As Macworld quickly approaches the rumor mill is running wild on possible new Apple products and updates. Here’s a run down of what we’ve been hearing the most.

  • Mac Mini – new update to include faster processors, N-spec WiFi, the same GeForce 9400m used in the new MacBook’s. The other rumors suggest Apple will be including a removable SATA optical drive in the new Mini, this can then supposedly be swapped for another SATA hard drive for those wishing to use their Mini as a Media Hub. Aesthetically the new Mini is said to swap the white top of the current model with black to bring it in line with the new Apple look.
  • iPhone nano – case manufacturers around the globe are slipping up with listings for a new iPhone nano model. Usually when you start finding this happening from multiple sources you know something is going on. But how can Apple dumb down the existing iPhone? By making it smaller but with the same features, it would surely just attract everyone to the nano? My guess, no GPS, no Camera and less Memory.
  • Mac Media Centre – probably my most wanted Apple product ever. If, like me, you have a big media library on your main Mac at home, what happens when you have a multiple Macs in the household? Most of us have laptops these days, what happens then? Do you keep a totally separate library on your laptop? What about playlists, ratings, play counts and iTunes purchases? All this needs to resolved and quickly. I bought a Time Capsule and had limited success turning into a truly useable Media Hub.
  • Netbook or Mac Tablet – I think it’s highly unlikely we’ll see either of these products at Macworld. I’m guessing these will make an appearance towards to mid part of 2009, maybe even in the fall, depending on market conditions.
My guess is Apple will either release a software update for the Time Capsule enabling it to become a true Media Hub, or they will market the new Mac mini as one. For me the way to go would be the Time Capsule. If you think about it the Time Capsule comes in two sizes, 500gb or 1TB. The most anybody would fit in the rumored Mac mini at the moment would be 2 x 320GB drives. It makes sense to go with the Time Capsule because it also uses a network grade drive making it less susceptible to failure. The only problem you would face then is that you’d be using your backup drive to store all the files you really should be backing up in the first place!
January 1, 2009 at 3:48 pm by Tom
Category: Other
Tags: , , , , ,