Jobs-less Macworld offers up 17-inch MacBook Pro, variable iTunes prices

Expectations were moderated after the king of the keynotes stepped aside for what he admitted yesterday to be health problems. But at a quieter, gentler Macworld, the crowd did get something to take home.

For perhaps any other company than Apple, the expectation of a world-changing product at least twice per year, if not more frequently, might be too much to ask. At what appears to be the final Macworld conference with which Apple will directly participate, Steve Jobs' stand-in, Apple SVP for Marketing Phil Schiller, showed off some software updates -- specifically, to the iWork and iLife software suites -- before premiering a new widescreen edition of the MacBook Pro.

As CNBC's Jim Goldman was the first to report from the scene, the new 17-inch model will be not as thin as the MacBook Air, but still thin enough -- less than an inch thick and weighing in at 6.6 pounds. It promises 1920 x 1200 resolution, as well as a new battery technology that should extend its running life to about seven hours on a single charge, for what Schiller described as a 60% increase. Apple has had some investments in lithium polymer battery cell technologies, so this could be what Schiller was referring to.

The new device will come standard with a Core 2 Duo processor clocked at 2.66 GHz, with 4 GB of DDR3 (not DDR2), a 320 GB hard drive (not an SSD), and dual Nvidia GPUs -- one 9400M, and an extension 9600M GT with 512 MB of dedicated GDDR. Pricing for the new MacBook Pro will begin at $2,799.

Apple is just now coming off of its very successful launches of its iPhone 3G and new MacBook lines. Maybe only the very faithful will be severely disappointed by the lack of any world-changing innovations.

As Schiller demonstrated (according to multiple live blogs on the scene), a new version of iPhoto shipping with the iLife suite for Macs will share functionality with Facebook and Flickr, enabling users to transfer photos directly. That functionality has been available up to now for both services, though only through plug-ins. A revised front-end for iPhoto is said to have functionality that looks more familiar to iTunes users.

And in a further demonstration, a completely rewritten version of iMovie looks to bury Windows' nose deeper into the dirt, for not having anywhere near a comparable movie editing utility for the everyday user.

As the conference was drawing to a close this morning, nearly everyone has been expecting Schiller to add "one more thing." That thing could very well be what Reuters reported early this morning, and what BetaNews tests appear to have validated: Many more iTunes tracks appear to be available without DRM, in the iTunes Plus department.

Jobs' absence may perhaps be felt in more venues than Macworld this morning, as the "one more thing" extended to a new three-tier pricing scheme for iTunes tracks: Some songs will be offered for as low as 69¢, with many remaining at 99¢ and some selling for $1.29. This may indicate a concession that the otherwise unshakable Jobs may have made to the record industry, which reportedly wanted a way to implement promotions and needed pricing flexibility in order to accomplish it.

In return, it appears, iTunes Plus will have access for far more songs without DRM, including from Sony Music (formerly Sony BMG) and more from EMI, Apple's charter partner in iTunes Plus. Tracks have been sold there for $1.29 since the new service's grand opening in May 2007.

A new feature of iTunes will enable customers to (finally) purchase music wirelessly, through Wi-Fi or 3G connections. We knew that 3G feature on those iPhones was there for a reason.