Banners hanging at Macworld Expo on Monday read, “2008: There’s something in the air,” suggesting wireless news to come in CEO Steve Jobs’ keynote Tuesday morning.
Faster cellular service for the iPhone is already on its way later this year, AT&T’s top executive reportedly said in November, but Apple could go beyond that plan and extend high-speed wireless WAN capability to its MacBook notebooks and even a rumored “ultramobile” computer.
Many consumers have been clamoring for more speed on the iPhone since it was announced a year ago with support only for WiFi and EDGE.At the same time, wide-area wireless has been moving into PC notebooks and smaller PC-like devices. The big notebook vendors, including Dell, Lenovo and Hewlett-Packard, have rolled out products with built-in 3G. And the Asustek Computer Eee PC and some other small UMPC devices are slated to ship with WiMax.
Apple hasn’t made the leap. Mobile Mac owners can hook up to WiFi hotspots but have to buy dongles or other add-on devices from third parties to get fast wireless elsewhere. Offering a built-in 3G card would give MacBook users access to broadband in far more locations.
However, that leap would take Apple into a market that hasn’t attracted a large percentage of notebook buyers, analysts said.
Because of its greater mobility, a rumored Mac that’s smaller than a notebook but bigger than the iPhone would be an ideal candidate for 3G. If the company unveils it on Tuesday, that product could lead Apple’s new wireless charge.
But that “something in the air” could be a number of other things, too, analysts said. Apple is expected to make its software development kit for third-party applications on the iPhone available next month, Greengart said. And the iPhone could gain GPS capability, or some iPods could get WiFi, he said. As always, it’s all speculation until Jobs speaks.
