On the eve of Macworld Expo (we won’t be able to sleep and constantly reloading Time Canada the night before a keynote is a sickness, that much is sure) we’ve culled past reports from all over (with emphasis on reliable sites with strong track records) to create a list of rumors in the order (strongest to weakest) that we feel they are most-likely to occur. This order is based upon gut feeling, quality of sources, other industry information, and a variety of other methodologies including the time-tested “educated guess” method:
1. Intel Yonah-based iBooks: New, thinner, with 13.3 and 12.1 widescreen displays. Lesser possibility of surprisingly low price points.
2. iLife ’06 (including iWeb?).
3. Expanded .Mac service, possibly at a lower annual fee of $69 (including iWeb?).
4. (tie) New Mac mini with Intel processor and, possibly, incorporating Intel Viiv technology in some fashion. With DVR capability (see next item).
4. (tie) Front Row 2 with DVR functionality.
4. (tie) Increased content deals for iTunes Store, including CBS and other company’s TV shows and possibly also including feature-length films. Lesser possibility of using some sort of new streaming technology, “digital video locker,” and/or subscription model for video and/or feature-length film content. Least probability, but still a possibility: music subscription service option.
7. Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard demo.
7. iWork ’06 with ‘Numbers’ spreadsheet application.
9. (tie) New iPod shuffle with screen. Lesser possibility that Apple may drop the shuffle and intro a 1GB iPod nano at $149-ish price point in the shuffle’s place.
9. (tie) New Intel-based PowerBooks. Slightly higher probability that they will be announced, due to ship a bit later in the quarter.
11. Airport Video Express with 802.11n (hey, they went early with 802.11g, too!)
12. Apple iPhone with iPod capability. Lesser probability of Apple-branded mobile-phone service – Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO).
13. Apple Plasma Mac TVs. Think giant Intel-based iMac with Front Row 2 possibly with Intel Robson “instant-on” technology.
14. New Intel-based iMac.
15. New Intel-based Xserve.
16. New Intel-based Power Mac.
17. An Apple-supported virtualization method for running Windows applications without Windows (probably too early for this).
18. Debut of a major informative Mac television ad campaign (showing what Mac OS X, iLife, iWork, and other Mac-only software offers the vast majority of the computer-using consumer, especially vs. Windows XP) and the screening of such ads during the keynote (we wish this was much higher on the list, but wishing won’t make it so).
Oh, yeah, and one or two more things…
Would you reorder the list? Would you add and/or remove items? Let us know below.
[UPDATE: Jan 10, 2006, 8:55am EST: Added Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard demo at #7.]
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