Apple announced today that its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) has already sold out. That’s pretty incredible considering two things. First, tickets went on sale only a month ago, and are anything but cheap — even the early-bird special was well over $1,000. (And remember, this is a recession, and plenty of other conferences are struggling to move tickets.) And second, last year’s event was the first one ever to sell out — and that only happened a couple weeks before the actual show.
Clearly, anticipation is high for this year’s event for a number of reasons. The first is that developers and presumably the audience at the keynote (which we’ll be at, so that means all of you will get to follow along as well) will get a major glimpse at OS X 10.6 “Snow Leopard.” The new OS is currently being tested by developers, but most of the expected user interface changes have yet to be unveiled. WWDC may be the first time anyone gets a real look at those.
But even bigger than Snow Leopard, is the possibility that Apple may use the event to unveil a new version of the iPhone. There have been no shortage of rumors about this, but some kind of new hardware now appears pretty likely. Will it offer faster data speeds? Will it have video recording capabilities? Will it have better battery life? An OLED screen? People want to know. Last year at WWDC, Apple unveiled the iPhone 3G, and dropped the bomb that it would only cost $199 after subsidy.
One other thing that is undoubtedly causing a lot of interest in this year’s WWDC, is the question of whether CEO Steve Jobs will make an appearance. Publically, Apple is saying that Jobs remains on track to make a return at the end of June, but could he really pass up an opportunity to unveil the above two products? I’ve contacted Apple to see who is slated to be the keynote speaker this year, and will update if I hear back.
knowing the price of the tickets would be nice.
updated for you. specifically, i believe tickets were $1,295 through April 24th, then the were $1,595, I believe.
thanks you’re the best
MGS is TC’s iphone and android correspondent.
last week i was the twitter correspondent.
@MGS
You are really versatile then. LOL
yes, thanks, that’s what I was fishing for.
Steve Jobs in WWDC this year? Are you sure? If he’s gonna come, he would definitely be the keynote guy. I love to hear Steve talk.
I hope so!!
Any live stream for those (including me) not able to attend the conference?
No there won’t be any.
But ADC member will be able to purchase video sessions via iTunes. And the prices will not make you happy.
That is pretty impressive, but it could be stranger. There are a LOT of apple fans out there and their products attract not only a lot of developers but also capital strong users.
I would be willing to bet that just bloggers will make up 100s of the guest, and another couple of 100s will be people that just are hoping for a glimpse of Jobs.
I really hope a new iPhone is announced. I’m wanting an iPhoe for when I start traveling and it’d be nice to either buy a new one, or if I don’t need the new one I can at least get a 3G off eBay for a lower price.
I predict that they will trot Steve Jobs out one last time and then he will die less than 6 months later. They know he will get them tons of publicity, but the man is not well and there is no way he will ever be back at Apple full time. He will however be able to get the Apple fan boys excited one last time.
I’m surprised Steve Jobs’ doctor reads TechCrunch and breaches doctor-patient confidentially laws. -_-
I said “I PREDICT”. Try and pay attention next time.
There are a lot of rumors of OLED displays to be used in next-gen Apple devices. not just iPhones – but also a netbook, monitors (15″), iPod/iPhones… presumably these will be made by LG.
Why is Pre taking a cautious approach? What does launching just a day before iPhone’s announcement got to do with its unique branding/marketing? I find all this nonsensical. Looks like Palm is shaking in fear of being overthrown by iPhone. According to me, there is no point in waiting till iPhone’s announcement because after looking at/analyzing Pre, people are gonna look at only what iPhone has to say! More popularity/interest will be created for Steve and his team @WWDC.
That’s a nice news. As of today, sometimes it’s get really difficult to get you product to be sold out, because the market is getting bigger and the competition gets tighter.
It is great news for apple users That is pretty impressive, but it could be stranger. There are a LOT of apple fans out there and their products attract not only a lot of developers but also capital strong users.
Don’t forget the rumors about Final Cut Studio 3 announcements! It’s been over two years since the last Final Cut Studio upgrade, so it’s bound to come out soon.
“Developers. Developers. Developers.”
MSFT has some significant strategic issues. This in one of the big ones. Losing lead here as iPhone siphons off young talent (wait till monetization hits with iPhone v3.)
Low end will be under attack when new users start ordering great new Ubuntu release on netbooks. High end suffering from Apple being able to optimize the hware/sware system + iPhone trojan horse.
Yikes.
$.02: There will be no Steve appearances any more. As big a control freak as he is, he is just as acutely aware of PR and marketing. He knows that an appearance will keep the event from being ‘on message’.
If he shows, the blogosphere will be consumed with ‘how sick is he?’, ‘how long does he have?’, etc. The focus must be on the product.
Wish I could have gone to WWDC. I will need to try to go before it is sold out next time. Must be so interesting. It is nice they have the video sessions available. Makes you feel like you are almost there.