I've really gotten a kick out of reading the rumors that are being generated from Apple's upcoming WWDC (World Wide Developers Conference) that is scheduled for June 6th, 2011. All the speculation is fun, if you are into that sort of thing. (I am!) My thoughts on some of these rumors:
- iOS5 will not support 3GS phones. What Android users would give to know that the next Android Operating system absolutely will not be supported on their current hardware. They might not like it, but at least they won't be left wondering. With that said, I'm thinking this one is probably right on. The 3GS uses a 600 mhz Processor and 256 Megs of RAM. The iPhone 4 uses what Apple calls the A4, and is said to operatate at 1 ghz. The iPad 2 uses an A5 multi-core chip. Yep, I totally expect this!
- iTunes will exist in the Cloud. Of all the iOS5 rumors floating around the net, this one seems to have the most momentum. Amazon, and Google have already released their cloud cats out of the bag. Apple has been building a new data center in North Carolina. I totally expect this one to be announced at WWDC. I'm hoping that this requires a total new version of iTunes. I'll still yet maintain that iTunes is a very large pile of crap. In my opinion, one of Apple's worst software products! Music seems to be the focus of the cloud rumors. But I'm hoping that cloud sync will extend to all Apple iOS5 devices and includes the updating of apps, all synced together. I despise having to plug up to a PC for back-up and syncing.
- Voice Technology Support. I do expect some sort of announcement. But I don't expect to see some groundbreaking, game changing anything, even though Apple will boldly proclaim just that! Fueling many of these Apple Voice Rumors is the fact, that Nuance Technologies is said to be partnering with Apple. Tech Crunch recently reported that Nuance Hardware and Software is sitting in Apple's new Data Center. It's too early to say what this might mean for Developers. Will they have access to the necessary API's to build voice capable Apps? My bet is, not at first. Maybe in 6-9 months. So I'm guessing that anything voice capable out of the gate will be Apple specific apps. And let's not forget that WWDC is not just about Apple's iPhones and iPads, but about all of Apple's products. I expect Nuance Tech to appear in it's Mac OS software as well.
- Notifications and Widgets! As an Android user, I'm very much hoping this one is addressed! Widgets are very useful, especially for apps that can give you the information you seek without having to launch the total app just to close it as soon as you have read it. Twitter and Facebook Widgets within Android and WebOS are popular for these reasons. And let's face it; a device like the iPad is screaming for Widgets. Apple's approach to notifying you very much gets in the way of anything you might be doing at the time. If inspiration is needed, again look to Android or even Microsoft! Give us a gentle sliding window in a corner announcing an IM that just arrived, the game is starting, or that there is a thunderstorm approaching. Don't totally interupt me and make me respond before I can continue with whatever it is I was doing. Given Apple's resistance because of the fact that several widgets can be power hungry, I'm not sure I believe this rumor. But I am hoping it's true.
- New Maps! Although Apple has said that it is working on it's own implementation of Maps, and will abandon the Google Maps they are currently using, I don't expect this one to be announced. The last I had read, maps were a way from being ready for Prime Time. This is one area where Android is much stronger than Apple in mobile devices. Apple is pretty much stuck with what Google gives them, which although not terrible, falls well short of the Android experience. This and the fact that this is something that Jobs can't control is plenty enough of a reason for Apple to build it's own maps and navigation. It's coming, but I'm not expecting anything mentioned about it in June.
- Flash support! Not even when Hell has been frozen for 100 years!
So there you have it. My thoughts on some of the more common rumors. Now it's just a waiting game. June 6th is marked on my Calendar. I'll be watching! Again, I like this sort of thing.
Buds who Blog