Time Capsule: At the MacWorld keynote speech today (started 9am PST - 5pm GMT), Steve Jobs announced a brand new Airport Extreme Station - with a "server grade" internal hard drive which is called "Time Capsule." The new base station is available in two possible configurations: 500GB @ $299 1TB @ $499 iPhone 1.1.3 update: Google Maps with Location finder, 'Webclips' - web bookmarks on your home screen, up to 9 available, Chapter options & a language capability - now available in iPod mode, Multiple-Contact SMS - send a single SMS message to multiple contacts. iPod Touch Software Update: iPod Touch users can opt to have 5 new apps for the device; Mail, Stocks, Notes, Weather, and Maps. The software is available to new users for an upgrade fee of $20. iTunes Movie Rentals: Apple announced that as of last week, the iTunes Store has sold over 4 billion songs. A new single-day record was recorded this past Christmas Day (December 25, 2007) posting 20 million songs sold in 24 hours. iTunes Movie Rentals Touchstone, Mirimax, MGM, Lionsgate, Newline, Fox, WB, Disney, Paramount, Universal & Sony are all on board. Over 1000 movies - available 30 days after the DVD release of the film. Watch anywhere - Macs, PCs, all current iPods and iPhone. Watch instantly - 30 second delay with modern broadband Rules - 30 days to start watching, 24 hours to complete once started Pricing - $2.99, new releases $3.99 The new rental service launches in the U.S. today. International will launch later this year. Software updates for iPods and iTunes forthcoming. Apple TV Take 2: Now there's no computer required - you can now rent movies directly on the Apple TV in your choice of DVD quality or HD + dolby 5.1 surround sound. Podcasts are available in audio and video format, as well as photos from Flikr and .Mac and sync with iTunes. AppleTV allows you to preview movies from the interface, and see what other users who have rented that movie have rented. Photo screensavers can be retrieved from .Mac web galleries. Music can be purchased from the iTunes Store from within the Apple TV. The update is available as a free software update that should be available in two weeks for current AppleTV owners. Entry price for the AppleTV also drops from $299 to $229. HD rentals are $4.99, with 100 titles available today. MacBook Air: As rumored, Apple announced a new line of portable computers during Steve Jobs' keynote speech at MacWorld San Fransisco today, the MacBook Air. The new line is a complement to the existing MacBook and MacBook Pro lines. Features of the new portable include being "the world's thinnest notebook," at 0.16" to 0.76" - thinner than the the thinnest part of a Sony TZ series laptop. Screen size is an LED backlit 13.3" widescreen with a magnetic latch. The MacBook Air keyboard is MacBook-like, but with an ambient light sensor. The new machines feature a multi-touch trackpad, allowing the user to double-tap and move. Rotate a photo by pivoting your index finger around your thumb, as well as pinch & zoom. Additionally there's a 45 Watt MagSafe power adapter, a Micro-DVI out as well as Audio Out, 802.11n + Bluetooth 2.1/EDR. There's a 1.8" hard drive for storage - either 80GB standard, or a 64GB SSD as an option. Intel shrunk the size of the Core 2 Duo chip by 60% to fit in the new machine. Battery life is approximately 5 hours. No optical drive is on the MacBook Air, but a SuperDrive accessory is available for $99. There's also new software being released that allows the portable to "borrow" a Mac or PC's optical drive. All models feature 2GB of memory standard. The case is fully aluminum (good for recycling), the first fully mercury and lead free display, circuit boards are BFR free, and retail packaging are 56% less volume than a MacBook. The new MacBook Air starts at $1799 is available for pre-order today, and is expected to be shipping in two weeks. Thanks to Mac Rumors Live for live information form the keynote.
