14 DAY TRIAL // In an article published recently by MarketWatch, Rex Crum discusses the speculations made by analysts regarding the unveiling that will take place on the 10th of January.
"With 2006 barely underway, Apple Computer Inc. is wasting no time trying to build on the hype generated by its early lead in the market for portable media players," writes Crum. Strangely enough, the hype that is mentioned here has been around for over a year, and the current hype is actually generated more by the new Intel-based Macs, than anything else.
Crum goes on by saying that "although the company usually guards its secrets as closely as the Central Intelligence Agency, analysts are guessing that Jobs will unveil at least one of the following: a new iPod Shuffle, a PC that runs on Intel Corp. chips or an iMac PC that acts much like a digital television tuner and recorder."
Now, a new version of the Shuffle is indeed expected to be announced, based on the fact that the 1GB version of Shuffle has become unavailable some time ago from the Apple online store, and the rumors of discussion of a 1GB Nano. Mac laptops are also expected based on a large number of rumors that cover both design and marketing aspects as well as technical and manufacturing ones. But, a new iMac is something that no one but maybe the author of this article expects.
"Other items that analysts say have a chance of showing up at the Macworld show are some version of an iMac computer that acts like a digital television tuner and recorder. Apple took a step in that direction in October, when it revamped the iMac to include FrontRow, a software application that includes a remote control to manage and run the computer's digital video and audio content," Crum writes.
Not only was the latest iMac released just a few months ago, in October, like Crum himself mentions, making it far too early for Apple to render it obsolete by announcing a newer version, but there has been absolutely no rumor or even mere mention of this. There have, however, been several mentions of a new Mac Mini with the capabilities described, but absolutely nothing about an iMac. Strangely enough, the article makes no mention of the Mini, and terminology such as "PC that runs on Intel Corp. chips" and "iMac PC" does nothing for the credibility of the author. Apple has never made "PCs" they make "Macs" and while a Macintosh can be called a personal computer, it has never been a "PC". Perhaps it is the same way with iMac and Mini, because nobody expects a new version of the iMac...