Mac Announcements Next Week, Apple Market Share Grows

Apple has announced a special event for next week entitled “Back to the Mac.” The invitation shows a lion behind a slightly cut-out Apple logo. Most believe this means the next version of Mac OS X will be called “Lion.” That would follow along with the previous names: Cheetah, Puma, Panther, Jaguar, Tiger, Leopard and Snow Leopard. It is likely than an announcement of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion would mean only an upcoming developer release and it could be more than a year before it is available for non-developers.
Rumors of a new MacBook Air have also been strong, and Apple has often mixed software announcements with some hardware news. Some speculate that the new Air would be even smaller and lighter than the current model.
Many have also noted that both the iLife and iWork suites are overdue for updates. A new version of both for 2011 could be announced or even released next week.
The timing for this press conference seems to be perfect as Apple now owns 10 percent of the U.S. computer market, just slightly behind third-place Acer. HP and Dell still dominate the market with a combined 50 percent.