Analyst expects new Macs, movie rentals, new iPhone/iPod touch games
Posted by Dennis Sellers 
Dec 17, 2007 at 1:38pm
In a note to clients, American Technology Research analyst Gene Munster says he expects Apple to update the Mac line, including adding its “smallest portable ever,” at next month’s Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco.
Like many others, he thinks Jobs & Company will unveil an ultra-portable laptop. Unlike some, he’s calling for it to have an 11 to 13-inch screen. In fact, it thinks there may be multiple models “likely be priced between the $1,099 consumer level MacBook and the $1,999 MacBook Pro.”
Munster thinks the “ultraportable” will use NAND-based solid state storage, perhaps using, at least in part, the 64GB drive Samsung has recently introduced. He thinks it will also most likely to use “may include a unique touchpad, possibly using the same multitouch technology used in the iPhone and iPod touch.” Munster also expects some revs to the Mac Pro line.
“We believe the timing is right for Apple to update most of its Macs,” he told clients. “Some models may only see minor specification upgrades to newer, faster Intel processors. The Mac Pro, for example, will likely benefit from the launch of the new Penryn-based Xeon processors. The MacBook may see minor upgrades to its storage capacity and/or processor speed, and the MacBook Pro may also receive minor specification upgrades.”
Munster is also predicting that Apple will announce new content partnerships with one or more movie studios and will start offering movie downloads on iTunes—perhaps directly to the Apple TV. Along similar lines, he thinks Apple will announce more iPhone and iPod touch games at Macworld.
“Rather than simply porting iPod games over to the touchscreen devices and making them available for purchase in the iTunes Store, we believe Apple is developing a new class of games that will make special use of the touchscreens,” Munster wrote. “While such an announcement would be relatively insignificant, on a high level it is important to keep in mind that the iPhone has many capabilities that are not being fully utilized, and unique touch-based games are one example.”
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Dennis Sellers
Dennis has been a newspaper editor/reporter (seven years) and teacher (seven years). He has over 4,000 magazine, newspaper and online articles to his credit. He has also covered the Mac and tech industries for over a decade for such online publications as MacCentral, MacMinute and now MacsimumNews.
