January 15, 2008
2008 MacWorld Predictions (and Wishful Thinkings)
I wanted to write this a little bit earlier seeing as people are already in line for the Steve Jobs’ Keynote at Apple’s MacWorld tomorrow, but better late than never – here are my predictions for what we’ll see at MacWorld 2008:
OS X Leopard
- Version 10.5.2
- A few new features
- Lots and lots of sales talk
iTunes
- Version 7.6
- More DRM-free announcements
iTunes Movie Store (Rentals)
- 20th Century Fox, Disney, Paramount, Lionsgate, Dreamworks, and MGM on board
- Between $2 and $4 a rental depending on New Release/Catalog film
- 24 hour period but an option to buy minus the cost of the rental
- Rent straight from the Apple TV and eventually the iPhone over WiFi
iTunes Movie Store (Purchases)
- Prices now up to $19.99 for New Releases, as low as $9.99 for Catalog films for the studios listed above
- HD (720p) option for New Releases at $24.99
- Select 20th Century Fox DVDs will contain an iTunes-ready digital file
Apple TV Pro
- Hard Drive up to 500 GB
- Blu-ray optical drive
- Ability to rent/buy movies right on the device
- New Apple Remote
- $499
- Original Apple TVs will be available at $100 less, starting at $199, can use iTunes via software update
MacBook Pro
- New Intel Penryn 45nm chips
- Multi-touch keypads
- LED-backlit screens standard
- Higher-res iSight cameras built in
- Blu-ray optional
iPhone
- New 16 GB model for $399
- 8GB Model now $299
- 3G not quite there yet
- Software update 1.1.3
iPod Touch/iPhone
- SDK to roll out in February (demos some potential apps)
- Software 1.1.3 unlocks the iPhone’s bluetooth to use it in conjunction with MacBooks for ‘always on’ Internet over the ‘air’ when WiFi is not available.
- Multi-touch games
Mighty Mouse 2.0
- New sleek design to match the recent Apple keyboards
- Multi-touch top where the trackball used to be
- Wired $49 Wireless $79
Cinema Displays
- Now 20, 30, or 40 inches
- Built-in HD iSight
- Starting at $499
And one more thing…
MacBook Air
- 64 GB or 128 GB solid state drives
- 1GB or 2GB of RAM
- No optical drive (external separate purchase for $99)
- 13 inch widescreen
- A little thicker than an iPhone
- Under 1 kg (about 2 pounds)
- Multi-touch keypad
- Silver Aluminum and black finish
- Steve makes some comment about it being so light that it could just ‘float away’
- Starting at $1,299
And one more final thing…
Some are safe bets, some are kind of out there – probably wishful thinking on my part. Even now mere hours away from the event nothing is for certain, and that is certainly part of the fun. I’ll recap with some thoughts tomorrow unless I’m in line at the Apple store.
