Currently waiting for the Apple event to kick-off, I am watching the TWIT live broadcast.#

No updates because there is a lot of new stuff, or because the numbers don't look as good?#

Apple filled up the auditorium with employees, insuring there is plenty of applause for every announcement.#

Airstrip comes across to me as too complex of an app for a smartwatch. Again, a smartwatch is not a standalone computer, its an accessory.#

So much for apps, now to the accessories for the accessory (bands). #

Watch OS2 launches September 16#

Not really much Apple Watch news, I am guessing this is a throw in.#

Apple declares the iPad is now a productivity tool and not just content consumption.#

Showing one using a >10-inch tablet in portrait is ridiculous. Still think Microsoft has it right about larger screen tablets. #

Just think there is a maximum size for tablets, and I wonder how many people will want a 12.9 inch tablet. Lots of emphasis on PPI, but at the end I imagine people who will want the Pro will be for split screen. #

Is ten hours of battery life enough? My first thought is no. First iPad that has worse battery life than previous models. #

Smart keyboard = Microsoft Type Cover. Optional accessory, and puts the iPad Pro firmly in competition with the Microsoft Surface 3 Pro. #

Stylus, but of course they have to call it Apple Pencil. And the Pencil is the first opportunity for a Jony Ive video. #

TWIT.tv folks are excited by the stylus!!! #

Lots of re-quotations coming from when Steve Jobs ripped styluses, which was really a backhand rip at Microsoft. Personally, I've alway's took Steve's comment to mean if you have to use a stylus to operate the device, you've made a mistake, and he was right then and now. One can still operate the iPad Pro without the Pencil. #

Microsoft demoed the Office Mobile apps, which I think have been available for iOS for a while now, although they have been updated for the Pencil. #

Looks like Apple has shifted their industry focus from education to medical.#

So far I haven't seen a demo of split screen on the iPad Pro, which I would think is a primary feature.#

I am guessing the iPad Pro is going to cost north of $1K. #

As I expected... the only way to buy for less than $1k is to not buy the keyboard and Pencil. You buy the keyboard and Pencil, the rice goes over $1k. #

Still happy with my Surface 3#

Amused by the lapability comments. I don't think Apple will ever use the term "2-in-1" to describe their products.#

I expect Siri to be a part of Apple TV. I won't be surprised if there is no iPhone news, or they blow through the iPhone news.#

"The future of television is apps." #

Lots of emphasis on the remote control. #

New operating system: tvOS. So, Microsoft wants to consolidate their operating systems and Apple seems to be spreading theirs out.#

Meh! #

We've changed everything, so bring out those credit cards!#

Rose gold looks ugly to me. #

Force touch or tap and hold? I don't see how "3D Touch" is any better. Feels like we are getting tapped out on smartphone features and now Apple is reaching. #

Almost through the entire event and the hair finally appears!#

Fitzed around with everything hoping that people will buy the new iPhone.#

All prices are contract-dependent. Apple is introducing install plans for the phones. Upgrade program, $30 per month, add that to your carrier charges, forever.#

iOS 9 coming on September 16. #

In my opinion, the big (literally) news from today's Apple event is the iPad Pro. Everything else that Apple announced were incremental improvements aimed at getting us to buy more of the same stuff. The iPad Pro is the closest to something new.#

Expect most of the press to focus on the Pencil, and how Steve Jobs was so against styluses. On the other hand, the iPad Pro legitimizes Microsoft's efforts at creating an enterprise tablet market. For those who have been saying tablets can be productivity devices, Apple has finally said, they agree.#

The question is, do people really want 12.9" tablets? Even if they are thin and light, a 12.9" device is big, possibly too big to carry around comfortably. The Surface 3 Pro screen is a little smaller, at 12 inches, and Microsoft markets it as a landscape-oriented device, which in my mind makes the screen appear smaller. Hold a Surface 3 Pro or an iPad Pro in portrait and it will feel huge. #

Back to the Pencil. I hope we quickly get past all the snarky, Steve Jobs wouldn't do that, comments. There is a big difference between how one uses a stylus today and how one had to use them with the original Tablet PC, Pocket PC, and Palm PDAs. #

The devices of ten years ago required a stylus to operate because all the controls on the screen were so small. Turns out, people prefer touch-operated devices that don't require styluses, which at worst can be easily lost, and at best take time to retrieve and use. #

Yet, for some, there are legit use cases for a stylus, use cases that don't require one to use the stylus for general operation of the device like with a Pocket PC. Artistic people like styluses for drawing on the screen, while some, like me, like using styluses to write notes in digital ink. #

It will be interesting to see how many people buy the iPad Pro. The prices are high, particularly when you add the keyboard and Pencil. Who will find it worth the price, particularly when you have all those other, cheaper iPads, not to mention cheaper tablets from competitors? My gut says the iPad Pro has a niche market, the size of which is at this time unknown. #