Apple Inc chief executive officer Steve Jobs' annual Macworld surprise may be a slimmed-down laptop and a higher-capacity model of the iPhone.
Jobs traditionally uses the Macworld Expo in January to showcase new products. Last time, it was the iPhone and Apple TV; the year before, faster Macs with Intel Corp chips.
Piper Jaffray & Co analyst Gene Munster and UBS AG's Benjamin Reitzes expect Jobs to capitalize on demand for the Mac by introducing a smaller, lighter version of Apple's MacBook notebooks. Goldman Sachs Group Inc analyst David Bailey anticipates a version of the iPhone with 16 gigabytes of storage, double the capacity of the current US$399 device.
"There's always a possibility they'll announce something that no one has thought of yet," the New York-based Bailey said.
Apple spokesman Steve Dowling declined to comment on the plans.
Analysts speculated that Apple would add a "sub-notebook" or "ultra-portable" personal computer. The machine would be smaller than the smallest Mac notebook today, which has a 13-inch (33cm) screen. Apple also sells the MacBook Pro, which has 15-inch or 17-inch displays.
While sub-notebooks accounted for less than 8 percent of portable PCs sold in each of the past two years, shipments may rise 20 percent to 9 million units next year, Framingham, Massachusetts-based research group IDC said. The machines typically have 12 inch screens or smaller and weigh less than 2kg.
"Ultra-portables don't sell a ton," said Andy Hargreaves of Pacific Crest Securities in Portland, Oregon, who expects Apple to introduce one next month. "Then again, music players didn't sell a ton until Apple came out with the iPod."
The company last introduced a sub-notebook in 1997. Called the PowerBook 2400c, it had a 10.4-inch display and weighed 2kg. Prices for sub-notebooks start at about US$1,500, more expensive than standard notebooks, IDC analyst Richard Shim said.
A slimmed-down Apple notebook will cost less than the US$1,999 MacBook Pro and have a screen between 11 inches and 13 inches, Munster said this week in a note, citing unidentified Asian component suppliers.
Hewlett-Packard Co and Dell Inc, the world's top PC makers, dominate the market for notebook PCs and offer ultra-light designs. Still, Apple's reputation may help lure customers.
"It's a segment they could dominate because of their ability to create stylish products," said Bailey, who doesn't expect a smaller notebook until the second half of next year.
"It's 10 percent of the market they didn't have access to previously," he said.
Any new device Jobs unveils will expand the Macintosh-iPod-iPhone trio that have contributed to record sales and profit.
IPod shipments may climb as high as 25 million units this quarter on demand for the slimmer Nano and new Touch models introduced in September, said Munster, who is in Minneapolis.
Sales of the iPhone, released in the UK, Germany and France last month, may reach 2.1 million units over the holidays, Reitzes said.
Apple sold almost 1.4 million phones in the first three months after releasing the music-and-video-playing device in June in the US.
Apple may increase the capacity of the iPhone to 16 gigabytes while keeping the price at US$399, Munster said. The company would probably introduce a version that works on high-speed networks next year, he said.
Jobs, 52, may also introduce a larger-screen handheld device for playing music and video and surfing the Web, said Andy Neff, an analyst at Bear Stearns & Co in New York. Apple may also unveil a new version of Apple TV, a US$299 device that connects to TVs and lets people watch movies and shows stored on their PCs.
Apple needs to add more movies to its iTunes store to spur demand for Apple TV, which hasn't been a big seller for the company, Neff said in an interview.
There are more than 500 movies and 550 TV shows available through iTunes.
Munster and Reitzes haven't ruled out a movie-rental service on iTunes.
Apple doesn't have distribution agreements with Sony Pictures, Universal Studios, News Corp's Fox and Warner Brothers, Reitzes said.
"There are some hard core fans that no matter what Jobs announces, that won't be enough," said technology commentator Scott Bourne, who hosts a weekly podcast called the Apple Phone Show.
"And there are some people for who, no matter what he says, are words from God's mouth," Bourne said.
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