Macworld 2007 Wishlist: iPod, Phone, iTV

Macworld 2007 is just days away. Here's a look at what's likely to be revealed, some promising ideas that are less likely to get delivered, and things that have no chance of happening. Part one covers the iPod family.

Part 1: iPod, Phone, iTV | Part 2: Macs and MacBooks | Part 3: iLife, iWork and .Mac | Part 4: Mac OS X Leopard

Three Apple Platforms

Macworld isn't just about the Mac, it’s about everything Apple. Apple’s initial new platform was QuickTime. It ported the media middleware to Windows in an effort to establish a multimedia development platform.

After languishing throughout the late 90s, QuickTime turned out to be a key enabler in developing Apple's third platform: the iPod. The Mac, QuickTime, and the iPod all overlap and integrate together in various ways, but each has its own development focus and strategy for the future.

The iPod has the most speculative potential because we know little of Apple's actual plans. Macworld 2007 promises to shed a lot of light on what will be happening with the iPod, its cousin the iTV, and the long rumored iPod Phone. Here's what to expect.

Part 1: iPod, Phone, iTV

New iPods have come out at Macworld before: the iPod mini in 2004 and the iPod Shuffle in 2005. At Macworld 2006, the new Nano and 5G iPods had just been released a few months prior, making it too soon to announce any new hardware.

This last fall there was a similar refresh, making it tough to predict what will happen at Macworld. With so much else to announce, Apple could certainly coast by on the news of the iTV and Leopard, leaving a major iPod refresh for later in the year, as has typically been the case for new full size iPods.

At the same time however, the Sept 2005 5G iPod was only conservatively refreshed in September 2006, leaving open the possibility for a major new replacement, incessantly dubbed the “True Video iPod” in rumor circles.

New iPod Hardware

Despite all the talk, video isn't the most useful feature in a handheld iPod, a point Apple made before even releasing video playback features on the iPod. Currently the iPod is all about music, which--as the iPod Shuffle has proven--doesn't even require a screen.

If Apple were to introduce a new iPod model with a larger screen, it would need to offer a higher resolution display and applications that made use of it; a slightly bigger screen with the same picture would only rob battery life, a point made in regard to the iPod-Killer.

Generation 6 iPods envisioned two potential iPod devices based on the same hardware, pushing the iPod into the future as a personal organizer with messaging features.

•the first focused on business applications, with text messaging, web browsing, organizer functions, and email
•the second, called the iPod Blogger, targets video recording, journaling, messaging and media playback

Outside of an iPod Phone or the iTV, if Apple releases a significant new 6G iPod device, it likely won't be at Macworld. However, along with the iTV, it is likely Apple will introduce new information about iPod software designed to run on all iPod family devices.

iPod Software

The iPod itself is a closed software platform. The only software users can put on it is QuickTime content in iTunes, with one exception: iPod games.

Apple added iPod games to the mix rather cautiously, conservatively venturing to even include several from third parties, including two more just recently released by EA Games: Sudoku and Royal Solitaire.

However, iPod games are digitally signed so that they have to be authorized and sold through iTunes. There can be no iPod shareware, because game development isn’t open, or is the market for selling or distributing games.

This is similar to the practice common among hardware game consoles, where third party developers have to license software in order to develop titles. In other words, developers can't just design a game, they have to license the right to participate with Nintendo, Sony or other console makers.

Proprietary Balance

Free software and homebrew projects offer the potential to drive new and interesting applications. However, they can also introduce software instability and security issues. The fault of many computer crashes is problematic third party software. This issue is something Apple will have to balance carefully.

Since Apple currently controls the entire market for iPod software, it has valid reasons to prefer keeping things bound to iTunes. This solves a handful of issues:

•prevents malicious software (there are no PlayStation viruses)
•prevents adware or low quality shovelware from diluting the brand
•prevents sloppy development from introducing security and stability problems
•creates a sustainable market for iPod games development by limiting piracy

How much control Apple continues to exercise over the platform becomes far more interesting as the iPod marches toward being more than just a music player.

iTV and Software

The first step into new iPod territory has already been announced: the tentatively named iTV. While the iPod works great as a simple music player, the iTV begs to enter five content categories defined earlier in the series How Apple Will Change TV.

•On Demand Commercial Content, competing next to cable, satellite, NetFlix, and other movie downloads.
•Personal Content, offering up photos and home movies and other iLife generated
•Alternative Content, including podcasts, public archives, YouTube content
•Interactive Content, including games, electronic learning, and widgets powered by web services
•Original Content, developed expressly for iTunes and iTV

These applications can be all driven by Apple, but partnerships with others will dramatically increase the iTV's appeal.

Opening the system up to Internet videos for various sources, and allowing it to interoperate with accessory devices such as DVRs like the Tivo both seem like obvious wins, and interactive content, from games to references and related tools, offer many new possibilities.

The iPod Phone

Earlier articles described how Apple could bring iPod features into the world of mobile phones. It would be hard to imagine that Apple would remain silent on the topic at Macworld, but even an announced Apple phone might not be immediately available.