Apple has announced the June 11-15 date for this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) at Moscone Center San Francisco. Conference passes are on sale now for $1599 and is restricted to members of Apple’s developer programs.

Tickets are expected to be sold out quickly and Apple is expected to focus on the coming release of iOS 6 and Mountain Lion for the more than 100 technical sessions in WWDC 2012.

Mountain Lion is the next release of OS X and is expected to be released in late summer. Apple has released Mountain Lion preview for its developers. iOS 6 is expected to be released together with the next iPhone and developers will get a glimpse of iOS 6 details for the first time in WWDC 2012. 

Apple’s announcement

WWDC website

Updated: Tickets have sold out in less than 2 hours. For comparison, WWDC tickets were selling out in eight days for WWDC 2010 and under 12 hours last year.

After months of speculation, delay and waiting, Intel has finally launches its third-generation Core processor dubbed Ivy Bridge. Ivy Bridge processors are the first to make use of new 22nm process technology, with a promise of greater efficiency and performance boost with the integrated graphics processor. Based on initial benchmarks, consumers can generally expect between 10%-20% increase of performance compared with second-generation Sandy Bridge processors.

One highlight of Ivy Bridge processors are the improved efficiency, you get more processing power per watt compared with Sandy Bridge processors. With Ivy Bridge, Intel is making a greater leap forwards with its integrated HD2500/HD4000 graphics processor, making them powerful enough without the need for discreet GPUs in games and some applications.

Intel is launching Ivy Bridge with a set of quad-core processors suitable for desktop PCs. Ivy Bridge mobile processors with lower thermal design power (TDP) are expected within weeks. With this Ivy Bridge launch, we can expect Apple to announce its new Mac refreshes shortly. There is no Mac refreshes so far in 2012, mainly due to the delayed launches of Ivy Bridge processors.

Apple is expected to refresh its MacBook Pro with a more MacBook Air like thinness and without the optical drive. The big brother Mac Pro might finally get its refresh, the last Mac Pro refresh is in August 2010. iMac and Mac mini might get a refresh too, as Ivy Bridge processors are suitable for the whole Mac lineups. What is unknown is if Apple will resurrect the MacBook line.

With Ivy Bridge, Intel specifically categorize processors that target the new ‘ultrabook’ notebook segment, which is essentially the term used by Apple’s competitors for MacBook Air lookalike. PC manufacturers are expected to flood the market with Ivy Bridge ultrabooks. This might prompt Apple to upgrade MacBook Air in order to compete. 

If you’re in the market to purchase a new Mac, it is worthwhile to wait for the new refreshes.

BBC News – Intel’s Ivy Bridge chips launch using 3D transistors

Remember iSight camera on your Mac? iSight is the name Apple used for the webcam on Mac computers before its transition to the current “FaceTime” or “FaceTime HD” camera naming. When Apple launched the new iPad, it refers to the new 5MP camera as an iSight camera.  And iSight name is prominent in iPad’s product literature. More than just the new iPad, Apple has just applied the iSight name to the camera in iPhone 4/4S. The camera on both the new iPad and iPhone 4S appears to be the same going by specification.

The iSight branding is expected to extend to the camera on the Mac during their next refreshes later in the year. It is safe to say that the resurrection of the name only make sense when Apple plans to make it a differentiating product feature. To speculate, Apple might be adding motion sensing detection technology into the iSight camera. This new technology might be enabled as part of Mountain Lion and in iOS 6. There might even be a standalone iSight webcam accessory for the AppleTV, with full gaming API support for its motion detection technology. Will Apple play catchup with Kinect? We will know for sure when Apple unveils iOS 6 in June.

Apple just completed its March 7 media event at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco. If you want the full coverage, please visit the usual suspects such as Engadget, MacWorld etc websites. For those in a hurry, here are the quick summary:

• iOS 5.1 will be available later today. Those with iOS 5 can update directly from within Settings app.
• As part of iOS 5.1, Siri will add Japanese language support.
• iTunes in iCloud now support movies with the ability to re-download movies you’ve purchased on any device. iTunes movie now come in 1080p.
• Apple unveils third generation Apple TV with 1080p support with a streamlined new user interface. The price is the same as existing model at $99. Available next week March 16th, order starts today.
• Apple launches new iPad. It is not iPad 3 or iPad HD, just iPad. Or the new iPad. Or third generation iPad.
• New iPad comes with 264ppi 2048×1536 resolution Retina Display. This is twice the resolution of existing iPad and more than 1 million pixel more than HDTV 1080p (1920×1080) standard. The new screen also boasts 44% greater saturation.
• New iPad has a new A5X processor with quad-core graphics and is twice as fast as Tegra 3.
• New iPad has a 5M pixel iSight camera with backside illuminated sensor, 5-element lens, Hybrid IR filter, face detection and ISP (signal processor) module built into the A5X chip. It can record video at 1080p with video stabilization and temporal noise deduction features.
• There is no Siri for the new iPad. Instead it comes with voice dictation for US English, British, Australian, French, German and Japanese.
• The new iPad supports World Ready 3G and next-generation 4G LTE wireless. It is capable of 21Mbps HSPA+ and DC-HSDPA at 42Mbps, and LTE at 73Mbps. (Compare with iPad 2 which is capable of 3.1Mbps on EV-DO and 7.2Mbps on HSPA).
• The new iPad has a 10 hours battery life. The battery life is 9 hours on 4G LTE. It is 9.4mm thin and weights 1.4lbs, which is slightly heavier than iPad 2.
• The new iPad has the same pricing as iPad 2: $499 for 16GB Wi-Fi, $599 for 32GB Wi-Fi and $699 for 64GB Wi-Fi. The price for 4G LTE version is $629 for 16GB, $729 for 32GB and $829 for 64GB.
• The new iPad will be available March 16 for US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia. Pre-orders starts today.
• The new iPad will be available March 23 for Austria, belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macau, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.
• Apple updates iOS apps: iWorks, iMovie, Garage Band. Free update for existing users.
• Apple releases new iPhoto for iOS with photo editing and organization features. $4.99 available today.
• iPad 2 16GB will be made available at $399, a price drop of $100.

As predicted, Walter Isaacson’s ‘Steve Jobs’ biography is Amazon’s best-selling book of 2011. It is remarkable considering that ‘Steve Jobs’ is only released in late October. The biography is an interesting read into the man for fans and non-fans alike.

‘Steve Jobs’ at Amazon.com

It’s a sad day. A lost for our generation and mankind. RIP.

Finally, the October 4 date is confirmed. Apple today sent out invitations for a special event titled “Let’s talk iPhone”. Venue is at Apple’s Cupertino headquarter Town Hall auditorium and the event will begin 10:00 AM Pacific Time.

Apple is expected to roll out new iPhone hardware. It is still a wild guess if we will see an improved iPhone 4S, a brand new design iPhone 5 or both. iOS 5, iCloud and new iPods are also expected during this event.

The Wall Street Journal’s AllThingD site is reporting that Apple will unveil iPhone 5 on an event on October 4. Tim Cook is expected to lead the launch. This sounds like a mega launch event as besides iPhone 5, we can also expect iOS 5, iCloud, new iPod touch and iPod models, or even new AppleTV.

AllThingsD

Since the launch of the first iPhone in June 2007, Apple has consistently brought us a new iPhone model every June. But not this year. This prompts wide speculation on the reason for the delay. Here’s our take:

• Apple is waiting for iOS 5 and iCloud to be ready before the launch of the new hardware. Apple can easily launch iPhone 5 in June with iOS 4. But iCloud and iOS 5 will bring a whole new experience. And Apple wants iPhone 5 to be associated being the device for the iCloud.
• The usual annual refresh cycle for iPod is September. Apple plans to merge the launch of iPhone with the annual iPod refresh, as there is not a lot of excitement anymore for iPod models. iPod touch is running the same software as iPhone, thus it makes sense to launch both together.
• A new iPad model is expected every April. By making iPad and iPhone about 5-6 months apart, there are more breather and less contention for resources for Apple’s supply chain vendors.
• The annual Apple developer conference WWDC is in June. It makes sense to launch a new device few months apart so that developers can get ready their apps.
• One new feature in iOS 5 is iMessage, which will by pass telco’s SMS gateway if you’re sending the message to another iMessage user. This means potentially hugh loss of income for telco especially in Asia market where there are high penetration of SMS usage. It takes time to negotiate with worldwide telcos for the launch.
• September//October is nearer to the golden shopping period that is Christmas. A launch and marketing event nearer Christmas will bring a greater mindset to consumers than a June event.

Can’t get enough news on Steve Jobs? Here is an inspiring commencement speech by Steve Jobs in 2005 at Stanford, for those who have not seen it.