Project You!

Hello Everyone,

It's been a busy couple of weeks, but we are back with another blog for your enjoyment.

On September 5th, 2007, Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs had his latest keynote speech introducing the new line of iPods.

This is a good example of an American style presentation.
His presentations are always entertaining to watch.
He speaks clearly, uses simple English, and simple slides to support what he is saying.
Even people who are not Mac fans could learn from watching his presentations.
How does his presentation style differ from Japanese presentations?

Here's a few of the highlights from the keynote:

* iPod Shuffle - New colors including a product red version (charity for aids research);
* iPod Nano - New design with bigger screen for playing video.
* iPod Classic - Thinner design with more storage (80-160Gb) and longer battery life.
* iPod Touch Based upon the iPhone but thinner (8mm). It has Wi-Fi (802.11b/g), Internet browser (Safari), calendar, etc. New models include 8 and 16Gb versions.
* iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store is a new application that allows the purchase of digital music via Wi-Fi using the new iPod Touch. This feature will be added to iPhone later this month.
* iPhone 8Gb price reduced by $200 to $399. (Apple has since offered $100 credit to people who bought it when it launched)
=> Updated Apple iPod product line

In the second part of the keynote, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz made an appearance to talk about a new partnership between the two firms:

* Starbucks Coffee and Apple Inc. have collaborated to enable customers to view the songs played while sitting in coffee shops in the US and purchase them via Wi-Fi with their iPhones or iPod Touches. This should be completed for all Starbucks Wi-Fi stores in the US by the end of 2009.

How about Japan?
It makes you wonder when the iPhone will be coming to Japan.
According to the Japanese Wikipedia article on the iPhone, it looks as though the provider that is likely to become Apple's partner is au by KDDI.
I would be very happy if that happens since I have been using au for almost eight years.
Since we have a lot of Starbucks outlets here in Tokyo, I wonder if they will decide to install Wi-Fi and offer the same services here in Japan.

Two questions:
Do you have an iPod?
Are you excited about the iPhone coming to Japan?

Let me know what you think!

-Matthew