Whoever predicted that Apple would introduce iWork ’09 today gets a gold star. Keynote, Pages and Numbers all received what I would consider minor updates; no need to run around all willy nilly for these, methinks.
First shown was Keynote, which Phil Schiller, ever the showman, noted was used to make the very presentation so many of us were looking for to. Nothing crazy, really: a few new transitions, some slide-object-rearranger thing, etc. There is a new application for the iPhone (and iPod touch) that lets you control Keynote. Imagine, being able to hit “next” on your slide for only 99 cents. Eh, sorta neat. Should be free.
Next was Pages, the application that doesn’t know if it’s a word processor or a page layout toolset. Not a whole lot here, either: a new full-screen view mode, dynamic page outlines that automatically appear (to give you a better sense of when the page ends, I guess), and some feature that merges data from Numbers with Pages. Seems like that should have been there from Day One.
Lastly, Numbers, Apple’s impression of Excel, has all new stuff that will not appeal to any of you unless you work for H&R Block. New mathematical functions, charts, etc. White shirt, pencil-thin tie sort of stuff.
Apple has also added the ability to share documents over the Internet at iWork.com, which surely must give Google Docs a run for its money. Oh, wait, Google Docs is free and Apple wants money for this ground-breaking feature.
Needless to say, short of actually using iWork for some time, it looks like a rather benign update. Apple wants $99 for a family license. Or, becuase the new iWork requires Leopard, you can grab the Leopard+iWork combo starting at the end of the month for $169.
Proper photos & the like when Apple decides to upload ’em.