WWDC 2008 Live Coverage

Hey everyone! Trying to avoid WWDC today would be like a leper trying not to itch his arms – it’s impossible. So while it’s 100 degrees outside, we’re going to stay cool and keep you updated with what’s happening at the Moscone Center. Ryan and I will keep informed with over twenty different news sources, bringing the latest updates right to Gearfuse. We doubt the site will crash or anything like that, but if it does, we’ll be back. Keep refreshing this post for the latest updates on WWDC ’08. Hit the jump to dive right in!

Note: All times are shown in EST.

iPhone 3G on display

(image courtesy of Gizmodo.com)

2:51pm – Steve Jobs has left the stage. Seems the event is over and he’ll “see us next week.” Hmmm, foreshadowing?

2:50pm – Jobs is thanking the iPhone team, crowd is doing the same.

iPhone 3G ad

(image courtesy of Gizmodo.com)

2:49pm – Ad shows 2 dudes carrying badges carrying a metal box into a locked room, then taking the 3G iPhone out of it.

2:46pm – Rollout will take a few months. Talking about pricing. iPhone started at $599 for an 8GB iPhone, now $399. The iPhone 3G 8GB will sell for only $199. $299 for a 16GB version. iPhones will also come in white in the 16GB variety. I think we can die happily now.

The iPhone 3G will be available July 11th in 22 countries. The maximum price around the world is $199 USD. Now showing an ad.

This is game changing stuff here people.

2:44pm – Steve is doing a checklist. Everything is covered. More countries? The iPhone 3G will be available in Canada, Mexico, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands and many other places. 12 countries is the goal with 25 as a long stretch. 70 countries total it’ll be available in! Whaaaaaat?!

2:35pm – GPS live tracking. A pulsating dot is moving across the Google map as a car drives down Lombard street. Keep an eye out on your daughter like a creepy father should!

3G Data

(image courtesy of MacRumors.com)

2:35pm –3G iPhone. Same 3.5-inch display. camera. flush headphone jack, dramatically improved audio. Better feel. How does the iPhone 3G tackle the challenges? 3G = faster data downloads, perfect for Safari and Mail. Comparing download speeds between 3G and EDGE. 3G finished in 21 seconds. EDGE finished in 59 seconds.

Approaching WiFi speeds (WiFi scored 17 seconds). When compared to other 3G phones (Nokia N95 and Treo 750), the iPhone is 36% faster — and better looking.

Now demoing an email download. The email attachment took 5 seconds to download on 3G and 18 seconds on EDGE. 3 seconds on WiFi. GPS Support included!

3G has great battery life on iPhone. 300 hours of standby, 2G talk-time now has 10 hours (as opposed to 5), 5 hours of 3G talk-time (most phones only have 3 hour 3G talk time), 5 to 6 hours of high-speed browsing, 7 hours of video, 24 hours of audio. This is nuts!!!

3G iPhone – Front

(image courtesy of MacRumors.com)

3G iPhone – Back

(image courtesy of MacRumors.com)

3G iPhone – Side

(image courtesy of MacRumors.com)

2:33pm – Oh come on. Where is this new iPhone?? 56% of people that want an iPhone but didn’t get one say it was due to price. iPhone 3G is official.

2:31pm – Here we go. Talking about iPhone’s first birthday. �This is the phone that has changed phones forever.� Users love them too — 90% customer satisfaction (off the carts), 98% are browsing online, 94% are using email, 90% are using text messaging, 80% are using 10 or more features. Six million iPhones were sold until Apple “ran out” a few weeks ago. That could only mean….

New challenges: 1) 3G network support 2) Enterprise support 3) Third party application support 4) More countries (joking about unlocked iPhones in countries not officially supported) 5) More affordable

2:30pm – MobileMe is the .Mac replacement. Will be $99 a year, free 60-day trial available. Current .Mac users can keep their shit and upgrade for free to MobileMe when they want to. What does this mean for all those web-publishing apps that came out in iLife?

2:28pm – Just sent a photo to a previously created gallery on MobileMe, which appeared through the web-based interface very quickly. Wrapping up MobileMe:

“So that’s MobileMe, an incredible new experience for all your information. It’s like having Exchange for the rest of us. Push email, contacts, calendars — works with native apps on the Mac and PC. And most exciting are these incredible new web apps. The perfect companion.”

2:26pm – Showing off push e-mail. Immediate response. A contact he just created on the phone also showed up right away on the web interface. Very BES. Adds a meeting to a calendar, it shows up immediately on the web interface. You get the point – instant updates.

2:25pm -The iDisk app allows files to be sent to people right through the app. OTA functionality. Share files with people who aren’t around. Sounds like the cool way to pirate music and movies.

2:24pm -Gallery app for photos is similar to iPhoto. Drag and drop, thumbnails.

2:20pm -iDisk integration being shown. Mail features improved functionality; quick reply, etc. The calendar app has the typical day, week, and month views. Color coding and drag & drop events is supported as well.

Are you as hard as I am yet? I could probably knock coconuts out of a tree with ease at this point.

Phil Schiller is demoing the MobileMe web app. Very “Google Apps”, very streamlined and beautiful. Improved contacts functionality w/ Google Maps integration.

2:18pm – Includes incredible Web 2.0 applications to provide a desktop-like experience on the web to work with all of the data. The rumors were true! Me.com will be used as a base. MacRumors says: “Unbelievable looking Mail, Contacts, Calendar, and Gallery applications. Photos are synched over the air too.”

MobileMe Logo

(image courtesy of Gizmodo.com)

2:15pm – Something new. MobileMe. Dot-Mac replacement? “Exchange, for the rest of us.” Jobs says. Sync contacts and information over the air. Works with iPhone, Mac and PC.

OH SHIT: “It works like ActiveStink… er… ActiveSync” – Phil Schiller. Push email, contacts, and calendars. Everything is up-to-date, wherever you are.

2:13pm – Enterprise apps. Companies asked for a way to distribute phones that aren’t accessible to other people in the world. They can distribute applications on their own intranet by first authorizing phones on their own network and then distributing it via iTunes. Fancy.

A curveball! Distribute apps via Ad-Hoc. The apps can be distributed in any way to up to 100 authorized iPhones.

2:09pm – On-the-fly language switching for the iPhone 2.0 software. Great Asian character support. iPhone 2.0 software free on new phones, $9.95 for the iPod Touch. Surprising! Developers keep 70-percent of revenues from their apps and get to set their own prices.

Curses! Fairplay DRM will be included with apps from the app store. Available in 62 countries. If the app is less than 10MB, it can be downloaded through the cell network. Otherwise, it requires WiFi or iTunes.

2:07pm – Steve Jobs is back on stage. I’m wet. He’s discussing new features in the iPhone 2.0 software. First, contact search with live searching. Second, full iWork document support. Third, complete support for Office documents (Word, Excel, and now PowerPoint). Fourth, bulk delete & move for messages. Fifth, the ability to save images you get. Sixth, a new calculator with scientific mode when you rotate the iPhone. Seventh, parental controls. Eight, tremendous language support.

Push it!

(image courtesy of Gizmodo.com)

2:05pm – First, battery life, it drains power. Second, performance, it sucks up cycles and makes other things feel sluggish.” Uh oh, he’s showing the WinMo task manager. Throwdown!

It�s a unified notification service for all developers. From each notification, you can automatically launch the related app by hitting a button. It works over the air or in Wi-Fi, and will be available in September. Developers will be able to play with it soon.

2:04pm – The wrong solution would be to allow background apps running. Apple has come up with a far better solution (for developing?) — a push notification service available for all developers. Huge applause.

“The wrong solution is to enable background processes… to allow an app to continue to run even after their user thinks they quit it.”

Unknown 3D Fantasy Game

(image courtesy of Engadget.com)

2:00pm – Ryan says Amazon.com is down again! What the fuck? WWDC-related? Could be…

Last app is being shown by Digital Legends. In just 2 weeks, Digital Legends has brought an amazing looking 3D fantasy adventure game to the phone. Uses OpenGL and touch controls. A better experience than other mobile gaming devices. The game will be ready by September and judging by the above pic, it looks like WoW. Developers are thanked, moving on to customer support….

1:59pm – I really have to take a shit. C’mon Steve! iPhoneeeee!

1:55pm – It’s almost 2PM/11AM…where’s the hardware, Steve? More med apps. Doctors can flip stuff around and view images from various angles. Pinch, double tap and various other current photo-viewing actions can be used in their app. There�s even on-screen measurement lines you can draw to see, say, how big a tumor is. It disappears when you shake the phone (accelerometer use). Meh.

1:54pm – Next up is Modality. He�s talking about the medical software company Epocrates, who was on stage last time when Apple introduced the SDK. Bunch of medical apps being demo’d. Looks great for med students.

1:52pm – Oh shit! MLB app for you baseball fans. Surely the Phillies will take precedent here 😉 Video highlights, etc. Available at app store launch.

Band for the iPhone

(image courtesy of Gizmodo.com)

1:48pm – Next — Band, written by an independent developer from the UK. I can only imagine where this is going…yup. Band includes a virtual piano, drums, 12-bar blues “instrument”, and a bass. All of the instruments sound very impressive and what you play can be recorded. But can it loop?

1:45pm – You can send in tips to the AP via the iPhone. Pretty cool. More bullshit games from Pangea Software. Enigmo, a physics game, and Cro-mag Rally, a Mario Kart racer. Both games will be on the App Store at launch for $9.99 each.

1:41pm – AP application aka The Mobile News Network. It gathers content from many trusted sources. It makes use of the location API by automatically showing nearby sources. Allows news video and photos to be viewed directly through the app. Free app.

1:40pm – Typepad is next. Popular blogging tool comes to the iPhone. You can take pictures with the iPhone camera and upload them directly. Will be available for free. Associated Press app is coming up next. Giz is reporting that a WordPress app will be out within a week.

Loopt

(image courtesy of MacRumors.com)

1:36pm – eBay is done. Up next is Loopt, some location-aware social network. Shows pins on a map where people are. Sounds similar to Dodgeball.com if you ask me. User profiles show a log of where the person has been and the photos they’ve sent in. It’s easy to call or text them as well. Works with Loopt users on other platforms and will be available for free at the launch of the App Store.

1:33pm – eBay is on stage. Auctions for the iPhone. Lots of features, development started just five weeks ago. The app is called �Auctions�. The iPhone is already becoming the most popular way to access their auctions from a mobile phone, but a native app looks fast and more customized for the screen than Safari. The app’s main screen allows you to quickly view the auctions you’ve listed, have bid on, or have been out-bid on. Also includes a custom photo viewer, so you can check out what you’re about to get scammed on. Zing!

iPhone Super Monkey Ball Demo

(image courtesy of Gizmodo.com)

1:28pm – Developers going on stage to show off their apps. Ryan says they’re playing Super Monkey Ball on an iPhone. SEGA is showing off tilt control and more. Looks like the iPhone is now a gaming platform. Will cost $10 at the iPhone app store.

iPhone SDK demo

(image courtesy of Gizmodo.com)

1:26pm – Create an iPhone app in 10 minutes. Amazing stuff.

1:22pm – He’s now showing how to construct a UI in Interface Builder. Creating a basic Cocoa Touch application called Nearby Friends. Groovy. Uses the built-in Address Book API to access contacts as well as the Core Location API. The application will show contacts within a 10 mile radius. Interface Builder keeps the orientation of the iPhone in mind and rearranges the controls appropriately. He is now displaying the app through the simulator, which now has the appropriate UI.

1:20pm -Core Services includes everything from a complete database layer to core location, for easily building location-based functionality into applications. Also a very fast implementation of OpenGL. Cocoa Touch makes creating great UIs a breeze. Talking now about the development tools — xCode, Interface Builder, the iPhone simulator, and Instruments.

Steve Jobs talking about the iPhone SDK and APIs

(image courtesy of Engadget.com)

1:17pm – Next up, SDK. Scott Forestall is coming out to show off the new apps in the SDK. Talking about the APIs — Cocoa Touch, Media, Core Services, Core OS. Core OS makes use of the same kernel as Mac OS X.

Steve Jobs on stage

(image courtesy of Gizmodo.com)

1:16pm – Video demonstrated searching contacts, which filters contacts as you type.

1:13pm – Three parts to iPhone 2.0 — Enterprise, SDK, and new end-user features. Starting with enterprise. Exchange support out of the box — push email / contacts / calendars, auto-discovery, global address book, remote wipe. Higher-education has participated too. Showing a video of enterprise and higher-education use of iPhone 2.0. Enterprise has participated as well.

1:10pm – iPhone talk! Here we go! In the first 95 days of the SDK being available, over 250k people have downloaded it. NEW OS X CONFIRMED – SNOW LEOPARD.

1:09pm -52,000 attendees to WWDC. Sold out and no bigger venue was available. Nuts! Apple is now made of 3 core parts: iPhone, Mac, Music (iTunes, iPod, etc.).

1:07pm – Steve Jobs has taken the stage. “We’ve been working real hard on some great stuff that we can’t wait to share with you.”

1:06pm – Staff is trying to settle down the crowd. Al Gore is here! Light have also dimmed.

1:04pm – Blam from Giz says Coldplay might be in the back of the room. Bonerifico!

The WWDC 2008 Invite

(image courtesy of Dabbledoo.com)

12:58pm – About to start! Two iMacs are on stage. No details available.

12:42pm – Doors are open. Crowd is shuffling in.

12:40pm – We’re stocked with enough cigarettes and coffee to feed a brigade. Let the information overflow begin!

12:30pm – Getting a panini. The Apple II wasn’t built on an empty stomach, you know!