MacRumors

In the press release announcing YouTube videos for Apple TV, Apple also reveals that they will be introducing a 160GB Apple TV for $399.

Apple TV, which includes the Apple Remote, is available through the Apple Store (www.apple.com), Apples retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $299 (US). Apple TV with a 160GB hard drive will be available tomorrow for a suggested retail price of $399 (US). The YouTube feature for Apple TV will be available as a free software update in mid-June.

The current Apple TV costs $299 for a 40GB model.

Another comment by Apple's CEO Steve Jobs today indicated that Apple is still putting serious thought into allowing 3rd party application development for the Apple iPhone. His statement today reinforced previous hints that they were still reconsidering their decision to limit software development for the iPhone.

Is the iPhones platform closed? And if it is, will it be open to developers in the future? Jobs says its a security issue, but Apple is working to find a way to allow developers to build applications for it. Jobs says he doesnt want the iPhone to be one of those phones that crashes a few times a day. He adds: We would like to solve this problem and if you could just be a little more patient with us, well do it.

Jobs hints that there is a solution in the works to allow 3rd party application development for the iPhone. Apple's position on this has been a point of criticism.

During today's All Things Digital interview with Walt Mossburg, Steve Jobs revealed that they would be introducing a free software update in the coming weeks to provide YouTube integration into the Apple TV:

Wouldnt it be great if you could see YouTube on your TV?
Apple will be offering a free software upgrade come June that will allow Apple TV users to view YouTube videos on their televisions. Jobs demos the feature with a clip from Americas Got Talent. Odd choice.

Jobs also hinted at the possibility of high definition content coming sometime in the future for iTunes.

"You can buy movies off iTunes as well. It's pretty good quality -- we arent selling high def... at this point. But I think in the future that might change!

Apple has updated their Apple TV section on their website to demonstrate the YouTube functionality.

Steve Jobs is speaking at the All Things Digital conference with Walt Mossberg. Transcripts are available at the following sites:

All Things Digital
Macworld
Engadget
Gizmodo

Video

Summary / Highlights

Regarding Apple's name change to Apple, Inc: "We're in two busineses today, we'll be very shortly in three business and a hobby. One is our Mac business, second is our music business, third business is the phone business, handsets. And the hobby is Apple TV. The reason I call it a hobby is a lot of people have tried and failed to make it a business. " - Engadget
"Is that the faint outline of an iPhone I see in Steve Jobs pocket? Well see." - All Things Digital
Gradually Exiting Computer Business? "No. If you come to WWDC we're rolling out our new version of OSX -- massive investments in desktops. You'll love it." - Engadget
"Jobs says Apple is on track to ship iPhone in late June as planned. Walt: Like the last day of June? Jobs: (Laughs) Yeah, probably." - All Things Digital
"Any features on the iphone you haven't announced you'd like to share? Steve: Uh, nope! [Laughter]" - Engadget
"Walt: So how much argument was there about not having a keyboard on the iPhone? Steve: None. None. Walt: So you had no one in Cupertino that thought that was a good idea? Steve: Yeah. [Laughter]." - Engadget
"Walt: Why? [no keyboard]. Steve: A few reasons. Once you actually use this magical display there's no going back. We actually think we have a better keyboard. It takes a few days of getting used to, but I bet you dinner that after a few days of using it you'll be convinced. It takes a week -- you have to learn how to trust it. When you learn how to trust it, you'll fly. And we can use that physical space for other things where you don't need a keyboard -- we can add new applications... it provides incredible flexibility and you don't take up half the space of this thing with a phsyical keyboard." - Engadget
"Walt: could a Mac OS X app run on an iPhone? We don't think that's a good idea. We don't have a mouse, we don't have pull-down menus... we have a very different user interface on the phone." - Engadget
"You can buy movies off iTunes as well. It's pretty good quality -- we arent selling high def... at this point. But I think in the future that might change!" - Engadget
"wouldn't it be great if you could see YouTube on your Apple TV... it's available as a free software upgrade available in a few weeks. Normally I wouldn't announce it early, but hey, it's D." - Engadget
"Walt asks if iPhone will allow over-the-air video downloads. Jobs says no. It doesnt make sense to buy media that way. Delivery over the airwaves is too costly" - All Things Digital
"Question: We'd love to write apps. Will it open up? SJ This is a very important tradeoff between security and openness. We want both. We've got good ideas, and sometime later this year, we can open it up to 3rd party apps, and keep security." - Gizmodo

Steve Jobs is also scheduled to be interviewed with Bill Gates tonight at 7:30 Pacific.

Apple, Inc's worth climbed to above $100 billion today in heavy trading. The company is now worth approximately double rival computer maker Dell's market cap ($59.4 billion), but still trails behemoth Microsoft by a hefty margin, whose worth sits at $294.94 billion.

Note that Dell does not compete in as many areas as Apple, and Microsoft competes in more, which helps explain some of the disparity.

AppleInsider attributes part of the surge of Apple's stock price to recent bullish forecasts by some financial analysts, who have raised the 'BUY' price of Apple's stock to $150. Perhaps also contributing to the surge were announcements today of iTunes 7.2 with DRM-free songs.

Update: Reuters is reporting that Apple is joining the S&P 100 index. Apple will join the select group at market close tomorrow, May 31st.

The S&P 100 is a subset of the S&P 500, and is comprised of "100 leading U.S. stocks with exchange-listed options. Constituents of the S&P 100 are selected for sector balance and represent about 57% of the market capitalization of the S&P 500 and almost 45% of the market capitalization of the U.S. equity markets. The stocks in the S&P 100 are generally among the largest and most established companies in the S&P 500." (according to Wikipedia)

Palm announced the Palm Foleo today at the All Things Digital Conference.

The Palm Foleo is a "mobile companion" to the Treo smart phone and features a 10-inch screen and full size keyboard. The Foleo offers web browsing, Word, Excel and PowerPoint editing, PDF viewer, and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support. Weighs 2.5lbs and will cost $499 after an introductory $100 rebate.

If the smart phone is a truly capable computer and billions of people have them, some of them are going to need a larger display. Smart-phone screens are just too small. People need a mobile companion a device that extends their smart phones.

Foleo will support Palm and Windows Mobile. Hawkins wants to support iPhone but "hasn't inked the deals necessary to do that yet."

More details on Foleo available on Palm's site.

Update: Video on Youtube.

Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, is being interviewed at the Wall Street Journal's All Things Digital conference this morning. Ballmer discussed and demoed Microsoft Surface, a multi-touch table that was introduced earlier today.

Walt Mossberg addresses similarities with the technology to the Apple iPhone:

Walt notes Surfaces user-interface similarities to Apples iPhone and some new HP devices, and wonders about intellectual-property issues. Were confident in our IP, says Pete Thompson, general manager of Microsoft Surface Computing. And, he adds, multitouch has been around for a long time.

Microsoft plans thin-panel versions, vertical displays, and other form factors for the technology.

Mossberg also asks "if Microsoft will stick with Zune, given the seemingly impossible task of catching up to Apples iPod", to which Ballmer stated "We're firmly behind Zune." Meanwhile, Ballmer denies that Microsoft will ever develop a Phone.

Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are to be interviewed later today at the All Things Digital Conference. Jobs will also be interviewed in a separate session alone.

Apple released iTunes 7.2 updated in the Mac OS X Software Update tonight, which offers support for "iTunes Plus", Apple's new DRM-free $1.29 offerings announced in April.

With iTunes 7.2, preview and purchase iTunes Plus musicnew higher-quality, DRM-free music downloads from participating music labels.

Despite the software update, the Apple iTunes Store itself does not show any DRM-Free music currently available for purchase. The DRM-Free launch will likely occur later this morning (Wed, May 30th). [ Official Press Release ]

From the iTunes Help, it appears you will be able to upgrade your existing songs to the iTunes Plus (DRM Free) version:

The iTunes Store also offers songs without DRM protection, from participating record labels. These DRM-free songs, called "iTunes Plus," have no usage restrictions and feature higher-quality encoding.

The first time you buy an iTunes Plus song, you specify whether to make all future purchases iTunes Plus versions (when available). You can change this setting by accessing your account information on the iTunes Store.

If you already have iTunes Store purchases that are now available as iTunes Plus downloads, you may upgrade your existing purchases. To do so, visit the iTunes Store and follow the onscreen instructions.

Based on the text strings in the iTunes resources, it appears that upgraded iTunes Plus music replaces the original purchases in your library. The replaced files can be moved to the Trash or to your Desktop optionally.

Update: iTunes Plus DRM Free music has appeared in iTunes along with Paul McCartney's music.

PopularMechanics has video and details of Microsoft's new "Surface Computing" tables.

The included video includes an interview with Jeff Han, well known for his multitouch demos. Microsoft's solution appears to have significant improvements with wireless interfaction with physical objects.

Gattis took out a digital camera and placed it on the Surface. Instantly, digital pictures spilled out onto the tabletop. As Gattis touched and dragged each picture, it followed his fingers around the screen. Using two fingers, he pulled the corners of a photo and stretched it to a new size. Then, Gattis put a cellphone on the surface and dragged several photos to it just like that, the pictures uploaded to the phone. It was like a magic trick. He was dragging and dropping virtual content to physical objects. I'm not often surprised by new technology, but I can honestly say I'd never seen anything like it.

The initial plans for the device are commercial ($5,000-$10,000) tables not intended for home users. "People will see it in public spaces like bars and restaurants and want to expand it into other environments."

Apple has incorporated Multi-Touch into the iPhone, which is expected to be launched at the end of June.

Update: Microsoft's official site for "Surface" is now available.

Update 2: Another Video from CNet.

It seems everyone wants in on the buzz surrounding All Things Digital conference.

Gizmodo says that at 12:01am EST, Microsoft will be launching something very special.

It's described as "something totally new coming out of the Entertainment and Devices division, and it's going to change the way people interact with technology" and "you really have to see it to believe it."

Palm is also said to be unleashing something new tomorrow .

Palm has sent out teaser invites to media today indicating that they will be introducing a "new category of mobile device" at the D: All Things Digital conference. The live webcast will take place at 11:30am Pacific.

Jeff Hawkins, founder of Palm, Inc., will host a live video webcast on Wed., May 30, to describe a new category of mobile device. The webcast will follow the announcement of this new product at the D: All Things Digital conference in Carlsbad, Calif.

Few details available, but there are expectations that Palm will finally be releasing a device that they have been hinting at for almost 2 years. Speculation on the device runs the entire range of form factors from tablet, smartphone, mini-laptop, etc...

Previous reports believed that Palm was working on a new line of products that would serve as a "response" to the iPhone.

Update: TreoCentral has a good roundup/summary of the rumors surrounding the device.

Leak?: Press release was accidentally posted:

Palm, Inc. today announced the Palm Foleo, worlds first smartphone companion product.

Foleo has a large screen and full size keyboard to view and edit email and office documents. Edits made on Foleo automatically are reflected on its paired smartphone and vice versa.
Foleo and its paired smartphone stay synchronized throughout the day or at the touch of a button.
Foleo turns on and off instantly, features fast navigation, a compact and elegant design, and a battery that lasts up to five hours of use.
U.S. availability for Foleo begins this summer with pricing expected to be $499 after an introductory $100 rebate.

"Foleo is the most exciting product I have ever worked on. Smartphones will be the most prevalent personal computers on the planet, ultimately able to do everything that desktop computers can do. However, there are times when people need a large screen and full-size keyboard. As smartphones get smaller, this need increases. The Foleo completes the picture creating a mobile-computing system that sets a new standard in simplicity."

No photos yet available.

D: All Things Digital
The Wall Street Journal hosts this conference annually as a series of discussions and unscripted interviews with industry leaders. This year's hyped event is a joint interview with both Steve Jobs and Bill Gates which will take place on Wednesday night (May 30th). Coverage and video clips will be posted to the official site. This year's conference runs from May 29-May 31st.

WWDC 2007
Apple's annual developer's conference runs between June 11th and June 15th this year, and kicks off with the traditional Steve Jobs keynote speech on Monday, June 11th. Rumors are swirling, but the release of new MacBook Pros appears to be most likely based on available current information.

iPhone Release
"Late June" is the closest Apple will say. Boy Genius Report claims that their sources have actually seen AT&T posters with a June 11th date to coincide with the WWDC keynote. A few other relevant dates of interest:

iPhone Training: May 30-June 20th
AT&T Vacation Blockout dates: June 15-July 15th
Confidentiality on FCC Documents (user manual, photos) expires June 30th

The Commercial Times reports that Quanta Computer has received orders to assemble approximately 5 million Apple iPhones for shipment in September. It appears this is an additional order beyond the first batch which was originally placed with Foxconn (Hon Hai). The initial shipment is presumably due in late-June to meet Apple's target date.

Forbes was unable to get any further commentary about the report from the newspaper, but Digitimes provides some curious details from the report, indicating the September order is meant to fill a different market:

The iPhone produced by Foxconn is designated for the US market, and those manufactured by Quanta will be similar in function to those from Foxconn but with a different outer design to fit different markets, the paper quoted sources at Taiwan-based component makers as saying.

The iPhone's U.S. launch is expected in late June, while the European launch has been said to be in the 4th Quarter of this year.

Seattle Times interviews AT&T's Glenn Lurie on the iPhone, who provides some perspective and hands on usage of the device.

When asked about the usage of the device:

I think when people get their hands on it and really experience it the touch screen is phenomenal, this touch screen is like nothing you've ever used to experience that, the skepticism, I think, around some of those things will go away.

Lurie also reveals that some "Google applications" are coming in the form of widgets and believes that "there are just so many things here that the price will not be an issue." He also describes how successful Apple has been in simplifying the interface and how intuitive the phone functions are.

Finally, when asked about web usage on AT&T's network, Lurie states that "people are going to be asked to have an unlimited package people are going to have to have a package with us to browse."