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01:07 PMKirk Hiner said:

Yep. That’s it. Thanks for join us. Head back to the home page for in depth articles and images.

01:04 PMBill Stiteler said:

and that’s all she wrote!

01:04 PMBill Stiteler said:

Oh man, the editor from Mac|Life just threw his underwear on the stage!

01:01 PMBill Stiteler said:

Apple store still not up, iTunes 8 not available yet.

01:01 PMKirk Hiner said:

Looks like that’s it. We’ve already got some articles up at Appletell, though, with images-a-plenty, and more in the works. Even better? You won’t have to listen to Jack Johnson while reading them.

01:00 PMBill Stiteler said:

Johnson admits that he’s not used to people who have heard real music before.

12:58 PMBill Stiteler said:

Is this “rock?” Allow me to suggest that it is, in fact “sway.”

12:57 PMBill Stiteler said:

Steve is apologizing now, “I’m sorry, I had no idea who Jack Johnson was.”

12:55 PMKirk Hiner said:

Steve still has mojo, though.

12:55 PMKirk Hiner said:

Jack Johnson = restroom break. In fact, I’m going to start referring to public restrooms as Jack Johnsons.

12:55 PMBill Stiteler said:

Man, Steve looks like the preacher for Poltergeist 2.

12:54 PMBill Stiteler said:

Because when you think “rock,” you think “Jack Johnson.”

12:54 PMBill Stiteler said:

And there’s a stampede to the exits! Oh, the humanity!

12:54 PMKirk Hiner said:

The least he could’ve done was got that girl who sings about kissing other girls. It’s a terrible song, but it was on iTunes for…like…EVER.

12:53 PMBill Stiteler said:

There’s a really great song by Mitch Benn called “Everything sounds like Cold Play now.”

12:52 PMKirk Hiner said:

The only thing I’m more sick of than John Mayer and Cold Play? Jack Johnson.

12:52 PMBill Stiteler said:

Who?

12:52 PMKirk Hiner said:

Improved battery life, fewer call drops, iTunes backup speeds, crashes, etc.

12:51 PMBill Stiteler said:

Is that it?

12:51 PMKirk Hiner said:

iPhone update to 2.1 on Friday. Free. Fixes many things.

12:51 PMBill Stiteler said:

iPhone update is free and will be available this Friday

12:50 PMBill Stiteler said:

Paying for firmware? That’s something Dell would do.

12:50 PMKirk Hiner said:

Free upgrade to 2.1 from 2.0 for iPod touch owners. $9.99 from 1.x.

12:49 PMBill Stiteler said:

Oh boy… more firmware updgrade confusion.

12:49 PMKirk Hiner said:

And with the new “funnest iPod ever” catchphrase, English teachers across America will hate them more than when they launched the “Think different” campaign.

12:48 PMBill Stiteler said:

“Funnest iPod ever” Wow, that’s… pretty lousy, actually.

12:48 PMBill Stiteler said:

They’re going after the DS? Well, heavens…

12:47 PMBill Stiteler said:

8GB, $229, 16GB for $299, and a 32GB for $399. all available today.

12:47 PMKirk Hiner said:

Didn’t Pong have arrows? What game was I playing?

12:47 PMBill Stiteler said:

I was speaking of Pong, but I got the reference.

12:46 PMBill Stiteler said:

Same “Greenness” as the nano.

12:46 PMKirk Hiner said:

A block with an arrow, Bill. A block with an arrow.

12:46 PMBill Stiteler said:

Battery on the touch: 36 hours music, 6 hours video

12:45 PMBill Stiteler said:

Can I take a moment to point out that 30 years ago, cutting edge computer graphics were a block hitting another block? Ah, youth…

12:45 PMKirk Hiner said:

The graphics look great. Seems to surpass DS quality and push up towards PSP.

12:44 PMKirk Hiner said:

Need for Speed: Undercover. Well, we’re getting there.

12:44 PMBill Stiteler said:

Well, San Francisco is the Latvia of California…

12:44 PMKirk Hiner said:

But, an on-screen D-pad and A/B buttons. That opens up a whole lot of possibilities.

12:43 PMBill Stiteler said:

Both games use the Touch’s motion controls, but Soccer also has a virtual D-pad.

12:43 PMKirk Hiner said:

Real Soccer? Spore? Is this event in San Francisco or Europe?

12:42 PMBill Stiteler said:

“Real Soccer 2009” shipping today.

12:42 PMKirk Hiner said:

Phil Schiller likes Spore. He must know something we don’t.

12:41 PMBill Stiteler said:

Steve and Phil are now fighting over who’s “turn” it is… gentlemen, please!

12:40 PMKirk Hiner said:

And…it’s Spore. Sporing!

12:39 PMBill Stiteler said:

Phil’s onstage, talking ‘bout games while Steve runs off to wash his mouth out.

12:38 PMBill Stiteler said:

Odd that they’re pushing the Genius feature so hard when they don’t make that much money on music sales.

12:38 PMBill Stiteler said:

Hendrix is to Green Day as Genius is to Green Day. That’s all I’m sayin’.

12:37 PMKirk Hiner said:

Mario Teaches Typing for the iPhone!

12:36 PMBill Stiteler said:

Holy crap, did Steve Jobs just say “games” during an Apple event!?

12:36 PMBill Stiteler said:

That is a LOT of Tetris clones and tip calculators.

12:35 PMBill Stiteler said:

App store had 100 million downloads in 60 days.

12:35 PMBill Stiteler said:

Weird. Anyway, Steve’s really pushing the “Genius” feature. I think we’re going to see a lot of ink about wacky suggestions this thing makes.

12:33 PMKirk Hiner said:

The touch isn’t most mobile of all the iPods, so why build it in here?

12:33 PMKirk Hiner said:

Weird.

12:32 PMBill Stiteler said:

iTouch comes with built in Nike+ ???

12:32 PMKirk Hiner said:

Because we’re all tired of the previous moron playlist creation.

12:32 PMKirk Hiner said:

And Genius playlist creation.

12:32 PMBill Stiteler said:

Also has a volume control on the side.

12:31 PMBill Stiteler said:

Touch is now thinner, has a speaker.

12:31 PMKirk Hiner said:

You’ll get to see a new add soon. Colorful. Nice, because I was tired of white/black/aluminum.

12:31 PMBill Stiteler said:

Moving on to the iPod touch… this thing has got to come down in price.

12:30 PMBill Stiteler said:

“Ha ha ha! Remember the hocky puck mouse? Why did you guys buy that crap?”

12:30 PMBill Stiteler said:

As always,  Steve finally admits a product stinks (earbuds) when they’ve got a new one to sell.

12:29 PMKirk Hiner said:

Hey, nice. New in-ear headphones instead of the crappy earbuds. And headphone manufacturers everywhere weep openly.

12:29 PMBill Stiteler said:

New earbuds: $79

12:28 PMKirk Hiner said:

$149 for the 8GB model, in stock today. $199 for the 16GB model, in stock next week.

12:28 PMBill Stiteler said:

The screen isn’t a touch screen, but it does detect when you’re holding it sideways and shifts the image from portrait to landscape.

12:28 PMKirk Hiner said:

Silver, black, purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, red, violet

12:27 PMKirk Hiner said:

And when you shake it, the song switches. Is that a feature or a bug?

12:27 PMBill Stiteler said:

Battery life: 24 hours music, 4 hours video

12:26 PMBill Stiteler said:

Steve’s listing the nano’s “eco friendly” traits: no mercury, no BFRs or CFCs

12:26 PMKirk Hiner said:

There will be plenty of colors from which to choose.

12:25 PMBill Stiteler said:

new Nano also has the “album view” feature.

12:23 PMKirk Hiner said:

The only band I’m more sick of than John Mayer? Cold Play.

12:23 PMBill Stiteler said:

Well, it has to have a microphone attached to it…

12:22 PMKirk Hiner said:

Voice recording is built into the new nano, and third party accessory manufacturers everywhere weep openly.

12:21 PMKirk Hiner said:

The oval shape on the nano is actually kind of nice. Looks much better here than in the leaked images.

12:21 PMKirk Hiner said:

Thanks for clarifiying the iPod classic size, Bill. I glossed over that.

12:20 PMBill Stiteler said:

80GB being upgraded to 120GB

12:20 PMBill Stiteler said:

160GB iPod Classic being discontinued.

12:20 PMKirk Hiner said:

And you can create Genius playlists directly on the device.

12:19 PMKirk Hiner said:

Accelerometer!

12:19 PMKirk Hiner said:

Seems the rumors were right on. Thinnest iPod ever. Back to its portrait shape.

12:18 PMKirk Hiner said:

Ooh, here we go. New iPod nano for holiday season. Oval shape.

12:17 PMBill Stiteler said:

Stone cold dis, Steve.

12:17 PMKirk Hiner said:

iPod classic up to 120GB. And that’s it on the iPod classic. I feel slighted.

12:17 PMBill Stiteler said:

iTunes 8 includes HD support.

12:17 PMKirk Hiner said:

iPod = 73.4 percent in US market. Zune’s = 2.6 percent.

12:16 PMBill Stiteler said:

If you like Elvis, you’ll like the Doors? That’s a bit of a stretch.

12:16 PMKirk Hiner said:

iTunes 8 will be available today.

12:15 PMKirk Hiner said:

I suppose Apple can only get away with this while Pandora can’t because Apple makes you pay.

12:14 PMKirk Hiner said:

And, there’s you John Mayer. Maybe he’s Steve’s son.

12:14 PMBill Stiteler said:

New feature: Apple will automatically add John Mayer to your library, free of charge… or else…

12:13 PMKirk Hiner said:

We’ll have images of all this in a bit, by the way. Until then, I’ll describe it for you thusly…it’s nothing big to see.

12:12 PMKirk Hiner said:

Recommendations work for TV shows, too. I wonder if they’ll seek out obscure indie bands for recommendations or just play it safe with big name RIAA artists.

12:10 PMKirk Hiner said:

You can opt out of it, though. Which I will. Now. Before I even get the update.

12:09 PMKirk Hiner said:

Your music tastes are stored “in the Cloud.” I’m a little frightened.

12:08 PMBill Stiteler said:

We had “Genius” in the 70s: they were LPs produced by K-Tel… and we liked it that way!

12:08 PMKirk Hiner said:

I’m guessing this request was from the RIAA, not music fans.

12:07 PMKirk Hiner said:

Genius will even recommend playlists for you. In case, you know, you don’t have your own taste in music.

12:06 PMKirk Hiner said:

Genius music recommendation. News to Apple, just because I like Queen, that doesn’t mean I like Marillion.

12:06 PMKirk Hiner said:

There are 3,000 apps in the app store, and Appletell review every single one of them.

12:05 PMBill Stiteler said:

iTunes 8 out today.

12:05 PMBill Stiteler said:

Wal-Mart, however, sells Slim Whitman, who had more hits in Europe than Elvis and the Beatles combined.

12:05 PMKirk Hiner said:

HD TV shows for $2.99. SD for $1.99, and NBC was wisened up and will return.

12:04 PMBill Stiteler said:

Steve’s giving stats about iTunes and apps available for iPhone.

12:04 PMKirk Hiner said:

And hey, iTunes sells more music than Wal-Mart. Added bonus, no people in motorized go carts driving around the store.

12:03 PMKirk Hiner said:

We’re going to be talking about music, music, music.

12:03 PMBill Stiteler said:

Steve Jobs is not dead. So that’s one against MacRumors.

12:02 PMKirk Hiner said:

Steve looks thin. Announces he’s not dead, though. People laugh.

12:02 PMBill Stiteler said:

First liveblog victim: Silicon Ally Insider is 404ing…

12:00 PMKirk Hiner said:

Here we go.

12:00 PMKirk Hiner said:

Wait…Apple’s here?

12:00 PMBill Stiteler said:

Rumor confirmed: Apple will announce something at this event!

11:58 AMKirk Hiner said:

Turn off your cell phone, Bill.

11:57 AMKirk Hiner said:

If Eric Clapton comes out in flip flops and surfer shorts, I’m just going home.

11:53 AMBill Stiteler said:

Well, apparently they’re playing CCR and Cream, to get the audience really juiced for a new, cutting edge product. I think Steve’s tired of pretending to like John Meyer. As are we all.

11:52 AMKirk Hiner said:

I wonder how many words I’ll drop from my sentences today in order to get the news out quickly.

11:50 AMKirk Hiner said:

I wonder if bands seek out Apple to play their songs before an event as a new method of promotion…like into Guitar Hero or Gossip Girl. Or Gossip Hero. Or Guitar Girl.

11:49 AMBill Stiteler said:

Or “shaped case” for those of you in our English-speaking audience.

11:48 AMBill Stiteler said:

Wild speculation: new product: iBusk. A guitar-cased shape amp that also keeps track of the change you collect.

11:47 AMKirk Hiner said:

There is if Verizon is covering the event.

11:45 AMBill Stiteler said:

Do you suppose there’s any chance that Steve’ll announce that they really haven’t sold any iPhones, and then passes a hat around for donations?

11:44 AMKirk Hiner said:

I just got a press release about Hohner / Bob Dylan collaboration. Don’t these people know what’s happening today? Even that guy creating the black hole that’s going to eat our planet knew to do it AFTER the Apple event.

11:35 AMKirk Hiner said:

Half an hour away…I’d better finish my lunch.

10:40 AMKirk Hiner said:

One more rumor to add to the mix at this late hour; seems we may be getting a AppleTV update as well.

10:03 AMBill Stiteler said:

No mention of the event anywhere on Apple’s site.

09:55 AMKirk Hiner said:

The Apple Store is now offline. There’s your final proof that at least something is being announced today. But, of course, we all already knew that.

06:35 AMKirk Hiner said:

For a recap of what to expect today, be sure to read Mark Rowland’s Let’s Rock rumor summary.

06:32 AMKirk Hiner said:

Just under six more hours to go. The tough thing about living on the east coast is we have to get up and wait three hours earlier than our west coast friends.