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Few Surprises, Few Innovations From Apple

08.06.2009
Apple delivered a today at the opening keynote for its Worldwide Developers Conference, but the company took its time building up to the big news: The new iPhone 3GS will be available in stores on June 19, and the will drop in price to $99 as of today. Unfortunately, I found the keynote offered empty calories: The lack of a significant hardware upgrade for the iPhone was especially underwhelming. (See the transcript of of the keynote)

The keynote -- the company's first marquee event since in early 2009 -- actually played out more like a MacWorld keynote than a WWDC keynote, back from the days when Apple actually participated in Macworld. This was the first year Apple didn't have a presence at MacWorld, and thus far, its product announcements have been minimal.

Apple's announcements today underscore the company's plans to expand its scope as a smartphone maker. NPD Group data puts Apple as the number two smartphone maker today, second to Research in Motion; surely, the company has its eyes set on that top spot.

"We want to reach even more customers," noted Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing Phil Schiller, who led the presentation in Jobs's absence, during the keynote.

To achieve that end, Apple reduced the current 8GB iPhone 3G to $99, half the price it sold for when it was first introduced last year. "There really has never been a smartphone at this price," says Schiller. now, it's confirmed.