Having owned Apple products since the ‘Classic’ it’s often been a mysterious journey following the groundbreaking tech firm. What is common over the years is a sort of jump and dip in Apple innovation. Some years see a real emphasis in hardcore computing power (Think back to the G4 ‘supercomputer’ ) whereas recently we’ve seen a much more consumer focused company with the advent of the iPod, iPhone et al.

For a while I felt a bit dissapointed in the Apple keynote speeches. I was seeing rehashed technologies banded about by Apple as real innovations but with the keynote from yesterday firmly in my mind it becomes evident to me how all of Apple’s products are converging into objects that can placate high end users AND consumers alike. For the first time in a few years I see Apple as really pushing the envelope. When the iPad was launched I was cynical but in use it’s a joy. I love having something that is Apple but is smaller than my 15″ MacBook Pro workhorse. I also love the huge battery, the fact that I can check my email, review documents, play games, watch movies, speak to friends via IM but still have power to spare at the end of the day – all on something so well designed that it garners coos from every corner wherever I take it.

So Apple’s iPad DOES have a genuine place in not only consumer electronics but also for us powerusers who don’t want to be on their work centric machine all the time. It’s fun, not expensive, beautifully made, technically advanced and it’s also only the beginning.

Now my thoughts on the new iPhone 4. Notice it’s not 4G. A shame but not Apple’s fault – I believe the networks really have to step up their game now. If they want customer retention then they need to not only fix the insane amount of dropped calls on their networks but also build the networks of the future. I cannot help thinking that Steve Jobs and Apple are secretly furious with AT&T for providing such a shambolic network right now, forget even thinking about a 4G network! So I cannot come down hard on Apple here. They were demonstrating their ‘FaceTime’ feature as though they had invented video calling and I felt like ranting about how we’ve all been using Skype for years…but Apple do things better and by stressing that FaceTime works only over WIFI they are making sure functionality isn’t compromised by the poor networks.

I’m excited about the new iPhone because Apple HAVE pushed the boat out technically. I was expected a new design relying more on a new OS than anything else but I’m blown away by a few things. First off the display:

The ‘Retina Display’ (I love Apple’s marketing dept!) is insane. To have that many pixels on a mobile device right now IS innovative. It’s going to allow developers to provide the most beautiful graphic experience ever and for people in design allows for close up zooming without quality loss. So the screen is a huge huge thing to shout about.

iMovie on the phone – wow. I mean as if recording 720p HD video wasn’t enough Apple develop a baby iMovie App for use on the new iPhone. Kudos to Apple here, the demo looked incredible – see for yourself here

Then we have a better camera promising better quality snaps, LED flash, front facing camera for video calls, thinner easier to hold body, better materials, faster processor, better noise cancellation…and I could go on but all with a larger battery and better talk time.

In summary Apple have come from two points and arrived at one – they’ve produced a groundbreaking product but improved the weight and size AND battery life.

Roll on June 24th!