A tough act to follow

How do you follow up the Keynote of All Keynotes?

I don’t think you can.

I think while everyone is hoping for something spectacular to come out of Steve Jobs’ Macworld Expo keynote address tomorrow, I expect his speech to be more state of the Apple union than anything. So, while I know the reality distortion field generators will be outputting at their fullest capacity at Moscone West, I’m preparing myself for product announcements that are more incremental in nature than anything else.

Here are some of my predictions:

A second generation iPhone. Sounds big right? No, not really. The iPhone is due for a revision, and won’t be available until it’s approved by the FCC six months from now. So, you’ll be able to buy a 2.0 iPhone in June/July of 2008. Still, a 3G iPhone will get a lot of attention in the press. It is the story of 2007, after all.

Leopard update now available. I expect Steve to mention that folks can start downloading a major update of Leopard (the one that’s already been seeded out to beta testers) this week.

High-Definition content on iTunes and Apple TV. Maybe it’s because I just recently got a HD television, but this is something I’m hoping comes out in the iTunes movie rental announcement that everyone is expecting.

A Macbook ultra-portable. Sigh. Yes, that would be big news, I suppose. Is this the MacBook Air that people are predicting? Man, that name caught on quick. A super lightweight, flash-based Mac sub-notebook would rock. How much though? You can get a full MacBook for a $1,000.

Okay, here’s my big long-ball, Hail Mary prediction: Blu-Ray DVD integration. Now that the high-definition DVD race is starting to work itself out, it might be time for Apple to throw it’s weight behind the format. It would also take a shot at Microsoft that has so far invested so much in the competing HD-DVD format in the Xbox 360. Wouldn’t a next-generation Apple TV with a Blu-Ray drive be super cool? I said it was a Hail Mary prediction. Post your thoughts in the comments.