Apple @ MacWorld Tokyo

rschroeder writes "Apple updated several products at MacWorld Tokyo tonight (or tomorrow morning). A $499 10-gig iPod, with, get this, custom laser engraving on the back, ($49 extra) and vCard support. They also announced a $49 USB bluetooth module, shipping in April, with beta drivers availble today. Among other tricks, Jobs synced a Clie with a mac via bluetooth. Also a new 23" (1920x1200 )Cinema Display. Jobs also said they're raising the price of the iMac due to LCD and RAM cost increases. All this courtesy MacMinute.com's live coverage." Maccentral has several stories about Jobs' keynote at the convention.

Comments

AirPort vs Bluetooth

[maggard]

802.11b & Bluetooth have one problem - they conflict. So do 2.4 GHz cordless phones and microwave ovens for that matter. Indeed some folks are finding old 900 MHz cordless phones and baby monitors to be more reliable then the increasingly trafficked 2.4 GHz Industrial-Scientific-Medical bands.

So, with Apple leading the renaissance in wireless networking (it was their introduction of the AirPort that kicked of this current wave of activity) how will they reconcile this with Bluetooth? All of their computers ship with wireless card slots and built-in antennas; they all also ship with USB ports (also popularized by Apple.) Which is to drown out the other? While it's true that they can co-exist it is at the expense of greatly reduced data rates, already an issue for folks used to 100 Mbps or 1,000 Mbps (standard on many Mac models) Ethernet.

My own bet is that before or along-with any USB-BlueTooth product introduction Apple will ship a revised AirPort, or at least a software tweak with a built in Bluetooth-friendly autonegotiation. Or, failing that we'll see the release of an AirPort II featuring 802.11a (at 5 GHz and capable of 54 Mbps) thus safely different from cordless phones, microwave ovens, baby monitors, 802.11b, 802.11g, Bluetooth, HomeRF, and a half dozen other wireless applications.

As to microwave ovens - well 2.4 Ghz is the resonant frequency of water so no change possible there. However it is something to think about as you hold these various new wireless devices up next to your body.