Apple Lightens Up - Page 2

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Movies to Rent

The new wireless transfer features came as a fitting complement to Job's other major announcement: video rentals at Apple's iTunes store.

The Apple CEO said all the major movie studios are supporting its new rental service -- 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney, Warner Bros., Paramount, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Lionsgate and New Line Cinema.

Under the system, older movies will be available for $2.99 while new releases will cost $3.99 to rent. Customers have 30 days to view the movie, but the rental is up within 24 hours of viewing.

Users can also transfer the video to another device while viewing. For example, you could start on a PC, and finish watching on an iPod if you have to travel.

Time Capsule, Apple TV remade and iPhone updates

Other announcements rounding out the keynote included a new version of Apple TV and the debut of Time Capsule, a data backup appliance designed for Mac notebooks and other computers.

Time Capsule can backup a single Mac or multiple Macs on a network. It works in connection with the Time Travel feature in Apple's latest OS X "Leopard" operating system, which requires a backup device to retrieve users files.

Two versions of Time Capsule are set to ship in February: a 500GB unit priced at $299 and a 1 Terabyte model for $499.

As for the Apple TV, Jobs admitted the original Apple TV didn't see significant traction because it was "not what people wanted. We learned what they wanted was all about movies."

Where the original Apple TV worked with a computer, the new version can operate without one. It connects directly to a widescreen TV and enables users to order movies from the iTunes store, call up videos from their home network, or view podcasts and online videos.

Jobs also announced a free software update for iPhone users, available immediately.

Among the iPhone's new features is a redesigned Maps application that enables users to find their location and get directions from that starting point with a few clicks of the map. It also enhances text messages, allowing for multiple recipients in a single message.

The update also enables users to create Web clips of favorite Web sites and customize the iPhone's home screen. Up to nine separate home screens can be now be created.

The Maps features are particularly impressive because the iPhone doesn't include a GPS.

Apple circumvented that problem by partnering with Google and Skyhook Wireless. From Google's data, the iPhone can approximate its location from cell towers, a capability the search giant introduced in late November in its own mapping service.

Similarly, Apple teamed with Skyhook to provide location data based on a user's Wi-Fi hotspot. The firm has mapped some 23 million hotspots nationwide.

Using data from both companies provides the iPhone with mapping and a way to triangulate a user's location, so the device can mimic the capabilities of GPS.

"Isn't that cool?" Jobs asked.