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What one piece of Apple hardware do you most hope to see introduced at Macworld Expo?

1/1: What one piece of Apple hardware do you most hope to see introduced at Macworld Expo?

Dual quad-core CPU (8x) Mac 496 (11.91%)
Gaming console 93 (2.23%)
Keyboard with iPod dock 63 (1.51%)
LCD display: 17" widescreen 42 (1.01%)
LCD display: some other size 49 (1.18%)
Mac Tablet with docking station 492 (11.82%)
An iPod with the full Beatles catalog 146 (3.51%)
Some sort of phone device 971 (23.32%)
True video iPod 526 (12.64%)
Ultra small and light MacBook Pro 1,023 (24.57%)
Something else entirely (comment!) 262 (6.29%)
Other polls | 4,163 votes | 42 comments

What one piece of Apple hardware do you most hope to see introduced at Macworld Expo? | 42 comments | Create New Account
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phone
Authored by: zeb on Thu, Dec 21 2006 at 8:04AM PST
Even though I have no immediate interest in the phone, I'm rooting for it because many analysts expect such a release would increase Apple's stock - which is currently more important to me than what new gadget I actually want. My second pick would be a new iPod for the same reason.

As far as where my personal interest is... a dual quad core Mac Pro would be pretty nice.

---
..:: Zeb ::..

zebellis.com

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phone
Authored by: brett_x on Thu, Dec 21 2006 at 10:30AM PST
I really only want to see an iPodPhone announced if it does something unique- like a VOIP/GSM combo that you can use for free when on VOIP. I'd hate to see Apple release YA GSM phone that plays music.

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30" iMac
Authored by: reece146 on Thu, Dec 21 2006 at 8:21AM PST
I really want a 30" (or larger!) iMac for my living room!

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30" iMac
Authored by: rprather12 on Thu, Jan 4 2007 at 12:10PM PST
A 30" would be nice but I would also like to see it or the 24" have a single Xeon processor.

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Rick

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Dual Monitor Support In The Mini
Authored by: mshmgi on Thu, Dec 21 2006 at 8:45AM PST
And if not dual monitor support in the mini.

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iTV
Authored by: tatilsever on Thu, Dec 21 2006 at 8:47AM PST
How come "iTV" is not one of the options?

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iTV
Authored by: robg on Thu, Dec 21 2006 at 9:22AM PST
Read my post on the main site -- iTV is already announced and known.

-rob.

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iTV
Authored by: sjmills on Thu, Dec 21 2006 at 10:01AM PST
Maybe I haven't read enough articles or rumors, but I don't really consider the iTV to be fully "announced". Besides, what they really need to make is a full-blown HD DVR that can tune cable and satellite and use AirPort Zippy (I just made up that name to give a name to 802.11n) and Ethernet to stream video/audio to/from Macs and also allow searching for shows and configurations to be performed from any Mac as well as via an RF remote (no more IR remotes, please - my coffee table is in the way when I slouch on the couch). Basically squeeze a Mac, AirPort, and my DirecTV/TiVo box into one easy to use, flexible appliance.

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iTV
Authored by: mpress25 on Fri, Dec 22 2006 at 5:18AM PST
Steve Jobs announced it on stage. You can't get much more "announced" than that.

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iTV
Authored by: sjmills on Fri, Dec 22 2006 at 1:11PM PST
I guess when I hear Apple "announce" something, it usually means "place your order now, cuz it's shipping". Hence my reasoning.

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iTV
Authored by: noworryz on Thu, Dec 21 2006 at 1:54PM PST

Let's all chant together: HD PVR, HD PVR! Come on, Apple, you know we want it!

The day Apple announces it my buggy, POS, Motorola DCT-6412 gets sledge hammered.

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i'm torn...
Authored by: zarqman on Thu, Dec 21 2006 at 9:04AM PST
an ultra-light mac book pro would be great... but i'd also really like to see some kind of pda from apple.

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Not much...
Authored by: macavenger on Thu, Dec 21 2006 at 9:14AM PST
Personally, I just want an updated iMac and 10.5 :p I really want to get a new computer, but considering the time since the last iMac was released, and the imminence of 10.5, I'm waiting for both to be released before I order. I just hope a n updated iMac doesn't get released significantly before 10.5, forcing me to have to wait for yet another revision... :)

---
iMac FP 17" 800MHz OS X 10.4.x

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Not much...
Authored by: BMarsh on Sat, Dec 30 2006 at 1:42AM PST
10.5 isn't slated for release until "spring 2007" or so

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Hardware....
Authored by: Cardiakke on Thu, Dec 21 2006 at 9:36AM PST
how about a low-cost upgrade program for the poor saps, like me, who bought G*-based machines just before Apple introduced Intel-based machines?

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Hardware....
Authored by: kkL on Thu, Dec 21 2006 at 12:16PM PST
but why? Apple still fully supports PowerPC.

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Asteroid!!
Authored by: gabester on Thu, Dec 21 2006 at 9:39AM PST
No, seriously... how can Apple sue people about a product it never releases??

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Gaming Mac, NOT console....
Authored by: Magnus Dredd on Thu, Dec 21 2006 at 11:01AM PST
What surprises me is that after all of the years that people have been going on and on about getting an "X-Mac" that it was not in the poll.

Anyways... I want a Mac that will enable me not to have a separate <i>Wintendo</i>, something like:
Core 2 Duo E6300
Asus P5B Deluxe SLI
BFG 7600GT OC'ed
1GB Corsair DDR2 (6400/80Mhz) (2x512MB sticks)
Pioneer 16x DVDRW (DVR111D)
200GB SATA II Seagate HD
Antec SLK3800B case with 380W PS
Logitech USB Keyboard and high sensitivity mouse

Off of Newegg (not including M$ tax), this is $950 plus shipping. I'm willing to pay Apple about $1500 or so for anything comparable. PLEASE.... Furthermore this removes the LAST reason to stay on a non-Mac PC. Xeons and laptop Core 2s are not suitable for gaming systems.

I'd also like an iPhone provided it has the features I require (probably), and isn't horribly expensive (not so sure on this).

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Want vs. Likely
Authored by: jwlvs on Thu, Dec 21 2006 at 11:21AM PST
With Intel introducing its quad-core chips in January, it's likely that Apple will announce 8-way pro machines, whether or not they'll be shipping in quantity.

One of your options is a "tablet" Mac. I'd like to see a "Newton 2" with the color and connectivity options of today.

Heck -- I think the "iPhone" could be the "Newton 2."

iPod + Phone + PDA with handwriting recognition (Newton) = Newton 2

That's what I'd most want. However, I'd also like to see an iTV/Tivo/Video game console. If Apple could put Front Row and Tivo technology in a PS3, that would rock. (The ability to run lots of games out of the box, and the inclusion of a BluRay player would be excellent.)

Dreaming away ...

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Want vs. Likely
Authored by: mattitude32 on Thu, Jan 4 2007 at 2:10PM PST
If they updated iTunes to allow games, like the iPod, then iTV should allow you to play those games on your TV. They just need to add a wireless controler.

They also need to allow you to "burn" DVDs to iTunes. This would be necissary if the idea behind iTV is to go completely digital. No more CDs, DVDs!

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Mac (Not Pro) w/dual video capability
Authored by: kazooless on Thu, Dec 21 2006 at 11:56AM PST
I really want them to come out with a tower in the sub $1,500 range so that those of us that don't need more power than an iMac can stll have multiple drives and multiple displays.

I think it is ridiculous that you have to shell out over $2,000 to have a tower Mac. One single Core 2 Duo processor in the Mac Pro case would be great. I think it is the only hole they haven't filled. (They used to have the sub $1,500 single proc G5).

Kazooless

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Mac (Not Pro) w/dual video capability
Authored by: richwiss on Thu, Dec 21 2006 at 4:26PM PST
me too (though I couldn't care less about dual video)


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Mac (Not Pro) w/dual video capability
Authored by: nufoto on Mon, Dec 25 2006 at 10:25AM PST
I 100% Agree with your idea a lower ended Mac Pro is needed, this would further increase Apple's market share!

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Airport
Authored by: chabig on Thu, Dec 21 2006 at 3:36PM PST
I expect an entirely new line of Airport products, using 802.11n.

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Black MacBook Pro
Authored by: seika7 on Thu, Dec 21 2006 at 5:37PM PST
Black MacBook Pro

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mac midi
Authored by: mspangler on Thu, Dec 21 2006 at 7:56PM PST
Something like the Hp 7600 small form factor case. Room for 1 or 2 PCI express cards and a 3.5" hard drive, maybe 4 Ram slots, etc. Upgradeable video would be nice too, but not essential. I almost bought the HP, but it cost $150 more than the mini when I configured it close to equally.

Or, for a second choice, iMacs with expresscard 54 slots, preferably two of them.

The point in both of these is expandability. I expect 5 years out of my desktop, and my Quicksilver is now there. I got 6 years out of my 7500 before that. To do this requires a 3 yr midlife upgrade capability.

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yeeeii
Authored by: kinokinokino on Thu, Dec 21 2006 at 9:39PM PST
i was expecting that the true video ipod would be way ahead.

i really see that taking off more than a phone or smaller macbook pro would ever. anyone else?

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Mouse
Authored by: Lyrik on Fri, Dec 22 2006 at 2:00AM PST
Nothing -nothing could be more relevant than a beautifull ERGONOMICAL CORRECT 2 button mouse in beautifull white Apple-design.
The ergonomic shape of the existing BIGMOUSE stinks in such a degree that it has begun to give me "mouse-injury-disease" in 2 days!
If the hand is bend backward, then the damage occur.

Greets jens

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More Mac Mini output options
Authored by: Nem on Fri, Dec 22 2006 at 8:05AM PST
I want to see more output options for the Mac Mini, including:

1) Dual head output
2) HiDef component output (1080i)

The Mini would make a great addition to my entertainment center, but I don't have one of the latest & greatest LCD HiDef displays (I have an older HiDef tube - Sony Wega XBR).

Basically, I'd like a mix between the iTV and the Mini, so I can surf and do other crazy stuff, but also have access to the media on all my machines.

---
Nem W. Schlecht
http://geekmuse.net/

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Mac midi
Authored by: Esquare on Fri, Dec 22 2006 at 11:27AM PST
The one thing I really miss in Apple's line-up is something between a Mac mini and a Mac Pro.

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Power Cell (Gaming Mac; NOT console part II)
Authored by: dcoyle on Fri, Dec 22 2006 at 1:51PM PST
I'll assume Magnus Dredd's specs (earlier post) are what a serious gamer would want (I'm not one). I would add to that one or more Power Cell co-processors. Google up "power cell processor board" and you'll see a plethora of PCIe boards available for your average PC. With Apple's PowerPC experience and resources, I don't think it would take a whole lot of engineering to do the same thing a whole lot better.

While originally an Intel-switch skeptic, I have to agree now that this was a smart move on Apple's part for a lot of reasons. The new Core 2 line makes incredible sense for a general purpose processor. However, for things the Cell is good at, nothing can touch it.

It's easy to imagine certain functions like DVD-encoding being off-loaded to Cell processor(s) in the same way certain things are handed off to a GPU with Quartz Extreme. Apple has already perfected Universal binaries, so it would take very little to ship applications like Final Cut that has both the Intel binaries for routine program tasks and Power Cell binaries to make audio/video things happen really, really fast. It also doesn't seem like it would take much to add all the developer functionality to X-Code since they already do Intel and PowerPC.

While TV studios and Hollywood would certainly benefit from the extra speed and functionality Cell would provide (which would benefit Apple's bottom line), gamers would probably be the biggest winners. Getting access to console games at the same time and with the same or better speed/playability, since all the developers would have to do is port Cell-on-console code to Cell-on-Mac, would probably get a whole lot of people interested in Macs.

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MacBook Pro + Leopard + Timemachine
Authored by: jmao on Fri, Dec 22 2006 at 5:04PM PST
I know this won't happen,...yet,...but it seems to me to be logical,...

Time Machine, Apple's new backup/restore technology in Leopard needs a 2nd volume. It would be generally senseless to use a 2nd partition as your single drive would just get hammered trying to double write, etc.

While you could do this in desktops, I think it is far more important in the portable line to introduce a device which has both the standard internal hard drive along with a flash-based storage device. The flash storage would surely lag in terms of capacity given the cost of flash compared to HDs, but since you really only need to Time Machine your home directory, that's probably OK.

This would allow you to have a laptop that could utlize Time Machine without having to connect an external drive.

In the education market, this flash storage could potentially be used to hold a hidden partition that could be used to restore the laptop back to a clean state since often K12 deployments are often having to "reimage" laptops now as a troubleshooting step. This would be more like the Lenovo Blue Button thing.

Given prices for flash are coming down, I could see Apple also emplying this into iMacs and minis since physical space is at a premium in those devices (although the iMacs are getting more and more spacious as the LCDs grow!

A variation on a theme,...a 12" MacBook that has no HD, just flash. Perhaps no optical drive either. This would be a special education-only model. Fewer moving parts, fewer repairs. Lighter, cheaper? Since the education market is pushing laptop usage down to as young as grade 4 and 5 in some instances, and very commonly in middle grades, Apple needs a smaller laptop. The 13" MacBook is just a bit too big for that age group. Have you seen how small a 6th grader really is?

That's what I want,...but not what I'm expecting we will get!

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Another Remote... Blended with an iPod
Authored by: archie on Fri, Dec 22 2006 at 10:00PM PST
I suspect a Newton-sized device that will probably be billed primarily as a remote control type device that will connect and control ("remotely" :-) )to the upcoming iTV as well as any Mac. Possibly just a tiny bit larger than an iPod but with a larger screen.


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iPod for readers
Authored by: Ross T on Sun, Dec 24 2006 at 11:43AM PST
An iPod that plays ebooks and text files, thanks. The key is support for bookmarks.

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Mac Anti-Tablet
Authored by: JosephDP on Mon, Dec 25 2006 at 11:46AM PST
I'm looking for a slate like device running MacOSX. Some here are calling it a Newton 2, and that's fine by me. The main difference between this device and a "Tablet", is that the connotation of a tablet brings to mind those difficult to use Windows Tablet PCs, with the clickable stylus.

I want a true touchscreen with handwriting recognition. A slider/fold-away keyboard of some sort might be nice in certain situations.

Let the specs include built-in support for a wide variety of wireless connectivity protocols, as well as add-in support for future standards through a built-in card reader or PC/Express.

---
--___
Best Regards,
Joseph A. di Paolantonio
personal blog: http://press.teleinteractive.net/cynasuralog
collaboration blog: http://press.teleinteractive.n

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An ultra-compact "tablet" Mac
Authored by: mmulhern on Tue, Dec 26 2006 at 1:19PM PST
Something around A5 in size, using on screen handwriting recognition (Inkwell?), wireless networking and bluetooth, line in/out, 2 express54 slots (for card reader(s) and any other mobile peripherals) and a docking station that props up the tablet as a screen, with SuperDrive, keyboard, mouse, FW and USB ports.

The A5 form factor (210 x 148mm) would allow upto a 9" high-res screen to make a great compact Mac that would handle most tasks and also work as a eReader and personal entertainment unit.

O' well, I can always dream . . . . .


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ipod Nano >8GB
Authored by: imageworx on Fri, Dec 29 2006 at 8:04AM PST
I would like to see a Nano that has 16GB or more. I know Samsung NAND chips were being fab'd at 32GB back in May of 2006 so we might just see something.

I don't need video and my audio library exceed 12GB so 16GB or more would be cool. And it must be offered in Black. White is passé. Come designers...wake up.

PS. I am sure the quad-core Mac Pro will be announced as I can buy the "clovertown" chips for $1020 each (ow). But I would like to see a Xserve RAID using SAS drives and featuring RAID 6.

---
To BeOS or Not to BeOS

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New kind of computers
Authored by: NicleT on Sat, Dec 30 2006 at 2:24PM PST
A multi-touch interaction screen computer. Maybe a tablet kind but surely without keyboard and mouse.

I heard that Apple was a close partner of Jeff Han MTIE ("Multi-touch In teraction Experiments").

Take a look:
The MTIE Webpage
Presentation at TED

It's now time to "touch" the work.

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24" iMac and xServe mini
Authored by: rasterbator on Fri, Jan 5 2007 at 12:02AM PST
I would like to see 24" iMac with 2 Core 2 Duo Intel processors.

I would also like to see an xServe mini with 2x2.66GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeons with remote and iPod dock running Front Row.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rstrb8r/158115088/in/set-72157594152270838/

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A Faster iMac
Authored by: BY1 on Sun, Jan 7 2007 at 3:24AM PST
A Faster iMac. Sooner than later. 8-)

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~ 'the Universe is intelligent, friendly -- and miraculous...'

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Mac Pro 8x
Authored by: knagurski on Mon, Jan 8 2007 at 2:48PM PST
I'd love to see Apple release an 8 core Mac Pro at MWSF.

Ordinarily I would have picked something else from the list, but after a year of promising and having to use a cruddy Win Blows PC for graphics work, my work have just given me a £2000 ($3900) budget for a new mac. With Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, BBEdit, Mail, Safari, Firefox, Parallels, xScope, iTunes and probably a few other apps all open at the same time, I'm sure I could get those 8 cores working up a light sweat!

Would hate to spend that budget and then have Apple replace the machine in a month or two.

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Lawn mower
Authored by: mahakali on Thu, Jan 11 2007 at 9:58AM PST
I was more interested in OS news updates or iWork spreadsheets.

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