2007, has been an interesting year for Apple fans. The year started with an eire absence of Mac news. Sure the Apple TV and the iPhone are great an unique products. But what about the Mac, the cornerstone of Apple. Here are Geeky Mac’s predictions for the rest of the year.
Well, it seams as thought he Mac product line has been established. With the recent update of the iMac, all Mac products are in there place, and have Mac in there names. Since the inclusion of Intel, it is likely that only small updates will be made to these products, to update performance rather than look. You have to admit that Apple’s current product line is downright sexy.
So until October the Mac would should be rather quite, anticipating the release of Leopard. And frankly the Mac is in good shape. Leopard may surprise us and it already looks really promising.
iTunes, Apple TV, iPod & iPhone – The other side of Apple
Okay lets just start out by getting the iPhone out of the way. We all know it is going to get some software upgrades and a few new apps. Probably nothing spectacular, but a well needed update.
So here is where things get interesting, the iPod, Apple TV and iTunes. These are all great things, especially when used together. So what is going to happen to the iPod? Not much. Lets fact it the iPod is already really good at what it does. The touch and wide screen implementation are sexy but not practical, at least for Apple. Lets face it the iPhone does that, so what separates these products? Okay we have to admit that the design is fine for the shuffle and the nano, but the iPod could use some improvement.
Here’s the deal with the iPod. The click wheel is a much better design for iPod functions than the iPhone interface. So there’s the catch. How do you take the best of both worlds and make them mesh. Well lucky for us this is what Apple is good at. We, as consumers, often over look the cool for the practical. But in the end I think we all want a product that functions properly over one that just looks cool.
So what does all of this mean for the iPod? Well it is sure to get a slight update, but it may be a while before we see anything to crazy. The iPhone has to sell, and Apple would just be stupid to put it’s own competition out there.
Okay, Apple TV and iTunes. What could happen here? Okay first off a lot needs to happen. Apple TV is cool, but not really all that practical. The thing is it will never be more that what it is now. It is a link between the computer and the TV, and it is probably the only type of product that will make IPTV practical.
When people want to watch TV, it is a mild for of relaxation and entertainment. When people use a computer, it is a completely interactive experience. These two things are very different and do not go well together. It is not easy for someone to watch long content on their computer, and people have trouble interacting with their TVs. While future generation may be able to mesh the two, todays society is not ready. But there is so much great content, that it is a shame to to be able to take the internet to the living room. Enter Apple TV.
So now that the previous point has been made, how do we make this worth while? Lets face the facts, the Apple TV is a cable box, with iTunes as the provider. You’ve always said that you wanted a selective service plan, well you got it. Okay cool, but still not practical. So how does Apple make this work?
The answer, HD movie and television rentals. The Apple TV is practically only HD anyway. Other HD formats are far more expensive and complicated. The Apple TV has the potential to become the next generation “DVD player”. With the whole Blu-Ray HD DVD fiasco, Apple has the opportunity to step in and take over. The biggest issue, it the accessibility. On demand services and regular old TV are still a strong contender, and physically putting a disc into a player are much simpler solutions for most. But technology can not improve without change, and society will have to adapt anyway. While Apple TV is not the end all be all, it is the first of many steps to the future of TV.
Okay now with all that said, will iTunes rent movies? It is more up to the Studios, than Apple. It has been a slow ride so far, but at some point they will finally get it.
So that is what Apple could have in store for the rest of this year. Leopard should fill many voids, and iTunes with all of its devices should keep us entertained. But as always Apple may surprise us, but we might just have to wait until Macworld 2008.
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