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Apple To Stream a Product Launch Live For the First Time

redletterdave writes "In the biggest surprise since the original iPhone, Apple has decided to live stream its product announcement for the very first time on Tuesday. This means that the company's media announcement from the California Theatre in San Jose, which will begin at exactly 10 a.m. PST (1 p.m. EST), will be available to watch on computers, laptops and mobile devices for the very first time, all in real-time. Apple will be live streaming today's event directly on the company's website. Apple says all Mac and iOS devices will be able to live stream the event, including computers, laptops, iPhones, iPads and Apple TVs." Update: 10/23 18:45 GMT by S : The iPad Mini was announced, as expected. It has a 7.9" screen at 1024x768, it's 7.2mm thick, and it runs on an A5 chip. Pricing is as follows for the Wi-Fi only version: 16GB for $329, 32GB for $429, 64GB for $529. For LTE-capable versions, add $130. Apple also updated the larger iPad, as well as its Mac Mini, iMac, and MacBook Pro lines.

24 of 288 comments (clear)

  1. Apple devices? by SoundGuyNoise · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I was going to ask sarcastically if any device can stream it, or just Apple devices. Then I finished reading the article.

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    1. Re:Apple devices? by vlm · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I was going to ask sarcastically if any

      any product release since the iphone has been described other than ""In the biggest surprise since the original iPhone..."

      I'm not sure, but I think they Might Possibly sell a little tablet-ette a wee bit bigger than my trusty rusty ipod touch and a big smaller than my trusty almost as rusty ipad-1, in other words almost the same shape and size as a kindle reader (With Special Offers(tm))

      A real surprise would be Apple announcing "F all this computer shit, we're reorganizing as a produce orchard and selling real apples"

      --
      "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
    2. Re:Apple devices? by LocalH · · Score: 3, Informative

      I don't think so. I have Quicktime installed on my Win7 PC, and all I see (even in Safari) is "Apple Special Event, October 23, 2012", whereas on my iPod touch 4th gen I'm already seeing streaming video. Looks like they truly restricted it to Apple hardware.

      --
      FC Closer
    3. Re:Apple devices? by nmb3000 · · Score: 3, Informative

      If you go look at the source of this Javascript in an auto-refreshing IFRAME, you'll see

      /*snowLeopard url*/
      var slURL = "http://qthttp.apple.com.edgesuite.net/1210pibasdfvoihbadsv/sl_mvp.m3u8"; /* non-snowLeopard url*/
      var nonSlURL = 'http://stream.qtv.apple.com/events/oct/1210pibasdfvoihbadsv/12poibnasfdvpiajbafvpihjbasfvpiubfsv10_checkback.jpg'; /*Windows url*/
      var windowsURL = 'http://stream.qtv.apple.com/events/oct/1210pibasdfvoihbadsv/12poibnasfdvpiajbafvpihjbasfvpiubfsv10_checkback.jpg'; /*iphone url */
      var iphoneURL = "http://stream.qtv.apple.com/events/oct/1210pibasdfvoihbadsv/12poibnasfdvpiajbafvpihjbasfvpiubfsv10_iphone_ref.mov"; /*ipad url*/
      var ipadURL = "http://stream.qtv.apple.com/events/oct/1210pibasdfvoihbadsv/12poibnasfdvpiajbafvpihjbasfvpiubfsv10_ipad_ref.mov"; /*voip*/
      var voiceOver = "http://stream.qtv.apple.com/events/oct/1210pibasdfvoihbadsv/12poibnasfdvpiajbafvpihjbasfvpiubfsv10_iphone_ref.mov"; /*requirements*/
      var requirements = "Live streaming video requires Safari 4 or later on Mac OS X v10.6 or later; Safari on iOS 4.2 or later. Streaming via Apple TV requires second- or third-generation Apple TV with software 5.0.2 or later."; /*refreshPage*/
      var refreshPage = false;

      My VLC can play the first link (labeled Snow Leopard), for a little while, but drops the stream.

      The "checkback" links all seem to indicate they are either not streaming live to non-Apple devices, or they ran into a "problem" and will start it later.

      --
      "What do you despise? By this are you truly known." --Princess Irulan, Manual of Muad'Dib
      /)
    4. Re:Apple devices? by nmb3000 · · Score: 5, Informative

      What the hell Slashdot? You have to love a nerd news site that can't handle posting a tiny bit of code without frakking it all up. Screw Unicode support -- can we get some decent ASCII support sometime this decade?

      Try again with some manual editing to make it fail a little less.

      /*snowLeopard url*/
      var slURL = "http://qthttp.apple.com.edgesuite.net/1210pibasdfvoihbadsv/sl_mvp.m3u8";

      /* non-snowLeopard url*/
      var nonSlURL = 'http://stream.qtv.apple.com/events/oct/1210pibasdfvoihbadsv/12poibnasfdvpiajbafvpihjbasfvpiubfsv10_checkback.jpg';

      /*Windows url*/
      var windowsURL = 'http://stream.qtv.apple.com/events/oct/1210pibasdfvoihbadsv/12poibnasfdvpiajbafvpihjbasfvpiubfsv10_checkback.jpg';

      /*iphone url */
      var iphoneURL = "http://stream.qtv.apple.com/events/oct/1210pibasdfvoihbadsv/12poibnasfdvpiajbafvpihjbasfvpiubfsv10_iphone_ref.mov";

      /*ipad url*/
      var ipadURL = "http://stream.qtv.apple.com/events/oct/1210pibasdfvoihbadsv/12poibnasfdvpiajbafvpihjbasfvpiubfsv10_ipad_ref.mov";

      /*voip*/
      var voiceOver = "http://stream.qtv.apple.com/events/oct/1210pibasdfvoihbadsv/12poibnasfdvpiajbafvpihjbasfvpiubfsv10_iphone_ref.mov";

      /*requirements*/
      var requirements = "Live streaming video requires Safari 4 or later on Mac OS X v10.6 or later; Safari on iOS 4.2 or later. Streaming via Apple TV requires second- or third-generation Apple TV with software 5.0.2 or later.";

      /*refreshPage*/
      var refreshPage = false;

      --
      "What do you despise? By this are you truly known." --Princess Irulan, Manual of Muad'Dib
      /)
    5. Re:Apple devices? by stewbacca · · Score: 5, Informative

      h.264 is not a plug-in. It's a codec. Anyone who even hints that h.264 is some sort of Apple lock-in mechanism has no idea what they are talking about.

  2. They used to stream Keynotes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    would not consider this a First Time.

  3. What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I dunno what semantics the authors are juggling to call this the first time Apple has live streamed it's product launches. But back in the day, Apple used to live stream all their WWDC keynotes... this is definitely not a first for Apple.

  4. I'm on the edge of my seat by Jeng · · Score: 5, Funny

    So reporting on a news release about the fact that an upcoming news release will happen live.

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  5. New Tag Line by MyLongNickName · · Score: 5, Funny

    News for Nerds
    Stuff that Matters
    Apple Stories Regardless

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    1. Re:New Tag Line by MyLongNickName · · Score: 3, Insightful

      And how is an Apple product announcement not news for nerds?

      Did you read the Summary? This isn't a product announcement. This is details about a product announcement announcement. The next logical step is to have a press release indicating that sometime in the near future we will release a press release about a new product and the press release's press release is on 8.5x11 heavy cardstock paper.

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  6. Modern Times by carrier+lost · · Score: 3, Funny

    What are the odds on how long it runs before being taken down by a DMCA Bot?

  7. Tactic to win first impressions? by DragonWriter · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I suspect that the reason for the restriction to Apple devices is to assure that the first wave of third-party online reporting about the announcement is from a group biased to be more generally favorable to Apple products, to set the tone of the response.

  8. For the very first time by future+assassin · · Score: 3, Funny

    > laptops and mobile devices for the very first time, all in real-time

    Another small step for man kind and giant ego leap for hipsters.

    --
    by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
  9. iPad Mini -- $329 by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 4, Informative

    Well, they announced the iPad-mini starting at $329 for 16GB, wifi-only. At that price, I don't think it is going to be the "Android-killer" they hoped it would be.

    1. Re:iPad Mini -- $329 by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 3, Insightful

      As noted, $80... but that is a fair premium for more screen real estate

      There's actually less real screen estate here, because resolution is lower. So you can fit less text with the same legibility level.

      a much wider range of apps built for a larger display

      That's debatable. There are plenty tablet-aware apps for Android, certainly all the big names that actually matter are there. We're not talking about fart apps, right?

      and also much higher quality of construction (looks to use the same materials at the iPhone 5 as far as metallic backs and glass).

      The quality of construction is not defined by materials alone, and then there's also the utility aspect of it. Soft touch rubber-like plastic on the back of Nexus 7 is actually far superior to all-aluminum iPad, because it makes it so much easier to grip it in one hand.

      All in all, this has been a very unimpressive announcement: epic fail on price, display is very meh in this day of Retina craze, and overall lack of any distinguishing competitive features other than the Apple logo. The 13" MacBook is much more interesting.

  10. Re:Another Apple blunder by vakuona · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Yup. Let's all ignore Apple's real advantages here. That you get 275,000 apps that work ono the iPad mini. Or that the Nexus 7 that costs $199 is actually the 8GB version.

    Oh, and lets just pretend that the bigger and more expensive iPad is not outselling the Nexus 7 right now, with a much larger price differential.

  11. Re:Another Apple blunder by Anubis+IV · · Score: 4, Informative

    As an advocate of getting facts right, I feel compelled to point out that Apple announced the fourth gen iPad as a replacement to the third gen iPad and will stop selling the third gen. Apparently you missed that. And you could at least get your prices right. Comparably-featured Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire models are $80 cheaper and $130 cheaper, respectively, than the iPad mini base model, though you can get models as cheap as $130 less and $170 less, respectively.

    Also, ignoring your issues of fact, I fail to see the logic in what you're suggesting. Up until today, Apple didn't even have a product that competed in that class of tablet. It's been relying on a product in an entirely different class and at a far higher price to draw customers away from the products you cited, and even then, it's been doing very well (based on the 100M total iPad sales they announced today, coupled with the history of sales numbers listed on Wikipedia, we can gather that they've sold roughly 16M iPads in the last three months, as compared to 3M Nexus 7 sales in about the last four months). Yet for some reason you seem to think that Apple entering that space with a competing product right before the holiday season will actually drive customers away from Apple? That makes no sense whatsoever, and not just because we're talking about Apple. It just makes no sense period.

    At worst, its price will keep it from doing as well as Apple would like, but for customers who wanted an iPad but felt like their only choice was an Android because they wanted something smaller or cheaper than a full-sized iPad, Apple now has an answer that is sure to capture some interest where none would have existed before. That's a net gain, not the loss you're suggesting.

  12. Re:Another Apple blunder by Anubis+IV · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Oh, and lets just pretend that the bigger and more expensive iPad is not outselling the Nexus 7 right now, with a much larger price differential.

    Indeed. I just ran the math on it, and the numbers ended up being about 16M iPad sales in the last 3 months, as compared to 3M Nexus 7 sales in the same time frame.

    For anyone who wants to check my numbers, Apple announced today that they had sold 100M iPads. Wikipedia has a breakdown of iPad sales by quarter, and if you subtract those from the 100M number, you're left with roughly 16M sales that apparently make up the current quarter up to this point. Wikipedia also has sales numbers for the Nexus 7, and says that it's sold 3M as of mid-October, which would be pretty much exactly three months after it launched and only unaligned with Apple's numbers by about a week or two, making it a good comparison.

  13. Wait, what just happened? by Daetrin · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I've come to expect Apple to release hardware that is marginally better than their competitors at a pretty hefty markup. So let's compare...

    iPad mini: 7.9" screen + 1024x768 resolution = 163 PPI. Price = $330 - $530 depending on storage size.

    Nexus 7: 7" screen + 1280x800 resolution = 216 PPI. Price = $200-$250.

    So for $80 more than the Nexus 7 version with the same amount of storage (16GB: $330 iPad mini, $250 Nexus 7) you get a 0.9" larger screen but significantly worse pixel density. And this is of course before the 32GB Nexus 7 announcement next week. The rumor is that the 32GB version will be $250 and the other models will drop in price. If so that means at the 32GB level you'll have to pay $180 more to get an iPad mini with worse resolution.

    --
    This Space Intentionally Left Blank
    1. Re:Wait, what just happened? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 3, Informative

      You forgot NFC, and the Nexus 7 has a better CPU (quad core + low power core) and batter battery life.

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      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
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  14. Re:Another Apple blunder by Tough+Love · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Since when has any Apple customer cared about a price difference of $100?

    You're right, Apple customers obviously don't care about saving $100 since they are still customers, but Apple ex-customers do. That is precisely how Apple lost the lead in the smartphone market.

    --
    When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
  15. Re:Thats no moon by Tough+Love · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I sense a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out "I want one now"

    That's amazing, in spite of the fact the this new product has lower screen resolution than a product that costs $130 less, sports an obsolete dual core processor, and still has no built in USB port.

    Oh, and the battery is glued in.

    --
    When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
  16. Re:Another Apple blunder by AmiMoJo · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Comparably-featured Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire models are $80 cheaper and $130 cheaper, respectively, than the iPad mini base model, though you can get models as cheap as $130 less and $170 less, respectively.

    How are they comparable? They both have better screens, and the Nexus 7 has NFC, for example.

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC