Inside the Apple Music Event at Moscone West

I had a few moments to review my pictures as I rode the ferry across the Golden Gate. While doing so, it dawned on me that a lot happened today in the span of an hour. For an intimate event, Apple’s announcements at Moscone West on Sept. 7, 2005 stacked up to be a fair amount of news.

You’ve heard about the ROKR, the iTunes music phone from Motorola, Apple, and Cingular. In terms of function, it’s quite compelling. Holds 100 songs, Internet connectivity, stereo speakers, headphones, and USB connectivity with Macs and PCs.

It doesn’t have that great Apple form factor. Kind of wish Apple had designed it and not Moto. Also no mention of price per song downloaded directly from the phone. But you can transfer your existing music via iTunes on your Mac. Cingular is offering it for $250 with a 2-year commitment.

The iPod nano is for all of you who like the size of a shuffle, but hate its lack of screen. nano is pretty slick. Full color LCD in 2GB or 4 GB models at $199 and $249 respectively. You can also upload your photos and other data. I don’t think any picture can accurately convey how small this player is. Quite a feat!

There was also iTunes 5, Madonna catalog now on iTunes (with a humorous live iChat with Madonna from London), Harry Potter digital AudioBooks (exclusive to iTunes), an entertaining appearance by Ralph de la Vega of Cingular, a strong performance by Kanye West, and lots of odds and ends.

So now that you know who all of the players are, here’s a collection of photos from the ballroom in Moscone West.

Steve Jobs