Macworld looms… Bring it on!

There has been a ton of speculation already on the announcements we’re likely to see at MacWorld this coming week. I for one am much more interested in hearing the news from Macworld than I was in last week’s CES - which just doesn’t seem to generate the same anticipation. Since most of us have no inside knowledge whatsoever, here’s a list of things I’m hoping to see…

It has to be said that Apple is very clever with its regular calendar of announcements. To be honest, I am perfectly happy with my current Macbook and iPhone. But I still find myself excited (yep, I know, a bit sad really…) by the new products and enhancements we might see announced in Steve’s keynote. Here’s my wish-list:

(1) Blu-ray Support

Given all the announcements last week, it seems Blu-ray may ultimately end up being the standard HD disk format. I suspect we may see an announcement from Apple this week adding Blu-ray support to at least one line of Macs (the Macbook Pro?), which will only further serve to put nails in the HD-DVD coffin. Technically, Blu-ray is probably the better technology so it would certainly be a great addition for Mac users.

(2) Further iPhone Enhancements

I imagine that Steve Jobs will use this opportunity to further embed the iPhone in the market by raising the bar yet again, as is his habit historically with other products (like the iPod). Will a 3G phone be announced? Maybe, but if so probably not available till next June again. Will the 3rd-party Application SDK be delivered? I would hope so. Will updated firmware with new features be delivered? I would be surprised if that didn’t happen. Will another model of phone be announced (e.g. say a 16 or 32Gb model)? I’m thinking quite possibly.

(3) New Small-form-factor Laptop

There has been so many rumours from so many sources that I suspect this one is a done deal. As I’ve written about before I do think this format is a huge growth area and I would be surprised if Apple doesn’t make a big play in this area. Maybe even with Solid-State Disks? Who knows, but I would guess that if they do announce such a product, it will be as compelling and enticing as the iPhone.

(4) Next-gen AppleTV

This is something Apple has to do now if they want to continue to play in this space. The current model was a great first-cut, but it defintely needs further work - especially in the content area. Ideally at least - certified DivX support and a built in disk player (Blu-ray?).

I have no doubt of course that there will be numerous other things, but those are the 4 that I would definitely like to see. We will know in just a few days…