Macworld 2008

Should anyone be this excited about a Keynote presentation? For the Apple crowd, the speech given later today by Steve Jobs is one of the highlights of the year. There are rumors swirling about what could arrive tomorrow when Mr.Jobs potentially debuts several new products. Here are my predictions (and later on my thoughts) on the matter. My impressions are now live.

Predictions

Every Mac rumor site out there is taking their shot at guessing what Apple has up their sleeve for this year’s Macworld. Here are my guesses:

Macbook Nano - A superthin laptop (concept image from Wired above) that is in between a Macbook and a Macbook Pro. Some rumors suggest Macbook Air will be the name. No internal optical drive, but it comes standard with an external one. SSD hard drive, but not too big in terms of size. This thing is designed for portability. I hope that the huge multitouch trackpad is there also, but I think it is a longshot. This is actually the only item I may purchase in the future.

Updated/Redesigned Macbook Pro - The Macbook Pro gets a speed upgrade with the new Penryn processors, but also gets a redesign. I think the keyboard will be the most notable change. The Macbook keyboard is far superior to its Pro counterpart.

Updated Apple Cinema Displays - The ACDs have not been updated in ages. Slim them up a give them a style similar to the current iMac.

iTunes Movie Rentals - This is a lock. I am really just raising my win percentage very cheaply.

Updated AppleTV - The AppleTV has flown under the radar over the last year. I think it gets an update that when coupled with the iTunes rentals makes it a much more attractive device. Maybe a price reduction to bring iTunes movies to a larger selection of living rooms?

Blu-Ray Support - Everyone else is jumping on the bandwagon, so when choosing a next-gen format for their DVD drives I think Apple goes Blu. That announcement could come today.

There will surely be some iPhone updates, and probably the debut of several iPhone apps using the upcoming SDK. I am hoping that Leopard 10.5.2 gets seeded tomorrow as well. All of these predictions are pretty standard. For something you have not heard anywhere else here is my single, original, roll of the dice prediction:

A New Mighty Mouse - While it is a solid mouse, the Mighty Mouse is not perfect. The trackball gets dirty very easily and I think it could be improved a lot. Look for an updated mouse, perhaps with a touch-click interface.

Check back later when I will update this post with the actual results of the keynote speech and my impressions of the announcements.

EDIT:

Impressions

Though Steve Jobs started out saying there were “four things” to talk about, a lot happened today with regards to announcements.

Time Capsule - Time Capsule is a wireless router with a hard drive in it. That sounds very simple, but it actually allows for some very interesting features. Rather than hooking up to an external hard drive for backups, it allows a Mac to back up data wirelessly on the network. This is something I would definitely consider the next time I buy a router.

New iPhone Update - The latest update for the iPhone adds several new features. The most intriguing to me was that Maps now can locate where you and give you directions from your current location. Also a feature that should have been around already is the ability to send a text message to more than one person at a time. If you have an iPhone you can find out more about these and other news features at this link. The iPod Touch also gained the applications it was missing from the iPhone, but unfortunately this update costs $20. I think that is a suspect move by Apple, but for some people the new additions will be worth the money.

iTunes Movie Rentals - As I mentioned in my predictions, this was money in the bank from the start. Starting today, you can rent a movie from iTunes. All of the major movie studios will have their releases available 30 days after each DVD is released. When you rent a movie you can watch it on your computer (PC or Mac), your iPod, and your iPhone. Be careful though, because once you start watching your movie you have 24 hours before it expires.

This is very similar to the way Comcast does On Demand rentals. The prices for iTunes Movie Rentals are 2.99 for normal releases and 3.99 for new releases. You can use Software Update on your Mac to get the new version of iTunes, or alternatively both Macs and PCs can get the new version via the iTunes download page.

Apple TV Take 2 - Continuing the dominance of iTunes on entertainment, the Apple TV received an update today. All Apple TVs are going to get an update in two weeks that will allow them to purchase movies without being linked to a computer. You can hook up an Apple TV to your television, and buy music, TV shows, and movies all from the comfort of your couch, no computer required. You can also rent movies, with one advantage being that the Apple TV can rent HD movies (iTunes cannot). HD rentals are 4.99. More info from Apple’s website.

Macbook Air - The long-awaited Apple slim notebook is finally here. I am very impressed with how thin it actually is. Obviously the key focus is on portability, so the Air sacrifices many features. It does not have a DVD drive, nor does it have an ethernet jack (there is an adapter available). It is possible to order an external Superdrive for $99. The optional SSD hard drive has no moving parts for safer portability, and operates much faster than a standard drive. However, that will set you back an extra grand.

You may recall that I (and everyone else) predicted this one pretty close to perfectly. I do recall making a note of the Air being between the Macbook and MBP, which is why the above image amused me. The Macbook Air is a great machine, but now that it is here I am not sure if it is for me or not. I am planning to upgrade my iBook G4 sometime in the next year, but the $1800 price tag is pretty hefty.

There is no doubt that the Macbook Air is the most technically impressive laptop ever created. The fact that its thickest portion is .76 inches blows my mind. It was designed to be a complementary laptop to a user who has a full-featured machine kept at home. I would not recommend it (at this point) as a primary machine, but wow that thing is beautiful. You can find about more about the product on Apple’s Macbook Air page.

Overall I think it was a great Macworld, and time will tell if all the new products and features are as exciting as they sound. The best part is that we have even more to anticipate in the coming months. The Macbook Pro’s will most likely be updated soon, the iPhone SDK debuts in late February, and we will see an ever-expanding iTunes Store.

What are your thoughts on the announcements? Would anyone be interested if I rented a movie on iTunes and documented the experience for a post? I think it might help give a more in-depth look at the service. Let me know any of your thoughts in the comments, even if you just need to tell me I love Apple a bit too much.