The iPad is for TV
In a very interesting article on AppleInsider the Financial Timesreports that Apple will announce a new pricing structure for some but not all of it’s TV Show offerings, brining the cost to 99c per show for a select number of shows, and only in standard definition. This price reduction is set to coincide with the Launch of the iPad.
In another article on the very same website states that TechCrunch is reporting that the popular online TV site HULU would be making it’s content available on the iPad. Hulu currently uses Flash to stream it’s content so they would either have to make a custom App or rewrite their player using HTML5 to stream videos to the iPad and iPhone. If I had to guess they will end up developing both overtime and launching whichever is more compelling at or near the iPad launch date.
It’s looking like the iPad more and more is about TV. Apple couldn’t persuade TV Execs to change pricing with the Apple TV but the iPad seems to have caught their attention.
I would gladly pay $1 per show for a handful of shows I watch as opposed to the $90/m I pay for the basic digital cable package which includes channels I don’t want and forces me to Timeshift (using the cable companies DVR of course). TV ala carte simply makes sense, if Apple pulls this off we’ll soon be counting down to 10 billion TV Shows sold.
Official Predictions for MacWorld 2008
Ok, here is how it’s going to go down tomorrow! You’ve probably read a lot of ridiculous predictions for MacWorld, these are the most realistic predictions we could muster:
- Steve talks up the usual feel good numbers of iPhones, iPods, Leopard sold, highlights the iPod touch selling over 5 million units.
- Talks up the iPhone SDK possibly announces 16GB iPhone at $499
- Apple partners with Sling Media. (announces Slingbox Client for iPhone & Touch)
- iPhone, iTunes, Touch & Leopard Software updates.(iTunes 7.6, iPhone FW 1.1.3, Mac OS 10.5.2)
- Major update to Apple TV, called AppleTV HD (1080, rent from the Apple TV – firmware update)
- Announces iTunes Movie Rentals, Fox, Disney, Universal are first to get on board
And one more thing… he announces a new thin Macbook. It’s got a fantastic form factor and the design is amazing, but the specs leave more to be desired.
What’s really in the air at MacWorld?
On Friday, preparations for MacWorld became visible at Moscone West when signage from Apple with the phrase “2008: There’s something in the air” were hung. So what is in the air you may ask? If you check out all the forums on the Apple rumor sites you will get various beliefs and hopes, but if we take the evidence we have and apply it logically we can up with a few possible products that may be announced on Tuesday.
Three products have the opportunity to use air; the iPhone, the Apple TV and the Macbook and Macbook Pro notebook line. Let’s first take a look at the iPhone. Of course the iPhone has built in WiFi, Bluetooth and 2.5G cellular, both of which that use air. We could see a revolutionary way to sync your iPhone via WiFi or Bluetooth to iTunes. Or could we see AT&T join T-Mobile with WiFi phone calls from home? The iPhone has so many wireless possibilities we could speculate for hours and may never come up with the correct answer.
The product I believe this phrase is centered around is the Apple TV. Apple TV lacks the ability to connect to the iTunes store. Apple TV also lacks movie rentals and HD content. All three of these could be transmitted wirelessly from your Mac/PC to your Apple TV over WiFi. The popular guess is movie rentals. Many publications have documented the expectations of Apple to announce movie rental deals with Fox and Disney. iTunes purchases from your Apple TV can come in the way of a firmware upgrade or a new device. Even though many people believe the Apple TV to be a failure, some view it as an experiment. Maybe this year we will see the results of the experiment with a new redesigned Apple TV.
And then there is the Macbook. Will it be a ultra slim? Will it have a built in cellular wireless? With the alliance with AT&T, will Apple be able to allow cheap cellular wireless for notebook users. I believe these rumors to be stretch, but we will find out on Tuesday.
Cody Clark is a visiting writer for Mac News Online, Cody writes about all things Apple and the latest Tech News at http://www.codyclark.org. You can email your questions or comments to Cody at codyclark.org@mac.com.
MacWorld 2008 Predictions
It is Macworld time again ladies and gentlemen and do you want to know what is going to be announced? Well so do I, but until Steve Jobs arrives on stage January 15th, all we can do is speculate. However, there has been a lot of rumblings in the rumor mills about potential new products and updates to existing ones. So what will we see at Macworld? Lets take a look at what I believe we will see from Apple.Unfortunately, I don’t work for Apple, yet, and I do not have any contacts at Apple so this list is simply my hopes and dreams.
Mac Hardware
Will we finally see a sub-notebook? Yes! Imagine a slimmer and 2 pound lighter MacBook Pro without the optical drive. It will roughly be 3/4″ thick and will feature a Solid State Hard Drive (SSD). It will also feature a 12″ or 13.3″ screen with an integrated iSight webcam trimmed with the standard MacBook Pro aluminum frame. It will be outfitted with 2 USB 2.0 ports and Firewire 400 but will not feature Firewire 800 due to the size constraints. It will of course run OS X 10.5.
We should also see revisions to the MacBook Pro. These will be processor bumps and could we finally see Apple adding an eSATA port to the MacBook Pro? Additionally could we see a revision to the Apple Cinema Displays? I say yes, but not a major redesign. Bump of the specs and a design that is half as thick as it predecessor.
iPhone
The iPhone stole the show last year at Macworld but it will not do it again this year. Apple will formally introduce the SDK that will allow additional programs on the iPhone will be made available through iTunes. Also we will see the 8GB model stay in the assortment and a 16GB model will be introduced as well. Maybe we will see some improvements with a new firmware being introduced. I do not believe we will see the much hyped and hoped for 3G iPhone but maybe a sneak preview similar to the Apple TV we saw in the past.
iPod and iTunes
At Macworld we will see all the familiar pie charts from Steve Jobs concerning the domination of the iPod and iTunes but we will not be see new iPods. The last couple of years the iPod revisions have come pre-holiday season not after the Christmas season. iTunes will get more attention at Macworld than the iPod. iTunes will get a new feature, the iPhone Software Store, or something like that. Basically, iTunes will allow you to browse, purchase and install programs on your iPhone. I am not that impressed by the idea of movie rentals on iTunes. The quality of the movies already on iTunes is bad when viewing on my MacBook Pro screen, viewing on the iPod/iPhone or streaming to Apple TV. Maybe Apple needs to go with HD movie rentals. HD rentals could be interesting, but I do not see that happening, at least this year.
Software
With the introduction of iLife and iWork ‘08 in August of last year, the consumer software lineup will stay the same for the second consecutive Macworld keynote. We might see a update of OS X 10.5 Leopard. With the rumors concerning the sub-notebook and potential laptop speed bumps, we might see Software Update get a work out on January 15th.
Conclusion
Will Macworld 2008 top last years Macworld? No, it will not. However, with the introduction of the sub-MacBook Pro and maybe a sneak preview of the 3G iPhone it may come very close.
Cody Clark is a visiting writer for Mac News Online, Cody writes about all things Apple and the latest Tech News at http://www.codyclark.org. You can email your questions or comments to Cody at codyclark.org@mac.com.
Apple and 20th Century Fox strike Digital Movie Rental Deal
Apple and News Corp.’s 20th Century Fox film studio have reportedly signed a deal for giving Apple access to the FOX new release library to be made available for rental through iTunes and possibly the AppleTV. Consumers will be able to rent the latest Fox DVD releases from iTunes for a limited time. There is also said to be functionality/DRM in place to allow place shifting the rented media to iPod/iPhones. I hope this includes Fox Atomic movies because I really really need to rent The Hills Have Eyes 2 again.
via Valley Wag
UPDATE: According to the NYTimes.com, FOX Studios will not be the only movie studio to offer it’s new releases for rent through iTunes.
New Info on Ultra-Portable Notebook
A reporter for CNBC (video) let it slip that Apple is indeed slated to announce a sub-notebook at MacWorld and these ’super laptops’ are already in production. As reported by AppleInsider the bullet points from the interview are below:
- It Will have a 12 inch screen, not 13 like originally rumored.
- It will be 50 percent thinner.
- New sub-notebook will use flash memory instead of hard drive increasing battery life.
- New sub-notebook to retail for $1499.
via AppleInsider
