“This would be a huge win for WiMax, which suffered a blow when Sprint and Clearwire abandoned plans for a WiMax joint venture. But Apple has proven it can popularize technologies — think USB in the original iMac, and Wi-Fi in the iBook,” Golson reports.
Full article here.
David Morgenstern blogs for ZDNet, “My guess is that the article meant to say was that Apple might add support for WiMax Mobile, or 802.16e, to its notebooks. This makes a lot of sense.”
“Intel announced its intent to ship a combo WiMax Mobile chipset in 2006, which would support current 802.11 Wi-Fi networks as well as the faster WiMac Mobile connections. At the fall Intel Developers Forum, the company said that a number of major system vendors would support for this multiband chipset, including Lenovo and Toshiba,” Morgenstern writes. “Of course, Apple wasn’t among them. It never pre-announces products or technology adoptions. But Apple might want to get a bit of a jump on the competition and ship such a product, as it did with the first Core Duo machines. So, the ‘something’ in the Macworld banners could be WiMax.”
Morgenstern writes, “According to analysts, Intel has poured something north of $1 billion to develop and promote WiMax technology. So, the company has good reasons to encourage Apple to adopt the chipset.”
Full article here.
Charles Jade writes for Ars Technica, “More likely it’s about sending content wirelessly. Our own Jon Stokes puts money on purchasing songs over the AT&T network when you are not browsing the iTunes Store at Starbucks. Or perhaps it’s streaming content to Macs in your home or away from home.”
Full article, with more “There’s something in the air” banner photos, here.
Yeah right. There is not enough WiMax infrastructure to warrant including this technology. True, Apple has popularized other technologies like the article mentions, but those already had a solid user base. not so with WiMax. Maybe next year.
the shadow knows
MY ASS!!!
Here is the answer.
Actually, it sounds plausible. Xerox tossed the mouse, Apple picked it up. We know there was no user base then. Intel tossed USB, no user base, NO PC box had it. Apple picked it up, and turned the world into USB users within 4 years by using it on iMacs, then, later they did the same by developing Firewire, also a transfer method NO other PC box had. If Apple were to bring on WiMax, I’d bet others would follow, even without a solid user base. Apple tends to lure others into it’s vision rather easily nowadays. Why did not MDN use the Magic Word, “Airport”?
>Here is the answer
You’re dating yourself…post something i-nnovative for a change.
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This, with the Sling rumor, with the Garmin Bobcat rumor, maybe, this MWSF keynote will be all about wireless ways of getting your info, from Wimax, to slinging, to GPS, to FON sharing. Why not? It’s all about making information access ubiquitous.
Is it too early for pollen?
Or maybe if a partner like Starbucks announced a WiMax rollout to coincide with the hardware update… It’s just an infrastructure waiting to happen.
Put it together people.
Apple will introduce a mini laptop with flash memory instead of a hard drive. Light-weight. Longer battery life. No surprise here.
But, the BIG thing is that it will have a built-in wireless GSM Air-Card that provides mobile broadband so you connected to the internet from anywhere. And just like the iPhone, Apple will get a cut of each monthly phone bill from AT&T;.
“a partner like Starbucks”
Nope, it’s gonna be McDonalds, since they have Wi-Fi.
They will simultaneously announce the new iBigMac.
Want fries with that?
Thunderclap Newman “Something In The Air”
Originally named “Revolution” but was renamed to “Something in the Air” to avoid confusion with the Beatles’ ealier released song “Revolution”.
deal with it
Apple is better than you think
you are a follower of microsuck
sorry you wasted your life
we are going to kick your ass
I think this is true. I took the part number for the wireless card in my newly purchased MacPro. It appears it has WiMax capabilities that are turned off at the moment.
Well 10.5.2 could be hear on Tuesday and it could unlock this extra feature. Or maybe Apple will let you unlock it after the 15th January using a low cost download?
Nah I’m just kidding.
wi-max is not something in the air.
Telsa is.
I wait the day when someone invents a device that can charge without plugging it into a power socket. Now thats something in the air
bioness,
Do you mean Tesla?
“charge without plugging it…” Like solar?
WiMax is a very big deal. It is the gun pointed at the heads of the telco industry. The fact that the infrastructure is not yet there is irrelevant. Intel is committed to WiMax and thus WiMax will be available on some Intel communication chips that also support WiFi. If Apple creates a waiting market of WiMax capable computers, then they will have an installed base of Macs being a software update away from being able to take advantage of any WiMax infrastructure roll out.
I don’t know the timing of the coming WiMax enabled communications infrastructure, but when it comes it will revolutionize Apple’s business model and opportunities.
@bloness
Apple filed a patent for that type of technology!
WiMax in Italy will arrive in 2020…
@Denny
I’m betting that something in the air, is something other than wireless communication transmission.
Could be hologram, or charging without cables but not solar panels, or something totally weird…
Obviously.
Maybe apple will do a software upgrade so the AppletV can be like this (sabs the outputs)
http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9839658-1.html?tag=blgfd
this PC keyboard sucks….
MW:town, as in, I’m not in mine…..
Nobody has mentioned Adobe Air…
Apple will introduce a mini laptop with flash memory instead of a hard drive. Light-weight. Longer battery life. No surprise here.
But, the BIG thing is that it will have a built-in wireless GSM Air-Card that provides mobile broadband so you connected to the internet from anywhere. And just like the iPhone, Apple will get a cut of each monthly phone bill from AT&T;
I tend to agree with you.
Apple is making a killing off the iPhone, not from the device itself, but from the kickbacks from AT&T;.
Of course they would want to extend this highly profitable arrangement over to their mobile computers.
AT&T;steals customers from the cable companies. Apple gets to innovate.
Steve Jobs did say that cable companies were a “monopoly”.
$60 a month for home broadband or $60 a month for mobile broadband.
I think we are seeing “something in the air” here.
As long as the new Mac’s are not glossy screens. *prays to Lord Jobs*