Briefly: Mobile Macs; CS3 in March; iPod-ready Life Fitness machines

Apple on its job website is dropping its own share of hints at future innovations in the mobile Mac space. Meanwhile, analysts are now echoing reports of a late-March release for Creative Suite 3.0. And Life Fitness plans to offer seamless iPod integration with its upcoming line of exercise equipment.

Apple Mobile Mac Manager

A new job listing posted to Apple's website seeks a "Manager of Mobile Mac Architecture" that would be responsible for "guaranteeing the engineering feasibility of the future Mobile Macintosh product line."

Apple said the manager — which could wind up overseeing new portable ventures such as the company's re-entry into the sub-notebook market — will work in tandem with Mobile Mac's Chief Technologist to "understand market direction for mobile computers and apply that to the unique engineering and feature requirements of Apple's mobile computers."

Additionally, the company said the ideal candidate for the position "must have a thorough understanding of the system integration design trade-offs for highly constrained mobile computers."

The Mobile Mac Architecture Manager should also possess "a working knowledge of all sub-modules that are integrated into the computer and their development roadmaps and future directions."

Creative Suite 3.0 Due in March

Meanwhile, Merrill Lynch analyst Jay Vleeschhouwer said this week that Adobe is likely to introduce Creative Suite 3 around March 27, with availability slated for slightly thereafter.

Vleeschhouwer's comments corroborate an exclusive AppleInsider report from October, which cited people familiar with the Adobe's plans as saying the suite was "tracking for a release towards the end of March, ahead of the 2007 Photoshop World conference scheduled for April 4-6."

In that same report, AppleInsider noted that Adobe was planning to market several different Creative Suite 3.0 bundles, each of which would include a different assortment of creative applications.

In his note to clients, Vleeschhouwer also touched on the latter subject, saying his checks indicate that the software maker has lined up half a dozen distinct bundles.

iPod integration in Life Fitness exercise equipment

Life Fitness has announced plans to deliver commercial exercise equipment that will feature various forms of seamless iPod integration.

iPod users will reportedly be able to plug in their iPods to machines and watch video on the equipment's large LCD screen, controlling the their iPod music libraries from the console.

The first Life Fitness product featuring iPod integration will be demonstrated at the upcoming IHRSA Convention in San Francisco and will be available in March with the rest of the line to follow later in the year.