The Mac Observer

Skip navigational links

DealsOnTheWeb Daily Deal: OneCall's Weekend Sale - 20 Great Items at Great Prices All Weekend Long

TMO Reports - Analyst: Expect New Macs, iPods, Software, iTunes Content for Macworld

by , 12:25 PM EST, January 9th, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO -- Analyst Shaw Wu of American Technology Research expects Apple to make a number of new product announcements during this week's Macworld Expo in San Francisco, including new Macs, an updated iPod shuffle, new software, and new video content for the iTunes Music Store. He also maintained a "Buy" rating on Apple's stock, saying the company, "is well-positioned to continue above market growth rates with arguably the industry's most powerful and complete stack of hardware, software, and service."

Macintosh

For new hardware, Mr. Wu believes that Apple is ready to release an Intel-based Macintosh computer this week. He first made a prediction of an early release on December 12th, 2005, and said Monday that Apple is ready to go with a new model.

"As we mentioned in early December 2005," wrote Mr. Wu, "we believe the Macs likely to move to [Intel] first include PowerBook, iBook, and Mac mini and its Xserve G5 enterprise server, arguably weaker products that would benefit by moving to [Intel]. We believe one of these product families will be ready with others to follow in subsequent quarters."

He also expects a new form factor for a mobile Intel Mac, one "more lightweight and sleek -- likely a subnotebook with widescreen," though he didn't specify that this would be announced during Macworld. Once it is released, however, he said that "such a product will do well and become a blockbuster if priced competitively at $1499 or lower."

It's been a long time since Apple had a Mac that could be described as a "blockbuster."

As an aside, Mr. Wu also speculated that Front Row, the media management software Apple introduced with the most recent update to the iMac G5 line, will eventually be standard on all Macs.

The significance of this, other than being a no-brainer, is that it would make Apple the first company to make remote controls a standard input device for all of its computers, which could start a trend, "just like it did as the first vendor to include a mouse." He noted this as further evidence of the convergence of consumer electronics and computers.

Lastly, Mr. Wu expects new displays from Apple that are even larger than Apple's monstrously large 30" Cinema Display, though he doesn't necessarily expect them to be released during Macworld.

He wrote, "We believe it is likely plasma technology due to price-performance and in 42-inch and 50-inch sizes. While we are not certain of the exact timing of when these larger displays will be released, we believe it makes strategic sense for AAPL to develop its own line of HDTVs to round out its end-to-end product portfolio. We believe this gives AAPL tighter control over quality, components, and interfaces supported, including gigabit ethernet and FireWire."

iPod shuffle

Mr. Wu said that Apple's iPod shuffle line is due for a refresh, but that this refresh would be one of form factor, and not larger capacity, in part to keep from overlapping with the 2GB and 4GB iPod nanos. Accordingly, new shuffles would still be 512MB and 1GB, and will be smaller than a pack of gum. They will also be introduced in a variety of colors, including black. He expects the price point of US$99 and $129 to remain in effect.

Tiger

Apple might preview Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard at Macworld -- Mr. Wu was not adamant about that -- but he specifically expects Apple to unveil Mac OS X 10.4.4, a point update for Tiger. The biggest features of this update will be full support for Intel and PowerPC Macs, and improved Rosetta performance. Rosetta is the technology that allows Intel-based Macs to run applications compiled for PowerPC.

Numbers

Mr. Wu believes Apple is ready to unveil a spreadsheet component for an updated iWork '06. Said spreadsheet will be called Numbers, to compliment the word processing Pages and presentation development tool Keynote.

"We believe iWork needs a spreadsheet application to give users a more complete office productivity experience, not to mention compete more effectively against Microsoft Office," he wrote.

iTunes

To close out this major raft of predictions and expectations, Mr. Wu said he believes Apple is ready to announce new video content for the iTunes Music Store. He thinks there will be new content from NBC and ABC, and possibly announcements for CBS and Fox. Sometime in 2006, he expects full-length feature films to be available at the iTMS.

*In the interest of full disclosure, the author holds a small share in AAPL stock that was not an influence in the creation of this article.  


If you are interested in Apple's stock, join our forum members in the Apple Finance Boards, a moderated forum for Apple Investors and people who are interested in Apple's financial dealings. For other stories regarding Apple's stock activity, visit our updated Apple Stock Watch Special Report.

Observer Comments

Show: Subjects Only | Full Comments
View Name:Guest
Subject: I can't wait
View Name:Guest
Subject: G4 transitions
Close Name:macinnerd Posts: 1681 Joined: 15 Jun 2005
Subject:

Hmmm... I believe that a drawerfull of other analysts have already predicted new macs and an updated shuffle, but it's still a good read! But I don't know why he would predict the XServe to be one of the first to get the Intel processors. XServes are currently running on G5 Processors, which are still quite powerful enough for them. And I would expect that Apple would want to use the next-generation Intel processors (which only come out by the end of the year) for a machine like mthe XServe, than settling with the Xeon. Anyways, that's just my set of thoughts.

Edited twice for spelling.



Last edited by macinnerd on Mon Jan 09, 2006 3:44 pm; edited 2 times in total
Reply | Quote
View Name:Guest
Subject: What about Intel Powermacs?
Close Name:jimothy Posts: 581 Joined: 04 Jun 2004
Subject: No Intel iMacs

Despite my lousy track record, I'm still going to make a Macworld prediction: No Intel Macs.

Here are my reasons:
1. Apple said it wouldn't be until the middle of the year, and I believe everything they tell me, and then add 3-6 months (kidding, mostly).
2. Which would come first? "It can't be the iBook, because then it'd out perform the PowerBook!" "It can't be the PowerBook, it was just updated!" "It can't be the PowerMac; it was also just updated, and it's users need native apps!"

If none of the choices seems good, it may the only choice is none.

To hedge my bets, though, I'll say the Mac mini.

View Name:Guest
Subject: Re: What about Intel Powermacs?
Close Name:macinnerd Posts: 1681 Joined: 15 Jun 2005
Subject:

Well, as the Power Macintosh G5s are still some of the fastest pro machines available, I woudln't expect to see Apple rushing the Intel processors to them quite so fast. It would even be pretty safe to consider that they may be among the last to go.

View Name:Guest
Subject: Living Room Media Center Mac
Close Name:jimothy Posts: 581 Joined: 04 Jun 2004
Subject: P23 emulation?

Quote
Guest wrote:
Still PPC based, runs PS3 and Nintendo cube games through emulator.

Riiiiiiight... The PS3 isn't out yet, Sony's lawyers would make those from Apple look tame, and the Cell is (supposedly) more powerful than the fastest G5 (at certain tasks, anyway).

Not to mention that while Apple may or may not be releasing an Intel-based Mac tomorrow, you can bet your Mighty Mice they won't be releasing a new PowerPC-production line.

Close Name:macinnerd Posts: 1681 Joined: 15 Jun 2005
Subject:

It would be rather interesting indeed to see Apple unveil a brand new PowerPC based line, and continue producing it for a few more years. It would leave a door open in the PowerPC world if they ever regret the Intel transition. It would be just another preventive step, like the development of Mac OS X for Intel based machines, back in 2001.

View Name:Guest
Subject: Surprising that an analyst would speculate on so many RUMORS
View Name:Guest
Subject: Higher Resolution Videos on the iPod
View Name:Guest
Subject: The Beatles!
View Name:Guest
Subject: more analyst idiocy
Comment on this Article


You cannot edit your comments.   You cannot delete your comments.
Log in | Register | Having Problems? Reset TMO Cookies & Try Again
Username:   Password:   Log me on automatically each visit   

You are not logged in, and this post will appear as "Guest." Log in with your username and password from the TMO forums. If you do not have a username, you can register here.
Please note that guests are limited to including a maximum of two URLs per post.


Post A Comment
  Subject


  Your Comments



Please enter the word exactly as you see it in the image above. Registered users aren't prompted for this. Having trouble reading the image get a new one.


Recent Headlines - Updated Friday, July 4th, 2008

Fri., 7:30 AM
Happy Fourth of July!
Thu., 4:50 PM
Apple Slashes $400 from SSD Drive in MacBook Air
4:05 PM
It's Official - Firefox Sets Guinness Record for Downloads
3:30 PM
Apple Files Patent for a Multi-touch Gesture Language
2:20 PM
Editorial - Mac's Market Share and the Cascade Failure of Windows
1:35 PM
iPodObserver - Apple Slurps Up Samsung's NAND Flash for iPhone 3G
1:05 PM
WSJ: Tips for Switching from Windows to Mac
12:05 PM
iPodObserver - Google Intros Google Talk for iPhone
11:35 AM
iPO Just a Thought - iPod nano Versus iPhone: Decisons, Decisions...
10:55 AM
YouTube Ordered to Turn Over All User Records to Viacom
10:10 AM
Hot Forum Topic - Apple vs. Cell Carriers: Who's Winning the Game
9:25 AM
iPodObserver - Rumor: Best Buy, Radio Shack to Sell iPhone 3G
8:45 AM
.Mac Bookmark Sync Deadline Extended to July 6
8:10 AM
Adobe Reader 9 Hits the Streets
 

The Mac Observer Reader Specials

  • Special Report: WWDC 2008
  • Special Report: iPhone
  • __________
  • Help TMO Grow
  • Podcast: Mac Geek Gab
  • Podcast: Apple Weekly Report
  • TMO on Twitter!
  • New Media Expo 2008

Apple Stock Quote

  • AAPL: $170.12. Change Today: +1.94.
  • (Prices delayed up to 20 minutes.)
  • Discuss in our Apple Finance Board

Hot Topics

Top Deals From DealsOnTheWeb