I feel somewhat obligated to continue my post on Apple and the role they will play in the world – especially since they made their annual set of announcements at MacWorld yesterday. It was not the same blockbuster type of list as in the past, but they did make two important steps forward. One is in the fact that you will now be able to rent movies through iTunes, and the other is that they will deliver a very thin laptop in the coming weeks. The laptop can be this thin because it does not have a DVD/CD drive and uses flash memory as the hard drive so there are no moving parts. I am guessing this will also improve the battery time. This is right in line with what I have been saying (and writing) for years – the computer device we carry will continue to get thinner and smaller as we use more Web based applications and as storage goes offline and onto flash drives. The new laptop is called the MacBook Air.

So now on to the more important discussion. What role is Apple going to play as we go forward. First of all, I thank God for Apple because they are continually pushing the design and functionality window. Although they have played this role for years, I suspect that they now will be able to do even more. As they are now enjoying financial success and have shown that they are a force to be reckoned with, equipment manufacturers will more and more bow to them with the latest in beta products. This means that Apple will be the first to get things to the street because the underlying manufacturers will trust that they will push the limits and help the manufacturers get product out. It looks like this dynamic will be true in the phone market, MP-3 world and laptop arena.

The only place left for Apple to really pick up traction is with the PC. I am not sure that is really an area they care that much about since more and more people are using a laptop as their main device. Aside from features, I have always thought that Apple did not get enough credit for the aesthetic design improvements they make. Design is a tricky thing because people can be fickle about change. In other words, they will never get it right 100% of the time.

What Apple does well is at least push the boundaries of color, style and feel. I suspect that they will continue to do this because it is winning converts for them, and the devices they build are becoming commodities. When phones, MP-3 players and laptops become everyday devices that everyone carries, the only differentiating factors become design in many ways. Look for much more artful and radical layouts on all three in the coming years. Personally, I am excited to see what is coming next design wise, I am already bored with the iPhone…

Scott