MacWorld 2008, Gentlemen Start Your Speculation
by David Hughes
MacWorld 2008 starts tomorrow in sunny San Francisco with Steve Job’s keynote opening the Expo on Tuesday.
Steve Job’s keynote is traditionally where major Apple product announcements are made, last year saw the iPhone announced, and are also traditionally a major subject of speculation, rumour and gossip keeping the Apple interweb busy for weeks in advance… and I’m happy to admit that I for one love it.
So what does the interweb think we’ll see this year?
Many are expecting a super light sub-notebook MacBook and I think that’s probably pretty likely.
Others are expecting a touch screen, tablet type MacBook. I think this will happen sometime soon but maybe not at MacWorld. If you look at the additions that have been made to the latest version of OS X it is crying out for a touch interface – just imagine flicking through your documents using QuickLook. It’s gonna happen but is it next week? I dunno?
Then there is the iPhone. A 3G version is coming this year and may well be announced next week to ship later in the year. I’m pretty sure we’ll also see a 16Gb or even bigger version announced.
As is also traditional we are now seeing “spy” shots of the banners and posters that are going up at the MacWorld venue:
“There’s something in the air” hmmm doesn’t suggest new MacBooks does it? Unless they include some kind of pervasive wireless networking a little like the iPhone but would that warrant the main banners for MacWorld? I don’t think so.
So here is my guess as to what “There’s something in the air” is about:
HOME “MEDIA” NETWORKING
Yep, home media networking. Based on an update/redevelopment of the Apple TV we could be looking at some kind of MacMedia bringing your music (iTunes), video (iTunes/Quicktime), photos (iPhoto) and more together and allowing you to easily share, stream and view anywhere in your home.
Apple are going to move more in consumer content and devices more and more I feel. Remember that they are no Apple Inc. not Apple Computers anymore. Forget the whole HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray ‘argument”; let’s face it physical media is dying a slow but sure death.
In the very near future consumption and sharing of media is going to be all about storage and bandwidth and a lot of that will be “something in the air”.
personally, I think Air is a WiMax or 3g (more likely) enabled subnotebook. If 3g and Edge, it would be another way to keep sucking recurring revenue from AT&T. That would be brilliant.
You may well be right but that doesn’t really warrant the big banner… does it? Wimax feels a little UScentric and 3G is gonna involve contracts with network operators – I’m not sure that’s a flyer with the way the operators work.
Then again Apple changed that with the iPhone.
I worked at Vodafone and they stopped doing in-built 3G in laptops because they didn’t make enough money out of it.
Guess we’ll see Tuesday :-)
My pick:
Jobs will do for DVD’s the same thing he did for floppy’s.
New mac book with no optical drive — that’s why he’s avoided blueray.
with broadband — who needs the weight and bulk?