According to Think Secret Apple will announce no new hardware at Apple Expo Paris, or at Phil Schiller’s keynote address tomorrow at Seybold SF 2002, for that matter.
Optimists hoping that Apple would announce speed bumped processors to the PowerBook G4 line and new features like on-board Bluetooth and even a DVD-RW SuperDrive are bound to be disappointed.
Rumors that Apple would at least upgrade the PowerBook and iBook laptops were met by one Apple employee source with the response, “In a sluggish worldwide PC sales environment like we have right now, it should come as no surprise that there won’t be [hardware] product upgrades in Paris or at the Seybold conference upcoming…in San Francisco.”
Another Apple source confirmed that more and more Apple is weighing economic and sales factors in determining not only when to start manufacturing, but also when to release new products. “It’s always been a factor,” one source said, “But it’s become even more important.”
Upgrades to the iBook and PowerBook are still scheduled to be announced in January at Macworld Expo San Francisco 2003 according to PowerPage sources.
