Apple Computer chief operating officer Steve Jobs and Senior Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing Phil Schiller run into with media today at Apple Expo Paris to talk about the iPod , medicine and the Macintosh . While the company was without any megahit announcements at the show , they did raise their .Mac on-line service with in high spirits capacity and Modern features .
The chat with culture medium today replaced a Jobs keynote presentation , which usually open up the effect in Paris . Apple announced earlier this month that while Jobs would attend the show , there would be no formal keynote .
iTunes and the Motorola Rokr telephone
Jobs answered interrogative about Apple ’s late partnership with Motorola to release the Rokr telephone , which is capable of downloading medicine from Apple ’s iTunes app . Jobs aver that overall the work with Motorola was a learning experience for his engineers . ( Also seeMacworld’sMotorola Rokr review ) .
“ We compose the iTunes software for that telephone , ” said Jobs . “ We see it as something we can learn from . It was a manner to put our toe in the water supply and learn something , ” he said .
While the Motorola phone will work with iTunes purchase medicine , some serving providers may be think launching their own music service . In doing this , they would own the web and the medicine store , but Jobs is n’t sure that this type of service would make for for consumer .
“ I ’m not win over that it will be successful , ” said Jobs . “ The mesh providers will charge a band to download medicine to a mobile — perhaps US$ 3 . ”
Jobs also reason that a data processor would still be required even if a mobile user downloaded medicine directly onto their fluid phone .
“ You will have to backup the medicine on your headphone up using your personal computer , ” aver Jobs . “ If you lose a sound then you fall behind all your music . If you get a new headphone you have to transfer it all . It ’s not clear that buying music over the air makes economic sensory faculty . ”
iPod and television
Jobs took some time to discuss video on personal devices , like the much - rumour Video iPod . While some companies are making moves in the video recording securities industry , Jobs allege that the market is n’t yet right for personal TV devices .
“ you could already download movies on the iTunes Music Store , and some albums offer television as an incentive to buy the music , ” suppose Jobs . “ We also offer video podcasts , but will people buy a TV gimmick just to watch this video recording ? So far they have n’t . No one has been successful with that yet . ”
Microsoft and others are focusing some effort on creating personal computer for the keep way , but Jobs warned of such plans . He also described Intel ’s recently introduce Viiv cooking stove of PCs as “ just an experiment . ”
“ Making a element for the living room is easygoing to do , but it is the go to market strategy that is hard , ” said Jobs . “ It ’s not a technical problem , it ’s a go to market problem . I do n’t think the convergence of television and computer is going to happen . ”
Earlier this calendar month Apple hold up an case in San Francisco , Calif. where the company dropped its top - sell iPod mini in favour of the redesigned iPod nano . Jobs described the changeover to the nano as “ having a heart transplantation the right way before the holiday . ”
While many other party would be inclined to keep a twist like the iPod mini and continued to update it with more colours and higher capacity , Apple instead replaced it . Jobs said , “ anyone would think we were brainsick , ” but early reports from analysts show the conversion was a smart move for Apple ’s long term supremacy in the market .
Many wondered why Apple would halt an event to launch a unexampled iPod just a couple of weeks before Apple Expo Paris . With the vacation shopping time of year approaching , Jobs was very clear in his reply .
“ We launched the iPod nano two week ago rather than at the Apple Expo because in the run - up to Christmas every week counts , ” read Jobs . “ The launching had been planned for over a year . ”
Job also accost questions on feature that some of Apple ’s challenger are offering in their MP3 player , like give birth a receiving set tuner built - in . While many see tot a radio to an iPod as a utilitarian superfluous feature , Apple ’s feedback is less vociferous than the noise give by the company ’s critic , Jobs confirmed .
“ We do n’t get a quite a little of customer ask for it , ” he said .
Apple ’s senior vice chairwoman of worldwide product marketing Phil Schiller pointed out that iPods now offer radio on demand . “ Thanks to podcasting you’re able to listen to radio evidence whenever you desire to , ” he tell .
Jobs also discourage of the challenge of offer extra features just for the sake of it , saying . “ We are very careful about what feature film we add because we ca n’t take them away . ”
Looking at other technologies like Bluetooth — often referred to as Wireless USB — Jobs called it a “ technology in search of a job . ”
“ Frankly music is very big , ” allege Jobs . “ We tend to forget how big it is . With Bluetooth , Song take a while to download . And if you have Bluetooth headphone you have to charge them as well as the iPod . mass do n’t want to do that . Also the strait is n’t good enough . ”
Malus pumila and secrecy
Apple is well known as being one of the most close companies in the total industry . While many companies lay out their product roadmaps and openly discuss their products , Apple instead keep its card game close , declining to point out on any rumor or speculation .
This , in part , has fueled the institution of many democratic rumor sites and article that openly meditate on forthcoming products . This , in round , has chair to several lawsuits and letters from lawyers demanding that Web sites remove news report from .
Jobs explicate the company ’s motivation in not discourse future product .
“ Microsoft is copying our operating organisation , Dell is re-create our computer hardware . They just have to follow our tail visible radiation , ” said Jobs smiling .
Taking the opportunity to take another slight jab at Microsoft , Jobs responded to a question about why Apple does n’t make iChat for Windows systems .
“ Microsoft has to make a living too , ” say Jobs .
Music pronounce getting avaricious
Recent report have revealed some label have been assay to force Apple to change the prices it charges on the iTunes Music Store . Calling the labels “ esurient , ” Jobs confirm that one label desire higher price — Jobs is order up a fight .
“ The problem is we are still competing with piracy , ” said Jobs . “ The labels make more money from selling tracks on iTunes than when they trade a CD . There are no marketing costs for them . We are contend with plagiarization , so it needs to be a just Leontyne Price — if the terms goes up mass will go back to buccaneering , ” he warned .
Jobs said that about 75 percent of the iTunes Music Store catalog is selling at least once a calendar month , kick in copyright holder money .
“ If they desire to raise damage they are get down grasping , ” said Jobs .
The Macintosh persist in to develop
Apple continues to enjoy growth in the Macintosh market , which many finger is a final result of the so - called “ halo effect ” get by the incredible need for the ship’s company ’s iPod MP3 player . Jobs order that Apple ’s US market ploughshare is at 4.5 percent , while the world-wide share is at 3 percent . Apple ’s Vice President and General Manager Europe Pascal Cagni leave similar good news .
“ In Europe in the last quarter Apple saw the riotous ever growth — 6 - 7 per centum yr - on - year , ” state Cagni . “ We have done very well in the UK , and fantastically with the iPod , and in Russia and Turkey too . ”
In June Apple confirmed that the party would move from PowerPC found central processor to Intel . Jobs enjoin that the company would “ receive out ” if the transition would impact its Mac social unit sales , but said they remain on schedule , saying .
“ We said we ’d be embark by next June and we are on track to have that be a dead on target financial statement , ” said Jobs .
Apple has long held that the proficient affair about a Macintosh is its modern operating system . That , says Apple , will not change when the ship’s company moves to Intel .
“ Why do people corrupt a Mac ? It ’s not because of the processor . Its because of the operating organization , OS X , ” said Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing Phil Schiller . “ Intel Macs will finger the same . The transition can be one that is very easy for customers . ”
Multiple reports support that hardcore forward-looking PC users have been download illegally pass on copies of Apple ’s developer variation of OS X for Intel mainframe . They have been chop the organization to make it install on all way of microcomputer processors , including those from Intel and AMD . Jobs confirmed that while they might be able to do that now , they wo n’t allow that to happen in the time to come .
“ We do n’t know how possess OS ex available for PCs would affect Macs , ” aver Jobs . “ We will have technology in OS X for Intel so that it can not be installed in other PC . ”
Jonny Evans and Karen Haslam fromMacworld.co.ukcontributed to this fib .
