A few outlandish Macworld 2008 Keynote predictions
When I woke up to Apple.com showing the text “There is something in the air.”, as all good Mac-geeks do, my head began to swirl with ideas of what Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs will be unveiling later this afternoon.
So here, on the cusp of that Keynote, I figured I’d write down a few outlandish, and perhaps some reasonable, predictions for what could be announced today based on “There is something in the air.”.
- HD-compatible broadcaster built-in to all Macs - playing on “There is something in the air.” I’d like to see the need for an Apple TV go away, somehow, where all Macs can broadcast a short-distance in HD. Is this even technically possible? I have no idea. I think getting iTunes on the TV is essential to Apple’s success (especially if they enter the movie-rental arena) and by somehow lowering the price-point of the AppleTV - they could really make their movie/tv show-download business much bigger.
- iPhone to Airtunes. This has been speculated before, but as an iPhone owner myself, I’d like to see this happen.
- iPhone to iPhone. Some would say that today’s announcement, or at least the “big” announcement, will not be about the iPhone - but I’d love to see some iPhone to iPhone syncing abilities. Perhaps sending someone your contact information? A photo?
- Wireless electricity? You can mark this in the “outlandish” column for sure, but, wouldn’t this be just awesome? When I setup my new office one of the ugliest things that I just couldn’t hide were all of the stinking power cords. Maybe this is a few years off yet.
- A light-weight ultra-portable notebook computer. I know this has also been speculated on for some time, but I think we need to see a somewhat powerful replacement for the long-since-gone 12″ powerbook. I think a dedicated GPU in a lightweight portable is a must. Not sure on the naming or other specs yet.
Yes I’ve seen the leaked Keynote outline. Yes I believe it could easily be real, and quite frankly if it is, I’d be ok with it. also read the speculations about Jobs announcing his successor, but I don’t think the time is right for that yet. I think it will be another 2 or 3 years before Jobs announces he is leaving Apple for the green pastures of retirement and it won’t but for another 2 or 3 years after that, that he actually leaves. I give Steve Jobs at least another five years at Apple, Inc.
What are your predictions, outlandish or otherwise? The above is definitely not a complete list of what I think is going to come out, but I thought it’d be neat to see what we could come up with based on Apple’s always intriguing one-liners they throw on their homepage.
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I think if they go with the wireless broadband in the MacBook Air, it’s also very likely that they’ll add the same capability to all of their laptops, or at least the MacBook Pro models. There’s a definite market for a tiny, lightweight Apple laptop, but that market doesn’t overlap much with the market for 15″ and 17″ Apple laptops. There are plenty of pro users who would want some form of wireless broadband, but for whom a Portege-esque laptop would be severely underpowered.
So that’s my prediction: Wireless broadband will not be limited to the MacBook Air.
Illtron on January 15th, 2008 10:29 am
1. New MacBooks will have NO user storage built in, but rather 1TB of storage (for a one-time fee more space could be purchased) on the Internet. When you save data it will automatically upload to your storage space via WiMAX allowing you or anyone you designate to access it on any computer anywhere in the world.
All software except for the OS will be web-based. The OS will be stored on an 8GB SSD for superior performance.
2. iPods (I hope) will have wifi/Bluetooth capabilities allowing the user to move songs or files from computer to iPod and vice-versa. Additionally you will now be able to manage your songs and files directly on your iPod. We will finally be able to delete tracks on the iPod without having to dock it.
iPods will no longer need to be docked via a cable. iPods will be aware of your computer and dock wirelessly when within range and automatically update playlists and software.
That’s all I have and what I hope for. I could wait on the MacBook prediction but I look forward to the time when that’s feasible.
JustJason on January 15th, 2008 10:34 am
JustJason: Wow, bold, bold predictions (especially the first).
Colin Devroe on January 15th, 2008 11:15 am