Hopes and predictions

If you take “There’s something in the air” as literally as you can, it seems obvious that Apple is planning on releasing either a new wireless device or new wireless capabilities for its existing product lines. But then who knows if they even mean it literally at all.

Instead of what I think Steve Jobs is most likely to announce, here is my list of the rumored products that I’d most like to see unveiled tomorrow morning:

• WiMAX in an ultra-portable laptop – Two of the most persistent rumors have claimed that Apple is releasing a new ultra-portable laptop, already christened on the Internets as the MacBook Air, and that the company will be announcing WiMAX capability in its next generation of laptops. Apple trying to release the smallest, fastest, most powerful laptop around is exciting to me in that My-MacBook Pro-cost-so-much-I-didn’t-even-want-to-want-a-new-machine-this-year kind of way.

• Blu-Ray for Apple’s entire product line – I’m ready for the format war to come to and end so I can start enjoying high-def DVDs.

• Cheaper, more powerful iPhones – I haven’t joined this party yet, mostly because I don’t want the hassle of switching from Verizon to AT&T. Perhaps I can convince myself I was just waiting for the second gen iPhone, the one with 3G connectivity and 8 Gb of storage for $299 (at $399, the 16 Gb will still be too rich for my blood)…

But here’s the thing: I’m hoping we will all come to realize that Apple really meant “There’s something in the air” in an ironic sense, too. I’m hoping they’re committing once and for all to being the greenest computer manufacturer by announcing the most environmentally friendly computer ever designed: completely toxin-free, 100% recyclable (packaging and hardware), and light years beyond anything else in terms of energy efficiency. Hopefully it’s the pollution that won’t be in the air that is generating the excitement in the air come tomorrow morning.

If they were to make an ultra-portable laptop with 3G or better wireless capability that was also the greenest machine ever built, that would be huge. Computer technology keeps getting faster and more powerful at a rapid pace, and rarely is the emphasis on new technologies that are cleaner and more efficient. Apple would not only be leading the competition, they’d finally be leading the charge towards truly sustainable computing, too.