I'm finishing my coffee...

Saturday, June 02, 2007

What's in Store at WWDC?

I am getting more and more excited about Steve Jobs Keynote at WWDC on Monday, June 11. This feeling takes me back to when I was a kid and presents started to accumulate under the tree in the weeks leading up to Christmas. I would do everything I could (short of actually unwrapping the presents, except once... sorry, mom) to divine the contents of the boxes and bags under the tree.

There are a lot of sites dedicated to this activity. Though a bit of an amateur at it, I have compiled my own short list of predictions for the keynote:

The Mac Mini - Thanks to MacRumor's awesome buyers guide, I didn't have to go to far to find out that it's been 269 days since the last update to this line. This is an eternity for an Apple product in the scheme of things and MacRumors.com is cautioning folks to keep the plastic in their pockets until the next product update... There have been a few rumors circulating about the line being discontinued and I really hope this isn't the case. So much so that I am going to let my emotions influence my analysis.
Probable - Faster processors, bigger HDD, and more memory out of the box.
Unlikely - Smaller form-factor, solid state flash based HDD (too expensive for the line)
Crazy - The Mini will be positioned as an Apple TV + with true 1080P output, DVD playback (and ripping?), etc.

The iPhone - I believe the veil will be lifted on the iPhones OS and the Google-Apple relationship. We'll find out a lot more about what Google software, features, and services will be native to the iPhone. Apple will also announce a number of other third party developers and applications that will be available when the iPhone ships.

The MacBook/Pro - The MacBook/Pro will likely see a new smaller model (10-12"). They will also see processor bumps. The most exciting enhancement to the line will be Solid State Flash based HDD and OLED screens.

The touch contol fullscreen iPod - Though I have been hoping for a phoneless iPhone, I doubt the next iPod will be very fully featured. a phoneless iPhone with wi-fi capabilities would really cut into iPhone sales and I don't think Apple will do that. Though they are likely to let a few of the features trickle into the iPod line. I am guessing that a touch control iPod with a bigger screen will be released.

If all these predictions came true, there wouldn't be time for anything else. I welcome you to make alternate predictions (sound or insane) in the comments below. Also, obviously a huge cult of Steve exists and I am curious if anyone ever tailgates for a Steve-note?


Digg!
| del.icio.us it! | Add to Technorati Favorites

No comments: