“With 2006 barely underway, Apple Computer Inc. is wasting no time trying to build on the hype generated by its early lead in the market for portable media players,” Rex Crum writes for MarketWatch. “On Jan. 10, Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs is expected to unveil the company’s newest products at the annual Macworld Conference and Expo in San Francisco. The gathering begins Jan. 9. Jobs typically uses his opening keynote address to show off at least one or two important product changes for the Cupertino, Calif.-based company. Although the company usually guards its secrets as closely as the Central Intelligence Agency, analysts are guessing that Jobs will unveil at least one of the following: a new iPod Shuffle, a PC that runs on Intel Corp. chips or an iMac PC that acts much like a digital television tuner and recorder.”
“Other items that analysts say have a chance of showing up at the Macworld show are some version of an iMac computer that acts like a digital television tuner and recorder. Apple took a step in that direction in October, when it revamped the iMac to include FrontRow, a software application that includes a remote control to manage and run the computer’s digital video and audio content,” Crum writes. “Apple’s Macworld unveilings will come barely a week before the company is scheduled to report its first-quarter results on Jan. 18. Analysts estimate Apple will earn 53 cents a share, on $5 billion in revenue, up from 35 cents a share, on sales of $3.5 billion in the same period a year ago.”
Full article here.
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Related articles:
O’Grady’s top ten Apple potential announcements for Macworld Expo – January 03, 2006
RUMOR: Apple’s Intel-based Macs to get additional USB 2.0 ports, keep at least one FireWire port – January 02, 2006
Five things that will happen with Apple in 2006 – and five others that won’t – December 29, 2005
2006 predictions abound for Apple Computer – December 27, 2005
What about the mac mini?
Don’t bother reading this article. It’s extremely short with rehashed material.
The C.I.A can keep a secret? That’s news.
My prediction: Overhyped. Underwhelmed.
Soon every major player will be able to deliver video movies and TV shoes securely with the new Intel chips. That means that providers can set up their own delivery systems. More competition (which is good for us consumers), less a need for the iTunes delivery method.
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Pete Townshend Warns iPod Users
http://my.netscape.com/corewidgets/news/story.psp?cat=50880&id=2006010409080001456830
Think Queezzie means “TV shows”.
Although I wouldn´t mind having a pair of TV shoes….
—–
“Guitarist Pete Townshend has warned iPod users
that they could end up with hearing problems as bad as his own if
they don’t turn down the volume of the music they are listening to
on earphones.”
I think all this talk of a new iMac kills the credibility of any writer. Seriously give me a break it just cam out a couple months ago they are not going to upgrade it that fast. Now the mini and laptops being updated that is a different story.
There are now 5 parts to a Jan MW keynote
1. Opening (wow look at us we are selling tons of crap)
2. New Media offereings – New shows, sports, podcasts, and maybe movie shorts and aother things that we haven’t thought of
3. Hardware: Computer
4. Software – Specifically iLife and Maybe iWork 06 – this is a lock iLife now goes by year not version it will be upgraded maybe iWork will follow its lead. (Does anyone know where John Mayer is suppose to be next Tuesday?)
5. One More Thing/Hardware: Consumer Electronic – iPod and possibly something else This will be the big splash of the show.
Between all this stuff will be the standard parade of developers and CEOs from companies that will kill to get to share the stage with the Apple brand.
the last thing that you can count on is the stock price racing up tuesday morning and then crashing down mid way in to the Keynote. It just seems to happen every year. So sell before and buy after.
Mini will be maxi.
Why was this worth mentioning? To pass the time? There’s nothing of interest here, certainly nothing new. Even if there was I would be skeptical due to the lack of details and terminology like “iMac PC”.
And if I may say, don’t expect a price cut when switching to Intel. I always thought that was flawed logic. PC are cheaper because they are are largely crap, not becuase there is something inherently less expensive about them. You’ll see better PCs costing more. I certainly hope Apple doesn’t start producing crap just because they use Intel processors.
In fact, from numbers I’ve seen, I wish I had a cite, the Intel processors are many times more expensive, something in the range of $40 for G4 compared to $200+ for Yonah. G5s are somwhere in-between, but closer to Yonah.
It would be hard to put these new processors in a consumer Mac right now due to price. The mini is a fat chance. Take $160 out of the mini’s profit margin and Apple will be selling at cost. The prosumer machines aren’t ready either because the apps aren’t there yet.
Apple is clearly banking on the Intel DRM, but it is possible that they could have a backup plan for keeping OS X on Apple hardware. If that’s the case we might see a mini on a Pentium-M or Celeron, but I don’t see a compelling reason to do so.
The only reason Apple might go for Intel right now is if they somehow got a price break. I don’t see why they would. Apple’s volumes are low and turnover is lower than PCs. Apple could do it just because they can and everyone seems to expect it, but Apple has a history of keeping those profit margins as high as possible despite market pressure.
I predict in the near future that tv networks will start offering “free” tv shows to “download/view” on your computer that are paid with advertising…..kind of like TV is now.
All it really is is time shifting – interactive TV on demand. You watch when you want to watch. (But you can´t record it.)
That´s what computers are becoming – interactive TV and communication devices….and games – for PCers mainly.
I say you have 2 that are 99.99% obvious: iLife 06 and iWork 06, then a new iPod Suffle at 90%.
I say Steve might tease us with some info on Mac OS X Leopard (That is 10.5, right?). Intel Macs are possible but would surprise me (he did say to wait ’til June). He might show ’em off or tell us wich to expect but seeing them on shelves in January, no. Macs with Front Row that actually can go easily in one’s home theater system is almost a must seeing how FR is being spredded illigally oniline. FR with TV… If he wants to compeat with WinXP Media Center Edition, ya!
One thing to note: Leave it to Steve to give us something none of us expected: an Apple PDA, an Apple Phone, YET another iPod, a combination of all three…
I hate when they use PC and Mac in the same descriptive sentence!
Mac = Mac (short for Macintosh)
PC = PC (the real acronym for Project Chess via IBM)
Darn it!!
Iknow is too young to remember Ed Sullivan.
asher:
Or the opening of “My Three Sons”? (With William Frawley. William Demarest was always too angry.)
No mac user is gonna want to use windows DRMed videos, why?, well if they’re like any of the video online now, you’d be paying to watch HALF a DRMed video cause it would require a NON-existant Mac version of WMP 10