MacWorld Keynote: Final Predictions
OK, so it’s a mere two hours to go, untill my wishlist will get one or more additions from Apple. So I’ll give my final predictions, marely for the sake of being able look back a couple of hours from now at how wrong I was.
iPhone
I think no. This has been the loudest rumor of them all, especially since the whole Kevin Rose-incident. Even senior analysts seem to think a phone is a given. I don’t.
Why? Because, if Apple were to introduce a phone, it would probably have to be an iPod-branded one. And to be honest, if Apple makes a phone, that do nothing more than the normal phone-stuff, and play my iTunes — I’m really not that interested. They would also have too much competition from both the SE Walkman phones and... well, everyone else to be quite honest.
If they do make an iPhone, however — we will definitely see two models: one being an iPod phone (MacPhone) which plays up to the Walkman phones, being very small, and with few other functions. Marketed towards teens and hipsters.
The other one will be for the pro users. It will be, not only the iPhone we have all been waiting for, but also the Newton we have all been waiting for. Perhaps even the MacBook Mini we’ve all been waiting for.
iTV
Not yet. It will be launched soon, though, so perhaps we’ll hear more about it. But a launch, no.
Mac Hardware
New processors. Intel has launched quad-core processors. The MacBook Pro and Mac Pro will get these, to make them set aside from the rest. I don’t think we’ll see a design change for either, though.
MacTablet
No. See my notes on the iPhone. If we see something tablet-like, it will be a UMPC-type of thing, not a mere tablet.
New iPods
No. This is not the time to come dragging with iPods. We want something bigger than that.
Leopard
Yes. I think we’ll see a launch. I think Apple has been ready for a while, just waiting for Vista to finish, so it wouldn’t be snapped up by the Redmond copiers. Additionally, developers have been urged to start developing for Leopard for quite a while, now — and Steve Jobs love nothing more than to give surprises.
New Displays
Yes. New Cinema displays with iSight built-in is a given. Perhaps we’ll even see a new lower-end display for Mac Mini-users?
Cinema TV
Maybe. If Apple makes a big deal out of revamping Cinema displays and home entertainment, maybe.
Personally, I think the iPhone has been overhyped. Now that it’s been unveiled, it looks overrated.
Hyped? Yes.
Overrated? No.
There are, of course the issues of it not being 3G capable, not being able to take in 3rd pty-sw, it looking like an LG:
http://www.engadget.com/200…
But still, it makes every other phone on the market look like poo… I almost threw my current phone out the window when I first saw it. I mean… It wouldn’t do much, as I was in the basement at the time, but still…