The good news is there is a cheap iPhone; the better news is that there is an iPhone refresh that is pretty snazzy, and the bad news is that I can have none of it.

Today at the WWDC keynote address, Apple spent some time strutting their MacBook line, talking about OSX Snow Leopard, and showing off the new iPhone 3.0 software and iPhone 3GS hardware. First thing to note is that the 13 inch MacBook line received some nice battery boost, RAM support, and a small speed bump. All of this is available for the sweet price point of $1199. Essentially, the low end unibody MacBook is identical to the 15 and 17 inch line. And the new MacTablet is fantastic still doesn't exist.

As for OSX Snow Leopard, the upgrade is due in September (one month before Windows 7) and will ony cost $29. OSX Snow Leopard will be Gigabytes smaller thanks to a trimmed install, feature a new and improved QuickTime experience, and 64-BIT, GPGPU, AND MULTI-CORE SUPPORT. With a substantial upgrade only running thirty bucks, that puts pressure on Microsoft to follow suit - I hope. Come October, I would love to be running Windows 7 on my tablet and Snow Leopard on my MacBook, and I would love to only pay $60 for the pair.

Finally in iPhone news, I was right and wrong. There is a $99 iPhone, it is the current iPhone 3G with 8GB of storage. The price drop for what is a great piece of hardware should certainly boost sales. The iPhone 3GS (s is for speed) will run $199 and $299 for new AT&T customers, or for customers with an eligible upgrade. Unfortunately, that leaves all current iPhone 3G users in a lurch. We have to pay a hefty premium above that cost - trust me; I tried. Unfortunately, the upgrade love is no more.

As for the S - it means speed. The 3GS will support faster 3G speeds, it has a 3MP camera with auto-focus and video support, a compas, and voice support. I do feel it is an iPhone that is worth $199, but I do not think it is $399 or $499 worth of phone. The current iPhone and the new hardware will both support iPhone 3.0 software when it is released on June 17th.

That's the news from lake Cupertino. All in all, it was a good day in Apple land.

iPhone 3GS page.