“Once again, it’s time to peer into Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs’ cup and try to read the tea leaves,” Jessica Mintz reports for The Associated Press.
“Apple, as usual, has said almost nothing about the new products it plans to unveil at an invitation-only affair Wednesday in San Francisco. Playing their part, bloggers and Apple fans have filled the vacuum with ‘leaks,’ rumors and wish-list items that, while often far-fetched, can’t completely be ignored,” Mintz reports. “Sometimes, just sometimes, a bit of truth shines through.”
“In recent years, the Cupertino, California-based company has used its September event to unveil new iPods, which have grown smaller, sleeker and more powerful with each new generation,” Mintz reports. “This year’s event is along the same lines, if Apple’s e-mail to reporters is any indication.”
“The invitation looks like an iTunes gift card and features one of Apple’s iconic, iPod-toting silhouettes and the words, ‘It’s only rock and roll, but we like it,’ a reference to a 1970s Rolling Stones song,” Mintz reports. “That still left room for creative speculation.”
Some of the speculation includes:
• Steve Jobs’ return to the stage
• Apple could discontinue the iPod classic
• An iPod classic with an even bigger hard drive than the 120GB it currently sports
• Built-in digital cameras on iPod touch and iPod nano
• iTunes 9 release with or without Blu-ray support
• New digital bundles: “albums” with videos, liner notes and art
• ‘iTablet’ or ‘MacBook touch’
• The Beatles on iTunes Store
Mintz reports, “But the use of the Rolling Stones line in the invitation has quieted most proponents of this [last] scenario. It might just be standard Apple misdirection, but a person familiar with the situation told the AP there’s no Beatles-Apple deal… [As for the tablet], analysts including Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster and Shaw Wu of Kaufman Bros. both see a 2010 release as more likely.”
“CEO Jobs hasn’t presided over one of these pep-rally-style product launches since Apple gave its laptop line a light makeover last October. His lieutenants, Tim Cook and Phil Schiller, Apple’s COO and top marketing executive, have been holding their own,” Mintz reports. “But now that Jobs is back from his nearly six-month medical leave, fans are still holding their breath for an appearance from the maestro.”
More in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Note: Today is Labor Day in the U.S., Labour Day in Bermuda and Canada, the NASDAQ market is closed, and we will have limited posting today. See you tomorrow when the excitement really ramps up ahead of Apple’s special event which is scheduled for Wednesday, September 9 at Yerba Buena Center For The Arts in San Francisco starting at 10am PDT. Happy Labor Day to everyone celebrating the holiday and, to everyone else, have a happy day, too!
Please let there be 32 GB iPod touch with flip video HD capabilities and simple editing features.
Once again a load of deluded journalists and whooping fanboys will dutifully attend a complete non event and make lots of noise about it.
090909
as in…
Number nine
Number nine
Number nine
Number nine
Number nine
Number nine…
Two words:
iPod Huge – 10″ iPod
@winders
and you wonder why the iPod is so successful. Pretty damn good advertisement if you think. This is a company that takes great pride in their products and will market the sh!t out of them. and what’s better getting all the attention to yourself for a couple days in the news or some little press release at an electronics conference.
please this!!!!! • New digital bundles: “albums” with videos, liner notes and art
090909 is a big day in music, so don’t get your hope up.
1. Beatles Rock Band
2. Beatles CD Box set (stereo box and mono box)
3. CMA Awards nominations
4. iPod/Ringtones/etc.
Beatles will not be a part of Apple’s plans this time. Beatles are measuring out their business, taking in 40 Mil or so for RockBand plus making their last stab at CD sales for their 2009 business. Expect Beatles on iTunes summer 2010, when Paul McCartney is the musical guest at WWDC 2010. (wink)
I will be absolutely FURIOUS if Apple does not release a Photoshop compatible iPod touch. As a working photographer, I am in need of using Photoshop CS4 on my iPod touch for when I do field work. I have waited much too long for this since the first iPod touch was released. I am leaving Apple forever if they do not have CS4 on the touch this week.
No disrepect to the Beatles, but it’s almost 2010, and the biggest musical news is about the Beatles? What a sad state pop music is in, and the studio try to hold on to the myth that it is digital piracy that is hurting the business. That’s like trying to peddle DOS to computer users today and claim software piracy is hurting their sales.
I am guessing some media announcements and some new ipod models, not much else. I don’t expect a firm tablet commitment until Jan.
I expect AppleTV 3.0 as well.
Big Big Big surprise: 2 buttons mouse!
wink
This article was a waste of time it added absolutely nothing.
I think it’s finally time for Apple to unleash the iPod flea, don’t you?
Won’t be any new hardware product annoucement, I would guess. Some increased capacity. Can’t imagine them dropping the iPod classic – I know I want one with 200+ gig !
A lot of the thunder at these events in the past has been related to content (oh, and the boombox. Remember that ?). For example, iTunes Plus.
My guess is the addition of music subscriptions. Except that they’ll refer to it as renting, just like renting a movie.
This is not going to be a “non-event,” though speculation is useless. Can’t wait.
I can confirm that the Beatles remastered catalogue will be unveiled on iTunes on Wednesday 09 09 09. My buddy Steve Jobs asked me to appear with him and I’ll be there with Ringo. I’m surprised you guys haven’t figured out that this is the reason the event is on a Wedneday and not the usual Tuesday, sheeesh!
G5 Newton….
Whatever it is, it will make the Zune HD an afterthought again. Stupid name Zune HD. It’s like seeing that sunglasses commerical that has HD on the name. Soon we’ll see Window 7 HD, Office 2010 HD, Sharepoint HD, ActiveX HD, Ballmers ass HD… oops I don’t think I want to see that in HD.
It seems to have escaped everyone’s attention that Apple’s iPod Touch Giveaway for college students (buy a mac and get an iPod Touch for free) ends September . . . 8th!
The day before the big announcement.
So I don’t think that a new iPod Touch could be classified as – speculation.
If McCartney and Ringo play, does that make it Drum & Bass?
iPorn, “No disrepect to the Beatles, but it’s almost 2010”
Yeah, almost 2010, and just listen to the noise coming from the ‘music industry’. Just try to whistle the top ten from the charts, you’ll then realize how long these songs (NOT) will last. Crap rap included.
@photographer
Call Adobe! Why don’t you complain to the people who actually write the program! Like you would want to do editing on a 3.5 inch screen!
Music subscription services to knockout spotify!
Beowulf: I think photographer was being facetious.