Macenstein

Posted by Lab Rat

With Apple’s recent announcement of yet another “Special Event� (my gosh, can EVERY event be “special�?) next week, all eyes will be squarely trained on Steve Jobs’ groin. The reason? To see if he will pull forth from his pocket a new video iPod, or Wi-Fi remote, or PDA, or cel phone, or Apple-branded chewing gum of course!

Many analysts are predicting Apple will unveil a new Intel based iBook (or Macbook) or an Intel Mac mini at next week’s event. Others speculate the long-rumored iPod boombox is a likely candidate. Still others are hoping against hope to see an Apple-branded media center.

The invitation to the February 28th event showed an iCal icon and the words “Come see some fun new products from Apple.� Based on the invitation, the smart money is on something consumery (i.e., fun), and something entirely new, not just an update to an existing Apple product. The use of the word “new� would sort of preclude the Mac mini and iBook from showing up, although perhaps Apple is content to claim a new processor makes it a new product. I feel, however, that we will see some brand new things. But what?

Well, I am going to go out on a limb, and risk my reputation of being 100% wrong in predicting Apple’s products, and I will say we will see none other than the long awaited release of an Apple PDA. That’s right, I said it. An Apple PDA. Why?

Well, first off, the invitation. While many are content to suppose that the use of the iCal icon simply means Apple’s marketing department is getting lazy and couldn’t think of a clever pun and visual to hint at the event, I am going to say that the iCal icon IS a hint at the event. All of Apple’s past “special events� have had some sort of clever invitation that in hindsight hinted at the new gear Apple intended to unleash, like the closed movie screen curtains of the video iPod invite for example.

Second, when people nowadays think of hand-held devices, they think iPod, perhaps even more than cel phones. I think Apple would be foolish to not capitalize on the success of the iPod in permeating the consumer’s mindset by not releasing some sort of new hand held device.

Third, I want one.

Now, you may ask me “Why would Apple release another hand held device? Wouldn’t that compete with the iPod? Why not just make a new iPod with PDA-like functionality?� And to that I answer… “You’re right�. I feel the PDA Apple will release next week IS the new iPod.

We have all heard the rumors of an iPod with a large touch screen, and perhaps even Wi-Fi connectivity coming down the pipe. Well, I say Apple will use this touch screen interface to navigate PDA-like functionality, such as a full-featured calendar, contacts, e-mail reader, maybe even a web browser (Wi-Fi). Likely this would necessitate some sort of stylus to be included in the iPod as well. What I am predicting is not really earth-shattering. It is the natural evolution of the iPod. I am just kicking the time table up a notch.

So am I crazy? Perhaps. But this theory combines all the other iPod rumors of Wi-Fi and touch screens, and combines them brilliantly (if I say so myself) with the iCal picture on Apple’s invitation into a plausible explanation.

Now, the Apple invitation did say “SOME fun new products�, as in more than one, so just to cover my arse, let me also predict we will see the iPod boombox, the Intel Mac mini and iBook, and a Wi-Fi remote control. After all, in the prognostication game, it’s better to be right on 25% of the stuff than nothing at all.