“Apple Inc. will probably update its line of aluminum-cased iMac desktop computers and unveil a new version of its operating system at the Macworld Expo conference next month, analysts said,” Bloomberg reports.
“Apple will likely also show a redesigned Mac mini, stripped-down computers that sell without a keyboard and monitor, said Brian Marshall, an analyst at Broadpoint.AmTech in San Francisco,” Bloomberg reports.
“‘The product refreshes will be largely cosmetic,’ Marshall said in an interview. ‘The most disappointing aspect of this Macworld is there will be no introduction of a low-cost iPhone,'” Bloomberg reports.
“Philip Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, will give the opening address in place of Jobs,” Bloomberg reports.
Full article here.
No wonder Jobs does not want to show up….
Boring.
Don’t put it past Steve Jobs. He showed up to introduce socks and a $400 boom box once.
On a side note, how come they call the Mac mini stripped down? It does everything that the big beige boxes from Dell do, just at 1/4th the size.
Didn’t Apple drop the “Mac” from “Mac OS X”? It should just be OS X Snow Leopard.
No, Apple still refers to their operating system as “Mac OS X”, at least on the product page for it: http://www.apple.com/macosx/
And on the snow leopard page:
http://www.apple.com/macosx/snowleopard/
I think you might be getting mixed up with how Apple referred to the iPhone OS as simply OS X.
I hope they are aware that their iLife suite desperately needs a decent iDVD update. Considering that Jobs had declared 2007 the year of the HD, it’s a bit weird that we still can’t create Blu-ray content on the Mac without some clunky third-party solution.
After all, Jobs declared that the current HD camcorders no longer need FireWire, which “justifies” dropping it from MacBook (and probably from the upcoming Mini as well). Therefore, he is telling us to get with the programme and migrate to HD. Well, if so, what exactly do we use to deliver that new HD to our HDTV sets? With iMovie, you can’t send HD back to those tapeless camcorders anymore, in order to play it back from that camcorder to the TV.
In order to create a watchable Blu-ray – formatted Hi-def disc, I have to do my editing in iMovie (or FCE), create a QuickTime reference movie out of it (in full 1080 HD), then go to Toast Titanium 9 and use that for Blu-Ray authoring. Toast offers a decent set of tools and templates, but it is no match to iDVD’s elegance. Inside Toast, I can create menus etc., then export into Blu-ray formatted directory, which can be burned on an ordinary DVD-R (+DL) if size fits, and played back in full HD glory on any compliant Blu-ray player.
Apple currently has a lot on its plate. The iLife suite is probably not too high on their priority list. However, HD video management should be there, since there is a strong trend towards widespread consumer adoption, and Apple can’t affort not to have the most elegant solution for consumers out there.
Underlying OS = OS X
Macintosh Computer OS = Mac OS X
iPhone OS = iPhone OS X
The underlying OS is exactly the same, but obviously the Mac version and the iPhone version use different UIs. Hence, the different names.
–mAc
Apple updated hardware so close after the holidays? No wonder Apple want’s to drop MacWorld.
Merry Christmas! That new Apple device you JUST unwrapped? It isn’t new anymore.
Another asswipe analyst who does not know what the shit they are talking about. These guys should get their clueless ass kicked out of their job and sent to flip burgers at, well, where ever
Bloomberg writes, “The most disappointing aspect of this Macworld is there will be no introduction of a low-cost iPhone.” Oh, please! Disappointing to whom? Given that almost the entire cost associated with an iPhone is in the monthly charges, having a $99 iPhone as a low cost alternative to the $199 iPhone is of little consequence.
@The Other Steve
You’re speaking as though this is a new concept? It’s a given. Where have you been since Apple-Time began? Besides that goes on all year long. The Mac Faithful used to it by now.
Would you prefer the PC Microsoftonian approach? 10 year old OS and matching products, still voted most installed and wanted by PC consumers. uh…..ugh. No thanks.
“It does everything that the big beige boxes from Dell do, just at 1/4th the size.”
Well, one advantage to the beige boxes from Dell is that they can be upgraded, where the Mac mini cannot. So, for example, I can upgrade the beige box from Dell to 8GB of memory. The Mac mini supports only 2GB of memory. Same with adding or updating video cards.
Don’t get me wrong–I use a Mac mini at work and it’s fine for what it does. But then I connect to an Xserve to do anything more than web-surfing.
Actually, the Mini supports 3G of memory, as long as two 2G memory strips are inserted. (There was a detailed article about how to install them, with photos, in AppleInsider about a month or two ago.) It even supports 3G, but with a channel speed penalty, if the two memory strips aren’t matched but add up to 3G.
I think this signals Apple will be introducing some major new things in the not too distant future. Apple wants to operate according to its own schedule, and not be expected to have major new product(s) announcement every January, when maybe Feb or March would be more ideal.
Disappointing no low cost iPhone? What is Apple supposed to just give them away? low-cost…hmm… was $599, then $399, now $199… This isn’t a cricket phone. I heard some of these analyst say Apple could bring the price down by offering a model with less storage and without wifi & 3G. Retarded. Apple should go up the spectrum, not down. Increase value by more features selling at higher price, not try to increase value by cutting features to lower price.
I think mid – next year Apple will reduce the price, to $150 – $100 and release a enhanced model. I think a simple a logical step would be to improve the camera- add video recording, maybe add a couple more lenses, and rev up the photo capture software. Camera phones are still rough around the edges , and not a real substitute for a regular camera. But, people like to take pictures, and it would really increase the appeal. The iPhone can take to incredible pictures, best I have seen for any phone, yet it’s very inconsistent, and end up with screen full of blur at times too.
A premium iPhone with enhanced camera & video would leverage iPhoto / iMovie, rather iLife, making Mac ownership more appealing.
If Apple “unveils” (whether that means introduces or just previews) Snow Leopard, that would hardly be boring.
This whole no-steve-jobs and Apple-leaving-Macworld-after-2009 move is classic Apple manipulation of the media. First, it gets tech journalists reporting on Apple and gets the general public (not just Apple fans) interested in what happens at MacWorld. Second, it reduces rumor-mongering about new products, so that whatever Phil Schiller does announce will be seen as a positive surprise (instead of a “disappointment” based on unrealistic expectations).
As you can see, there have been a lot fewer rumors about the expectation of seeing an Apple tablet computer (or whatever product) this year, and a lot more about “health concerns.” But there has been just as much interest and coverage of Apple leading up to this year’s MacWorld. This is BECAUSE OF the last minute decision by Steve Jobs NOT to give the keynote (and the announcement about leaving MacWorld after 2009). Apple has turned something that could be have been disappointing and boring into another media event.
If these were just cosmetic refreshes, they would have been introduced in October, in time for the holiday shopping season. I suspect the refreshes will include the Nvidea chip(s), which would be a substantial enhancement.
‘The most disappointing aspect of this Macworld is there will be no introduction of a low-cost iPhone,'” Bloomberg reports.
Retards – iPhone IS low cost already! You get what you pay for.
@Jon1: “- iPhone IS low cost already! You get what you pay for.”
Yeah and if you paid even more it would be even cheaper!
At WWDC Steve referred to them as “OS X iPhone” and “OS X Leopard” – but maybe he was just making a point.
@Peter – Why would you want to put 8GB of memory in a PC, Windows can only access 4GB.
http://blogs.msdn.com/hiltonl/archive/2007/04/13/the-3gb-not-4gb-ram-problem.aspx
“The most disappointing aspect of this Macworld is there will be no introduction of a low-cost iPhone”
The most disappointing aspect of this Macworld is the fact that it will be the last that Apple will participate in. That. at least, is MY opinion. Feel free to disagree.
“The product refreshes will be largely cosmetic”
?What? Does he mean “a slightly different shell”? or does he mean “a speed bump”? I fully expect half a dozen semi-significant upgrades to the hardware – “speed bumps”.
Predrag, they will most likely update both iLife and iWork with minor boosts. I’d love it if they folded Bento into the iWork package, but don’t really expect it. Both Pages and Numbers are pretty good as is but could use some work to quiet the bitchers. Keynote … OK, maybe a few tweaks, but it’s getting ahead of PP already and only needs some minor efforts to convert the older presentations (PP) to work properly in the new format.
I dont belief, the imac refresh will only be cosmetic. Expect the new imac in a casing very similar to the new LED cinema display.