We finally got a chance to digest Tuesday's announcements, and here are a few quick thoughts/observations.
1) Overall the announcements were solid enough, but lacked anything to truly get the faithful excited. We think none of it deserved center stage. Perhaps it's best this is the (unofficial) last Macworld. Let's save future press events for the really big stuff.
2) Variable iTunes prices was inevitable. We don't have a problem with it, but wonder how the mainstream audience will view a price increase on some tracks. No DRM is great, but there are some reports that suggest the 69 cent tracks may still include it. Anyone know if this is true or not?
3) We expect all future portables to include the non-user-replaceable-super-battery of the new 17 inch Macbook Pro. This will continue to be a hot button topic with some users. We don't mind as long as the battery lives up to the hype. We're still skeptical on the 8 hour battery life. We bet it's something closer to 5 hours is the real world.
4)The annual updates to iLife and iWork are groovy. Facial recognition could be a god send if it truly works well. Facebook and Flicker integration is finally here. Another nail in the dot Mac....err Mobile Me coffin. We're still unsure why anyone will pay for iWork online when Google apps are free.
Overall we give this last and final Macworld a C- letter grade. Phil did a nice job. He just didn't have much to work with.
