen we've ever shipped, 160ppi. There's only one button, the "home" button.

"It's really thin, thinner than any smartphone. 11.6mm, thinner than the Q and the BlackJack, all of them. Ring and silent, volume up and down."

9:53am - "We have a 2 megapixel camera built right in, let's take a look at the top. A headset jack, 3.5mm, SIM tray, and a sleep-wake switch. Let's look at the bottom, we've got a speaker, mic input, and an iPod connector."

9:54am - We've also got some stuff you can't see -- 3 advanced sensors. It's got a proximity sensor, bring the iPhone to your ear and your display shuts off and toushccreen shuts down. Ambient light sensor -- adjusts brightness, saves power. Third thing is an accellerometer, it can tell whether you're in landscape and portraid. Let's turn it on."

Apple Suprises and Underwhelms at the Same Time

Apple announced a bunch of much-desired features today, including downloadable movies through iTunes, Gapless Playback (a BIG pet peeve of mine), transfer of iTunes purchases via your iPod (another issue I've had to deal with), and new iPod models across the whole line.

What they didn't announce was a new widescreen Video iPod.  And I just don't get why.

They upgraded the video quality through iTunes to 640x480, which is still a standard-def video format.  (No word on whether the new iPods have 640x480 screens.)  But every time they said (640x480), I kept thinking ... this is the only non-widescreen product in their product line, computers included.  Apple understands how important widescreen is when it comes to field of view, but they just keep dropping the ball on the iPod.

I was hoping to get a new one of these for my graduation from the UW, and while the new 80GB model is compelling, I have to think that they're just perfecting the technology.  So why wouldn't I wait?  Sure, my current iPod is absolutely full, but that's not a big enough determiner for me.

The big surprise?  The rumored set-top box, codenamed iTV.  Thinner than the Mac Mini (less than half as thick, it seems), built-in wireless, an designed to bring movie content to your HDTV.  Again, what's the point when iTunes is limited to 640x480?  Even 720x480 would have been a start, but that probably would have made the lack of a widescreen iPod even more apparent.

I'll download the new iTunes when I get home from work and see if the old 4G iPods will support the Gapless playback.  Jobs made it sound during the keynote that it was some sort of secret sauce in iTunes7 that makes it work.  We'll see.