10 Apple Predictions for 2010

The end of the year is the perfect time to spout ten, rock solid, take it to the bank, predictions for the upcoming year. Well, if only it were that easy. So let me rephrase: here are ten predictions intended to be mildly diverting, whether or not they'll materialize.. Well, with enough legalese I'm sure at least one of them will be spot on.

10. Thirty-Inch iMac

You know what just isn't cool? The three inches the iMac added last year. If you have a 24" iMac the extra three inches really isn't enough motivation to splurge on a new machine. A thirty-incher would be a different story. Why not a tricked out iMac in thirty inches? I guarantee Apple will at least sell one.

9. MacWorld Makes It After All

The easiest prediction in the world to make is that Macworld (the event) will be killed dead by Apple's refusal to make a showing at the conference. But Macworld has an ace up its conference sleeve: Paul Kent is fighting very hard to keep the thing going. The crowds will be smaller and the buzz won't be as big, but thanks to Paul, the event will continue.

8. iPhone Sees Its shadow—12 More Months of Failed iPhone Killers

Currently the internet is aflutter with rumors about a new Google phone. Previously the internet was bubbling with Droid talk and before that there was the certainty that the Storm would finally take the steam out of the iPhone. You can make the list as long as you want and you'll discover that no other phone has come close to generating the hype surrounding the iPhone. 2010 won't see Apple removed from the top of the smartphone heap but people won't stop trying.

7. AppleTV to Get Radical Makeover and Continue to Suck

Steve Jobs has called AppleTV a hobby and the only reasonable conclusion is that Apple, as a company, doesn't have a lot of free time to devote to said hobby. Until AppleTV rates as something more important than a hobby at Apple it will continue to languish in the land of misfit gadgets.

6. MacBook Air Discontinued

The MacBook Air was Apple's first response to the netbook market. The MacBook Air was never a big seller, no one managed to see the diminutive Mac as a real competitor to netbooks, they saw it instead as a status symbol. Killing the MacBook Air is a great idea if you've got something to replace it which brings us to...

5. Apple Finally Releases a Tablet and it Fails

The more you hear the rumors the more it seems like Apple is intent on releasing a 10" iPhone to the world. Supposedly, it will be low priced and you'll be able to have constant connectivity with the thing. Sounds good on paper but why would you want a 10" iPhone if you already have an iPhone that fits in your pocket?

4. iPod Touch is 2009's Surprise Christmas Hit

People will be amazed when the numbers for the current quarter are revealed. The iPod touch will be a monster seller.

3. New Version of OS X Announced, Called Serval

Operating systems keep evolving and OS X will have to keep moving forward as well. With the next release Apple will choose the code name Serval and tout how your Mac has really has become a digital hub for your life. Serving movies to your TV, allowing to access your music on the go and so forth.

2. Macs to Pick Up More Market Share without Giving Up Profits

By now it is obvious that, despite the exhortations of bloggers, Apple isn't interested in growing Mac market share if it means cutting prices. Apple has also shown that a price cut isn't needed to pick up market share. Expect the "rounding error" of the Mac's market share to keep growing throughout 2010.

1. iPhone on Verizon, World Goes Nuts

Who doesn't want the iPhone on Verizon? AT&T is suspect number one. But when the contract runs out there will be little the company can do to stop it. Point to the standards that AT&T is set to roll out in a few years and argue that Apple wants in on the new stuff and you'll be forgetting that Apple wants to sell phones now and two years from now. Selling phones now means Verizon, if Apple can sell a bunch more when AT&T has a superior network in a few years that's even better. Or you might argue that Verizon CDMA and the iPhone isn't. If Motorola can make phones that work on both networks so can Apple. When the iPhone does come to Verizon expect the US market share of all other smart phones to plummet at roughly the speed of domestic turkeys tossed from a helicopter.