AT&T To Cingular To AT&T

AT&T used to be the largest cell phone network in the United States. AT&T decided they didn't want to be a mobile service provider anymore and sold it to Cingular.

AT&T recently bought BellSouth and now owns that 40% share of Cingular it didn't own and will now replace the Cingular name and dump it in favor of their DeathStar logo (ugh). READ

I have been thinking about getting the Apple iPhone but was reluctant because of Cingular's problems. Now there will be a transition, again, from Cingular to AT&T. Do I really want that headache?

Maybe I'll just stick with Verizon Wireless, like I have for four years, and get the MotoKrazr. At least it has things the iPhone won't have like voice dial which is extremely handy. Or maybe go to the dark side and get a Motorola Q.

The Road to MacWorld

OK, time to start the new year off right with my own predictions for what will be revealed at the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco next week. Yeah, I'm a Mac user. Not a zealot because I do have a PC in both my work and home offices. So, here goes:

iWork '07 - Pretty much a no-brainer and something I am really wanting to happen because I've held off purchases of both for people I support based on this. Pages will get fleshed out a bit more. The Same goes for iWeb.

iLife '07 - Pretty much a no-brainer and something I am really wanting to happen because I've held off purchases of both for people iPhoto will add tags. iTunes will become even bigger to encompass video file management.

Boot Camp - Boot Camp is cool. Parallels is even better and VMWare holds some promise. I used to use Virtual PC and another Windows emulation program back in the day but what I really want is the ability to run a Windows App in Mac OS. I don't want to run Windows to run that app. I use Macs for a reason. I expect Apple to lead the way in this area. After all, it is their operating system.

"iTV" - I use quotes because Apple has said all along that this is the project name and project names rarely become product names at Apple. I don't think it will ship at MacWorld but there will be more product demonstrations and explanation regarding what it's all about.

iMac - Probably some speed bumps.

iPod - probably higher capacity models, a (Product)Red version of the standard iPod.

Mac mini - Probably improved speed, RAM, hard drive space. There might be an announcement of a new multimedia keyboard and improved Mighty Mouse. One can only hope.

Mac mini pro - I'm going out on a limb here. After reading the specs for the Mac Pro after it's release, I thought there needs to be something between the Mac mini and the Mac Pro. I prefer desktops but the Mac Pro is more power than I need and I also don't like all-in-one systems. Keep in mind that I am tempted by the iMac, a great product and probably one of the best Macs made.

iPhone/iChat Mobile/Apple Phone - The press is waiting for this one and they are going to walk away disappointed. I'm very skeptical about Apple getting into the cell phone business. Just like I don't think Apple will get back into the PDA market. I do agree with some other pundits that if Apple does indeed announce such a product, it will be as its own news conference. Besides, if Apple is indeed working on such a product, I'm sure there is still deal-making going on with a major mobile service provider. This is new territory for Apple.

I like Dan Benjamin's longshot prediction of a Beatles iPod being Steve Jobs' "Oh, and one more thing..." I would be at Apple's website within 2 seconds of hearing that word. I imagine it would have all the Beatles' songs, all the album cover art, text files with the lyrics and have Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr walk out on stage as something of a peace offering after all the long legal battles between Apple Computer, Inc. and Apple Corps. Color? It should be black but hard to say. After all, the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus will be at the expo to celebrate its tenth anniversary. A John Lennon iPod wouldn't have the same impact and appeal as a Beatles iPod.

We'll see.