MacWorld happens next week (Jan 9 - 11) at Moscone Center in San Francisco. For the last two years, my sister and I have attended the expo. We skip the keynote, since the expo is free, and justifying spending hundreds on admission for something that will be on the web by the time we get home isn't for those of us not going on the company's dime. (For free admission to the expo, leave a comment, and I'll get a priority code for registration out to you).
The first MacWorld we went to was in 2005, Heading up the keynote was iLife '05, and a preview of Tiger, Final Cut Pro HD, and where where we were introduced to the plastic chewing gum container sized iPod Shuffle and the one more thing: the Mac Mini.
At MacWorld 2006, where jobs presented iPods in Cars, iLife '06, Tiger, Aperture and the introduction of the newly Intel powered iMacs, and the one more thing: the MacBook Pro.
With these past considerations in mind, here are my predictions for MacWorld 2007:
- We will see iLife '07 and iWork '07.
- Preview, if not release of Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
- iPod/iTunes State of the Union Address.
- Apple Computer Hardware Release of some kind.
With the iPod, the nano and shuffle lines just getting a refresh in September, I think that this Macworld will focus on iTunes and their upcoming iTV product. While the iTV isn't ready for sale just yet, we can probably expect a demonstration (to keep it fresh in people's minds). Will we see the Apple Phone? There is a possibility of that, but given what a mess showing off the shuffles were at MacWorld 2005 leads me to believe that we will not see a new iPod product release at MacWorld 2007.
Which leads us into computers. Apple has six lines of computers. MacBook, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, iMac, Mac Pro, and Xserve. While a new XServe or MacPro sporting a new Intel Core Quadis definitely a possibility, it's not really a headline generator.
Another candidate for a new release are Apple Displays. The iSight, Apple's webcam has been missing from Apple's site ever since they started showing up on the iMac and their laptops. The whole desktop line has been without iSights for a while now, and it's my belief that the next version of Apple Displays will have integrated iSight cameras. It seems to be a logical feature to add, along with support for HDMI. Given the inclusion of HDMI, however, I would expect the announcement of new displays would go really well as an Apple "Special Event" with the iTV release.
Other things that appear to have fallen to the wayside is the Airport line: Airport Base Stations and Airport Express. This update is likely to happen with the iTV announcement, as I can't conceive of a reason why they would want to update the line without iTV support. However, people have noted that recent computers have been shipping with 802.11n network cards, but I don't think the Airport products will make as big a splash without iTV.
The Apple Computer Hardware is likely the "One More Thing..." and this is their headline generator -- and typically it's an all new product.(2001 - PowerBook G4 TiBook, 2002 - LCD iMac, 2003 -12" PowerBook, 2004 - iPod mini, 2005 - Mac mini, 2006 MacBook Pro). It should be noted that iPod wasn't really a product featured during the MacWorld keynotes until 2004 (with the introduction of the iPod mini).With Jobs at the helm, he's always been really good about responding to threats from the outside market forces and building more visible products, and it's typically been through the "One Last Thing" part of the keynote.
While I'll admit that my prediction is entirely fueled by wishful thinking, I think the product they'll unveil is an new computer. My belief right now is that it's likely to be a 21 inch laptop, but it might also be a ultra-mobile tablet computer. Both of these products would be revolutionary enough that it would make a splash on the business section which is important, simply because both CES and MacWorld SF take place next week, and if they want to make a splash, it's got to be a big announcement.
Another possibilty could also be a Intel Core Quad MacPro or XServe. Intel is due to announce their Intel Core Quad next week at CES, but everyone is guessing that the announcement will be simultaneously done at MacWorld on Tuesday.
By competing directly against CES for techie buzz, there's also the possibility that Apple will downplay MacWorld in favor of a special event later this spring, however, I don't see this as happening because MacWorld is a place where Apple has center stage, and they wouldn't pass up the opportunity to make headlines..
Third party computer retailer Other World Computing and Axiontron have pre-announced the ModBook, a MacBook based tablet laptop. Not much as been stated about the ModBook, but I'll be checking it out, along with the other new third-party products on hand at MacWorld.
I also predict that MacWorld will once again be swarmed with iPod products, but I'll be keeping a lookup for any interesting products for the Mac (which seems to be fewer and fewer each year, sadly.).
MacWorld is supposed to have a Blogger's Area, but if it's anything like WiFi access they had last year, I expect connectivity to be snail-crawling slow, so I wouldn't expect too many live notes or photos from me.
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