It's already January, and the rumor sites are not bursting with
Apple rumors. Here are recent ones found around the Web:
Faster G3s
Nick dePlume has been mentioning GOBI, the code
name for a faster member of the PowerPC 750fx family. The 750fx,
currently used in the iBook, is already designed to reach speeds of
1 GHz, but in the world of computers it's always safe to predict
faster processors.
Of course, IBM has been making 1.3 GHz processors for some time, so
there's no technological barrier. There is, however, a strong marketing
barrier. Until the entry-level G4-based eMac, iMac, PowerBook, and
Power Mac reach the 1 GHz level, it's unlikely Apple will market a
1 GHz (or even faster) G3-based machine.
We have to agree with dePlume that the future of the G3 in Apples
line remains cloudy, although Dan had some encouraging things to say about the G3
and Quartz Extreme earlier this week.
That said, such a CPU could be a real hot item in the upgrade
market.
EOL for 15" G4 iMac
MacOS Rumors posted a reader email from December 21 claiming that
Apple was preparing to phase out the 15" flat panel iMac in favor
of the wider screen 17" display, possibly adding a 19" model at the top
end.
With Apple trying to get rid of the G3 iMac and pushing the 17" eMac as the entry-level
consumer model, we have mixed feelings about this rumor. The 17" iMac
offers more than just a larger screen; it also has a 1440 x 900 display
vs. 1024 x 768 on the 15" model. That's plenty of real estate, so we
don't give any credence to a 19" iMac. Anyone who needs that big a
screen should simply buy a dual processor Power Mac G4.
We suspect that Apple will continue offering a 15" LCD iMac as their
entry level model, making the 17" display standard on the more costly
G4 iMacs. We cannot see Apple phasing the smaller iMac quite yet.
That's It?
It really is. Apple-X.net has some interesting
speculation, but no rumors per se. Our thoughts on their
speculation:
- 70% chance of some Mac using a 1 GHz G3. With the G3 iMac dropped back from 700
MHz to 600 MHz, don't expect it there, leaving the iBook as the only place
Apple might use a faster G3. And with the iBook just speed bumped two
months ago, we don't anticipate any changes this soon. We give this 0%
probability for this month's Expo. We would welcome an 800 MHz G3
iMac.
- 60% chance of Apple launching an ad campaign pushing
OS X. Well, it depends on what they mean. Apple is already
pushing OS X in Mac magazines, and the Switch campaign is
definitely pushing the whole Mac package. We think it's unlikely that
Apple will ever promote the OS alone via mass media; Apple has always
been about the whole widget.
- 60% change of a new mouse and keyboard. We'd both like to
see Apple go wireless, add some media keys to the keyboard, and put a
second button and scroll wheel on the mouse. But odds of Apple actually
producing more functional input devices - the cynic within each of us
pegs that probability at 20% and hopes Apple will surprise us.
- 70% likely that portable Macs with Bluetooth and DDR memory.
Sorry, we don't anticipate any new 'Books at the Expo. We do expect to
see Bluetooth integrated into the next iBook and PowerBook models, but
not until the March to May time frame. Further, the current G4
processor doesn't fully support the double aspect of DDR memory, so we
don't anticipate Apple going to DDR memory unless it's more cost
effective or there's a revised G4 that can take full advantage of it -
and never on a G3 iBook.
- 80% chance of the top-end iMac being shown at 1 GHz
and that the 17" LCD will be standard on all but the low-end
iMac. We'd like to go out on a limb and predict a 1 GHz iMac
is almost certain. We agree that Apple going to a 17" LCD on all but
the entry-level iMac makes sense.
- 1 GHz eMac? If the iMac reaches that mark, we think it's 90%
likely that the eMac will follow.
- 60% likelihood of slightly faster Power Macs. The last
revision was announced in August, so the timetable is right. It's
really a question of Motorola being able to provide faster G4s in
quantity. We'd say it's 90% likely that Apple will announce faster
Power Macs in January (although possibly not at the Expo), although the
top-end model might not actually ship until February or March.
- 50-50 chance AppleWorks 7 will be announced and be 100%
compatible with Microsoft Office files. That would be nice. That
would be incredible. That would be a real kick in the teeth to
Microsoft after the way they moaned about poor Office v.X sales. We'd
love to see it, but although we know that Apple can do it, we
don't think they're ready to make such a gutsy move against
Microsoft.
- 90% likely that Apple will stop selling LCDs smaller than
17". That's petty much a no brainer - unless Apple decided to go
after the education and/or home market with a modular desktop Mac.
Apple can't sell enough low-cost LCDs profitably to keep doing so. The
day of the 15" Apple-branded LCD is already numbered.
- 90% chance of QuickTime 6.1 being released with improved support
for third party standards. Neither of us follows QuickTime
developments too closely, but this seems reasonable.
- 80% probable that iChat will support video conferencing among
other improvements. Why not - everyone else is doing it.
- 80% likely that many of the iApps will be updated. A safe
bet.
- 40% chance of a new Apple-branded digital device. We'd love
to see an Apple-branded PDA or digital video recorder. The iPod proved
that Apple can market to the masses and sell to those with money. But
whether we see an iPhone, iCam, iPalm, or iVo - Jobs only knows.
However, with Apple's iPod success, we think it's at least 50% likely
that Apple will announce another consumer device at the Expo.
- 90% likely that a new version of iTunes will support
Rendezvous. Now that's an intriguing idea, but we wonder if
Rendezvous has enough support yet for this to make sense. We think it's
less than 50% probable.
- 20% chance of a 2 GHz or faster Power Mac G5. Knowing
Motorola, we'd put that at a fat zero. Apple-X.net is being
optimistic.
- 30% odds of a hybrid cellphone/PDA from Apple. We don't
think that's at all likely.
- 40% chance of a color 30 GB iPod? Only if Apple adds PDA
capabilities to the iPod and has a reason to add color.
- 30% likely to see a G4 iBook. As noted above, we don't
believe there will be any new 'Book announcements in January.
- 50-50 chance of an Apple-branded browser. Mozilla is open
source, Chimera is getting a vocal following, and this would be yet
another way Apple could reduce its dependence on Microsoft. However, we
don't think Mozilla is quite ready for Apple to brand, so that leaves
us with an in-house project. Unlikely in light of the Sherlock
developments seen in the Jaguar release. It might happen eventually,
but we'd give it a 20% chance of even being shown on stage at the
Expo.
In closing, we do expect to see the iMac and eMac speed bumped at
the Expo, suspect a Power Mac improvement later in the month, and don't
anticipate any changes to the iBook or PowerBook for another two to
four months (March at the earliest, May at the latest).
We strongly suspect that Apple will update several iApps and release
a new consumer device, but we can't predict what that might be. Dan has
his fingers crossed for an Apple alternative to TiVo and Replay TV.
Anne thinks it's more likely that Apple will team up with another
company to produce a webcam or PalmOS device. Time will tell.
