The last two years have seen a dizzying array of products from Apple. OS X Tiger. Intel Macs. iMacs. iPods with video. AppleTV. The iPhone.

What’s next? What “shock and awe” products does Apple have next? Inquiring minds want to know.

Frankly, looking back over just the past two years shows a remarkable trail of accomplishment for our favorite Mac maker. If Apple’s done something wrong, I don’t know what it is.

From the launch of Mac OS X Tiger just two years ago, Apple has revamped everything in the product line. Everything.

On the hardware side there’s been a new line of iPods, a complete transition of the Mac from PPC chips to Intel chips, the hot-selling Airport Extreme, and the highly anticipated AppleTV.

On the software side, Apple is preparing a launch of Mac OS X Leopard, a new suite of updates in iLife ‘07 and iWork ‘07, plus full updates of the pro applications.

iTunes and the iTunes Store continue to dominate online media purchases, which will only accelerate as AppleTV moves into more Mac and PC homes.

What of the iPhone? Success isn’t guaranteed, but few products in recent years garnered as much industry buzz as Apple’s entry into whatever industry the iPhone will be in-- portable music and media, mobile phone, internet access device.

In other words, in two years Apple has rebuilt itself again with a series of revolutionary and evolutionary products, hardware and software. What about the next two years?

Beyond the iPhone and launch of OS X Leopard, what can we expect from Apple? Obviously, Macs will follow the high end of Intel’s CPU roadmap so it’s less difficult to predict which chips will fall where in future products.

AppleTV and other products may be filled with other Intel CPUs for varying purposes. Already, we see OS X in the iPhone and AppleTV, so the company is leveraging a cherished asset.

What new products should we expect to see in later 2007 and 2008 or beyond? Faster Macs. More capable mobile phones and portable media devices. Those are no brainer predictions.

What else? A tablet Mac, or a morphed iPod tablet-sized device? More software is a natural prediction, carrying forward the iLife and iWork suites. Apple may elect to create a more Office-like version of iWork, or add more Photoshop-like tools to iPhoto and Aperture.

Those suggestions are evolutionary, not revolutionary products. What’s your suspicion? Prediction? Suggestion? Desire?

Will Apple step back into the digital imaging arena with another digital camera? I don’t think so. How about displays? Apple has a patent on a display device which makes the whole flat panel LCD display a camera. That would be cool.

What do you think Apple is working on? What do you want to see from Apple in the next 18 months?

I think Apple needs to wade deeper into the CE Audio/Video territory.  Here’s what I’d like to see.

iRemote- This a Universal remote that runs all Apple Frontrow based product and also contains codes for thousands of other manufacturers.
It contains a 3.5” Multi-touch screen along with some hard coded buttons for the basic navigation.  This remote links with iTunes or the Apple TV
so that one can browse their library without the need to be at their computer or powered HDTV this remote will also function as a Zone Controller for a
home AV distributed network.  You can simply walk around and modify audio/video on a zone basis with optional software .  Price $199 to start

iAmp- Today’s modern Audio Video Receiver is too complicated.  They’re big and bulky units with far too many useless ports on the back. Apple decides to create a new revolutionary product that casts away the stagnant features that consumer have had to accept for new ways of thinking. 
this market by creating iAmp.  The first easy to configure AVR known to mankind.  It starts out with Class D (Digital switching) 50 watts per channel amplification in a 5.1 configuration.  There is no front panel LCD display and very few buttons like a volume knob.  There is an ethernet jack on the back. 4 HDMI inputs and 1 HDMI output. Toslink connectors for spdif and component inputs.  Finally there is a USB connector, a Tuner (With antenna ports) and Wifi .  The nifty thing about iAmp is that a vast amount of configuration is done via the computer via HTML.  Nice graphical user interface screens allow a consumer to walk through their setup and optimize the receiver for their environment.  Startup macros can be easily created that allow you to hit a button on the remote that activates a sequence of scripted events.  Of course there would be plenty of interoperatbility with an Apple TV as well.  iAmp would be $399 and of course work very well with iRemote though it would come with a more simple remote.

Apple could stack a bunch of home media products around, well, actually, on top of or below Apple TV. I agree, an amplifier or media hub would be cool, especially if it could be controlled using the Apple Remote and an onscreen menu that works like FrontRow or Apple TV’s controls.

It would appear that Apple has the capability to provide an onscreen experience that’s simple, intuitive and can work with multiple software packages because Apple TV comes with OS X built in already.

I would still like to see an iPad-- a small pad-like device that works like the iPhone only with a bigger screen, and a built in camera for iChat sessions. Running OS X, of course.

I am going to join hmurchison and Benny Logan on this one.

I like the iRemote idea, but introduce it through an iPod line with wireless syncing. Not only can it control your digital hub, it can grab those tunes, TV shows, movies, and pictures and be ready to go out the door.

I played with the AppleTV when I dropped my laptop off for what turned out to be a two-hour in-store logic board replacement. The interface is fantastic; I knew precisely how to do everything without having to put conscious thought into it. But Benny Logan is right: there is room in there for a great deal more. Maybe they can add true streaming video-on-demand, for a premium, allowing people to purchase second-run films before they hit cable and DVD and using the same digital broadcast technologies that are starting to revolutionize film distribution to theatres.