"There is Something in the Air" means WiMAX?

Cleve Nettles

January 11, 2008

Appleinsider has some pictures of Macworld Expo with the new banners in the new Apple Myriad light font saying "There is something in the Air." Could this mean WiMAX? Could it mean anything else? The only other thing we can think of is that the new AppleTV will let you stream your movies "over the air" that is if you didn't hardwire the AppleTV - which works much better. Maybe the new AppleTV USES WiMAX to get its content?

Or, as a commenter points out below, maybe Apple is doing the mobile phone purchasing with the iPhone that we've heard so much about.

Other than that, we got nothing...can anyone out there think of anything better? While you are doing that, here's a 5 year old video that is an awesome demo of the coolness of WiMAX...

By the way we thought that WiMAX would be on the scene in August.

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Comments (29)

Anonymous Coward (not verified) | January 11, 2008 - 1:30pm

ummm. i'm pretty sure the banners are referring to the rumored itunes rental service. you no longer have to get in your car and drive to blockbuster. rather you recieve them "in the air." think about it

admin | January 11, 2008 - 1:42pm

could be. But most people are going to have their AppleTV wired we thinks

Anonymous Coward (not verified) | January 11, 2008 - 1:34pm

I think they're referring to the banners hanging up.

Anonymous Coward (not verified) | January 14, 2008 - 1:55pm

lmao.

Joe (not verified) | January 11, 2008 - 2:03pm

mmmm 3G-ness

Art Vandelay (not verified) | January 11, 2008 - 2:12pm

Apple's Buying the wireless spectrum!!!

Anonymous Canadian (not verified) | January 11, 2008 - 2:17pm

Just a shot in the dark, here's what i think. WiMAX is a cell technology, and Apple and AT&T are in bed together. AT&T will announce WiMAX and Apple will announce a new AppleTV that has movie rentals, WiMAX and HD video/audio outs.

Anonymous Coward (not verified) | January 11, 2008 - 2:20pm

WiMAX in AppleTV is nonsense! WiMAX requires an network infrastructure similar to GSM or UMTS. For short range hight data transportation I would think of HDR UWB like defined in the IEEE 802.15.3a standard.

Anonymous Coward (not verified) | January 11, 2008 - 2:22pm

Entirely new product. Not a revision. 7" to 9" iGo Tablet:

* iPhone UI, OS 10.5.2 backend
* 32 Gig SSD
* Wifi, 10/100/100, 3G GSM radio, and bluetooth
* Tons or RAM to reduce disk caching (see SSD)
* 3 USB ports and one FW 400 and one FW 800
* Gutless iMac dock
* Not as light as one would like, they'll be a ton of battery volume and mass
* Mag-Safe power and Mag-Safe FireWire for the External SuperDrive
* External Superdrive (iDrive) to also have Mag-Safe power

....just a thought.

Anonymous Coward (not verified) | January 11, 2008 - 2:22pm

Entirely new product. Not a revision. 7" to 9" iGo Tablet:

....just a thought.

Anonymous Coward (not verified) | January 11, 2008 - 2:32pm

Something in the air? ABBA-records on iTunes. Definately.

Dwight_ (not verified) | January 11, 2008 - 2:57pm

A Tom Petty preload-iPod!

Jay (not verified) | January 11, 2008 - 2:57pm

It has to do with the iPhone being the first device to be able to make purchases (via your iTunes account) at specific places.

Starbucks, internet-enabled kiosks, etc.

(maybe Target, or Best Buy, or something.)

It'll be huge - and you heard it here first.

Anonymous Coward (not verified) | January 11, 2008 - 3:25pm

i think you're on to something my friend...

Ron (not verified) | January 11, 2008 - 3:55pm

If it's WiMAX, it'll be HUGE! An iPhone and iPod with WiMAX would leapfrog 3G. Both AT&T and Intel have been working with WiMAX for some time now and could be ready to implement it on a large scale. The broadband infrastructure is already in many of ATT's cell towers so all that's need is some WiMAX transceivers mounted on the towers to cover an entire metropolitan area.

Not only no need for 3G in the US, no need for DSL or cable broadband. A 3G phone would still be needed in other countries.

Apple could add WiMAX to its AirPort Extreme base stations and/or to Apple TV. It'd be a perfect match for a new movie download service.

This could be outta the park, folks!

prediktor (not verified) | January 11, 2008 - 5:25pm

iPhone sync over wifi would be ideal, but I predict we'll see a TV + Airport hybrid that puts the iTunes store directly on your TV set, with movie rentals or downloads. This will essentially be the new family digital hub: providing backup, TV and audio playback, and purchases all in one device. The current apple TV hardware already has the capacity to do this, so I don't see it being too much of a stretch.

Anonymous Canadian (not verified) | January 12, 2008 - 9:12am

That is what I said in my post, just using different words. It makes perfect sense to me.

Joe (not verified) | January 11, 2008 - 6:26pm

What's the status of current WiMax chipsets? How are they on power and heat?

WiLL (not verified) | January 11, 2008 - 8:02pm

Call out the instigators
Because there's something in the air
We've got to get together sooner or later
BECAUSE THE REVOLUTION'S HERE......
-Thunderclap Newman

Whatever it may be... I'm thinking another revolutionary product (or service) this year. Wireless spectrum bid...I,Cringely may have gotten it right over a month ago http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/2007/pulpit_20071129_003521.html

Anonymous Coward (not verified) | January 12, 2008 - 3:08am

No Wimax,

to early for consumer market. i suppose wimax in a year.

Napo Orso Capo (not verified) | January 14, 2008 - 12:55am

Led Zeppelin will sing over Moscone into a Blimp! ...There's something in the air..

best voip service (not verified) | June 03, 2008 - 3:14pm

Currently, Pakistan has the largest fully functional nationwide Wimax network in the world.

offshore programming (not verified) | July 09, 2008 - 4:07am

WiMAX is a possible replacement candidate for cellular phone technologies such as GSM and CDMA, or can be used as a layover to increase capacity. It has also been considered as a wireless backhaul technology for 2G, 3G, and 4G networks in both developed and developing nations.

inchirieri masini romania (not verified) | July 14, 2008 - 6:58am

Many companies are closely examining WiMAX for "last mile" connectivity. The resulting competition may bring lower pricing for both home and business customers or bring broadband access to places where it has been economically unavailable.

seo providers (not verified) | July 15, 2008 - 3:28am

The WiMAX Forum now lists over 350 WiMAX trials and deployments. Current and planned deployments and the bands in which they operate and the standards they use are listed in the above article.

Visitor (not verified) | December 11, 2008 - 12:28am

I agree tgat roaming will be vitally important to the success of mobile WiMAX. I've heard that Digital Bridge and Clearwire are close to announcing a roaming agreement for mobile WiMAX.
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Luis (not verified) | December 19, 2008 - 10:16am

Good point. Mobile Wimax is the way to look ahead in the future.
Balusters

Cosmetic Surgery (not verified) | January 06, 2009 - 7:47pm

I am not familiar with Apple Hardware or Iphone. But thru this blogs i am learning a lot. thank you
Cosmetic Surgery

lasik (not verified) | January 07, 2009 - 4:16am

There are a lot of rumors going around, but we do know that the banners hanging up for the show say “There is something in the air.”To me this cries out WiMAX, but others seem to think that it could be a new MacBook, named the Air. It would be an ultrathin 13.3-inch notebook that would have an external optical drive and possibly feature a completely wireless setup that would take advantage of a Power-by induction patent that Apple filed for a year ago.
lasik