Of course, nobody KNOWS what will be announced next week, but we all have our favorite wish lists.
My own hopes ... informed by some developments I've seen outside Apple ... point to a PDA device similar to a Windows Mobile PDA, but running some flavor of OS-X, with video playback capabilities (Quicktime), iTunes, integrated phone, 80GB 1.8" hard drive and the ability to operate as a "real" mac with the addition of a fold-up keyboard / trackpad.
Call it the Mac Nano.
The market for this? Mobile professionals, students other PDA users ... ME, certainly. The video capability wouldn't necessarily be for feature films ... I think SJ is correct that people don't want to watch ET on a 2" iPod screen, although they might do so on a 5" PDA during a long flight. Video playback may be useful for video podcasts, video news releases ... even video conferencing. Windows Media is loaded on many Windows PDA's ... why not Quicktime on these?
The phone would be a key application. I think that Steve's disdain for the Rokr was evident at the launch, and the market seems to be agreeing. The world doesn't need an iPod from Motorola. It DOES need a cellphone with better designed user software, something Motorola lags at. Meanwhile, the other major players (Nokia, Samsung, etc) do a better job than Moto but don't come close to Apple's understanding of user interface design. That's a key unmet need in the marketplace, and Apple has the skills to address it, I believe.
Meanwhile, which network? Some (eg. BusinessWeek) have suggested that Apple become a network reseller, much like Virgin Mobile. That's one possibility. Another likely outcome: A deal with T-mobile.
Why T-mobile? It's the third largest cellular operator worldwide, giving Apple a global market for this device. Its US network is about to be upgraded to 2.5G (EDGE) with most expecting the formal announcement within the month ... the buildout is almost complete. It's going to be looking for new EDGE-compliant devices to sell to its customers ... and it's been paring down its PDA offerings in the last few weeks. The Treo 600 (now moving to the Microsoft camp) is no longer offered on T-Mobile's consumer site, although you can get it on their business site. They never went with the more advanced Treo 650. The Siemen's Windows PDA they were selling for some time is also gone. And just this week they reduced the price of their mainstay PDA, the Blackberry 7100T, by 50%. Something new is about to show up.
I'd expect this device to support both EDGE and Wi-Fi, something T-Mobile is more likely to welcome than the other cellular operators given that T-Mobile also owns the largest commercial Wi-Fi network. Bluetooth and possibly irda seem likely as well.
But what about Cingular you say? My guess is that that was more Motorola's deal than Apple's, and I doubt very much that Apple has its hands tied. After all, Cingular also sells Sony Ericsson S710. And Cingular's notoriously poor customer service, US-only network and generally clumsy management probably give the Apple folks an unsettled feeling. T-Mobile's not perfect, but the general consensus seems to be that they're a better-run company.
We'll know soon ...
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