The Apple year in preview

Macworld UK - Not even Steve Jobs knows everything that will occur in the world of Macs in 2007. But that needn't stop anyone from making predictions of their own. In that spirit, we brought together a panel of Macintosh watchers -- Macworld senior editor Christopher Breen, Macworld contributing editor Adam C. Engst, John Gruber of the Daring Fireball blog, MacUser contributor and Chicago Sun-Times technology and computer columnist Andy Ihnatko, and John Moltz of the Crazy Apple Rumors Site -- to tell us what they think 2007 will bring.

What will be the most significant new hardware to appear in 2007?

Breen: Other -- as in hardware other than computers. This could include an iPhone, a widescreen iPod or the iTV.

Engst: I'd like to say iTV, but it's as yet unclear how large of an impact it will have, given that many people are clearly happy with watching video on their Macs or iPods already, and making a better connection between a Mac and a TV may simply not be sufficiently compelling. AirPort Express is cool, but it didn't change the world. Were I to venture further out on the limb, I'd predict new hardware designs for at least the iMac and the MacBook Pro, with the Mac Mini and the Mac Pro potentially in line as well.

Gruber: An Apple-branded mobile phone. I'm torn between whether such a device will be its own new brand, or whether it'll be branded as an iPod with phone capabilities. But I think 2007 is the year this will happen, and I think it's going to be big news.

Ihnatko: Apple's wireless iPods. The iPod is the tail that wags the dog; any change that Apple makes to the iPod winds up in the pockets, belts and purses of the entire world, and unlike Zune and its "Why even bother?" Wi-Fi features, Apple will make the iPod's wireless features compelling, relevant and instantly transformative.

Moltz: The Apple iPhone, as it will have only one button.

What will be the most significant new software to appear in 2007?

Breen: The software that manages Other -- a new version of iTunes.

Engst: Leopard, without question. Just the features that have been previewed so far would be sufficient to give it the nod, and Steve Jobs implied there were more features coming as well. That said, Leopard faces the same challenge that Tiger faced and, for many people, failed to meet. If, like me, you find Spotlight useless, can't figure out anything useful to run in Dashboard,