WWDC 2009 dates out

Apple has officially announced the dates for its 2009 Worldwide Developers Conference, scheduling the event for June 8th to the 12th. It will as usual take place at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, and concentrate primarily on technical sessions dedicated to various aspects of Mac and iPhone development. Visitors should also have access to lab help, and a variety of special events. Passes to the conference are now on sale for $1,295, but following April 24th, will increase in price to $1,595.

Expectations for the event have become unusually high, due to a combination of factors. Leading these may be evidence of one or more new iPhones, which could be announced at the event and then released shortly thereafter. The announcement would likely be timed near the release of the iPhone 3.0 firmware, and may introduce hardware features such as 7.2Mbps 3G broadband and video recording. Some analysts have suggested the possibility of a cheaper, scaled-down iPhone, possibly costing only $99.

It is also believed that Apple will highlight Mac OS X Snow Leopard, which was originally projected to launch earlier in the year. The software appears to be gaining a number of features however, including not just ZFS and a new version of QuickTime, but a reinvented interface and iPhone-like touch and location support. Security and stability have remained a strong focus of the project.

by MacNN Staff