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Handicapping Macworld Expo San Francisco '08
Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, that can only mean one thing. It's time to start handicapping the SuperBowl of Macdom known as Macworld Expo San Francisco.
Let me get me something off my chest: "Macworld" has a lowercase "w" (It's not "MacWorld.") And while we're at it, it's "Macworld Expo"... Macworld (minus the "Expo" part) is a magazine.
Looking back, here are my picks for Macworld Expo 2007:
- iLife & iWork '07 (1:1)–iLife and iWork '08 arrived 07 August 2007
- iTV (1:1)–the name was wrong, but the Apple TV did arrive at MWSF07
- Mac mini goes Intel Core 2 Duo (1:1)–arrived 07 August 2007
- Mac OS 10.5 possible release (2:1)–arrived 26 October 2007
- Mac Pro with quad-core Intel Xeon (2:1)–available now
- New Cinema Displays with HDMI (2:1)–nothing yet
- iPod bump to 100GB (2:1)–iPod classic bumped to 80 & 160GB on 05 September 2007
- Apple Phone (10:1)–iPhone was indeed announced at MWSF07, shipped on 29 June 2007
- Thin 12-inch MacBook Pro (50:1)–no such luck
- Mac Tablet (100:1)–'cha, right!
- iPod with WiFi and/or Bluetooth (100:1)–iPhone announced at MWSF07, shipped on 29 June 2007. iPod Touch announced 05 September 2007
That being said, here are my picks for Macworld Expo SF 2008...
- New Cinema Displays–These are probably the most overdue products from Apple. Displays were last updated at WWDC in June 2004 and three and a half years is an eternity in consumer electronics. Apple needs to incorporate: LED backlighting, HDMI and iSight cameras. Please Apple: offer a matte screen option and keep the prices competitive. [odds: 1:1]
- nanoBook–This is the thinner Pro notebook that everyone's been clamoring for. Look for a 64GB SSD and LED backlighting. [odds: 3:1]
- iPhone 2.0–Because Apple likes to announce big things at 'Expo. Look for a preview of the SDK, Java and a native iChat client. Hopefully Apple adds wireless syncronization. [odds: 5:1]
- Blu-Ray drives–Although Apple joined the Blu-ray Disc Association in 2005 I think that Apple should wait for the Blu-Ray/HD DVD battle to be decided before jumping into the fray. Or they could always include a hybrid optical drive. [odds: 10:1]
- TabletMac–Forget about it, it's not going to happen. This is partially based on the cold, harsh realities of the market (witness the poor PC tablet sales) and partially reverse psychology on my part because I want Apple to produce one for me. [odds: 100:1]
I'm also expecting a demo of Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac and a flurry of EA games for iPhone and iPod.
What are your predictions for Macworld Expo SF '08? Go on record in the TalkBack below.