Usually it’s obvious, courtesy of the many rumour sites, as to what Apple are going to do next. There’s also of course a frenzy amongst Apple fans waiting for their next ‘iFix’. Previously rumours that have excited have been centered around new Powerbooks or lately MacBooks / MacBook Pros and iPods. However this time round we might very well see some real divergence from the norm from Apple. Yes, there’s ‘Leopard’ the new OS but will that be launched on the ninth of January at MacWorld? There’s the ‘iTV’ which apparently looks like a MacMini but is some kind of media delivery device allowing all your photos, dvds, movies and so on to be streamed to your TV. There are a sprinkling of other rumours but none very concrete – new displays with built in iSights perhaps, new 8 Core MacPro machines possibly…and also the much hyped ‘iPhone’.

The iPhone intrigues me. Whilst many Apple blogs discuss the ins and outs of such a device I feel that Apple’s main problem is to deliver a smartphone (which surely is what people want from a computer company not just a ipod with cellular functionality?) that can really hold it’s own against, say, the upcoming Nokia N95. The reason I mention Nokia is because they make the best smartphones with the best smartphone OS (Symbian) right now, no question. The OS is intuitive, attractive and ultimately fast and functional. The Nokia N95 will sport every possible connection protocol from WIFI to HSDPA, will be able to play thousands of your MP3 files, browse the internet and even has built in GPS / Sat Nav.

I wonder what Apple can bring to the table that will turn the cellphone market on it’s head. We already have a multitude of phones that play music or are dedicated to this task (Sony Ericsson have really gone the distance here with their Walkman range of phones). However Apple innovate and provide the market with inspiration with their products. If they can do for cellular what the iPod has done for music then the iPhone will be a killer product.