Steve Jobs Takes Aim At Competitors

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Forbes.com


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Steve Jobs Takes Aim At Competitors
Brian Caulfield, 09.09.09, 3:30 PM ET

SAN FRANCISCO -

Steve Jobs was there Wednesday. A tablet computer was not.

Jobs, however, did drag out a big bag of pain for Nintendo, Sony and Cisco from wherever he has been hiding this year. The nastiest move: tacking a video camera onto Apple's iPod nano. Cisco's Flip camera, by contrast, starts at $149 for a device with half the storage and no music player. In short: "We're going to lower the price from $149 to free," Jobs said.

Jobs also slashed the price of the iPod touch to $199 as he unveiled a new ad that positions the tiny touch-screen tablet as a Nintendo DS killer. The new tag line for the commercial Apple will soon be using to carpet bomb the competition: "next-level fun."

Apple was eager to make unflattering comparisons between the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS. Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller's pitch: Apple's games are cheaper; the iPhone and iPod touch's built-in App Store makes buying games more convenient; and Apple has more of them. Apple now offers 21,178 games, compared to 3,680 available for the Nintendo DS and 607 for Sony's PSP.

Jobs also introduced a new version of Apple's iTunes digital media software, iTunes 9, which includes updates like a redesigned storefront for buying movies and music, improved syncing between an iPod or iPhone and a user's computer, and "genius mixes" of complementary songs in a music library. One highlight: iTunes LP, which bundles content like videos, liner notes and lyrics along with music to recreate the vinyl album experience of a generation ago.

In other words, Jobs doesn't seem to have relaxed much, even as he made his first public appearance since receiving a liver transplant earlier this year. "I'm very happy to be here today," a gaunt looking Jobs said after receiving a standing ovation for just striding out onto the stage. Now the only thing that's missing is Apple's long rumored tablet computer. Maybe the device is undergoing a few last-minute procedures of its own.

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