Apple has an event scheduled for September 9 and, as with every event from Apple, the rumours are flying rampantly about what might be announced. Let me add my two cents into the scrum.
- New iPods – pretty much a no-brainer. Every September event tends to be iPod-centric to coincide with the back-to-school season. Most of the online discussion mentions new iPod touches which will include a (semi-decent) camera similar to the iPhones. I’m hoping they release a 64 GB model so that I could actually fit all my music (so far) onto the iPod. A new iPod nano will also be released but I think that the focus will be on the touches. The cost difference between a Nano and the lowest price iPod touch is small enough that I would think Apple is planning to have the iPod touch eventually push aside the nano models completely.
- iTunes 9 will be release including some social software elements. Maybe I can get it to auto-tweet the songs I’m listening to instead of having to do it manually. That should help me get rid of two-thirds of my followers who grow tired of learning how often High School Musical songs come up on the playlist when I hit random. (I’m such a good dad that I put them there so The Girl™ can put them on her iPod.)
- No tablet. There have been a flurry of tablet rumours (and even photos) but even if it is ready, it would be a dumb move by Apple to release it now and draw attention away from the iPod announcements. It might be announced in October, though, to take advantage of the Christmas buying season. This could end up being the most disruptive technology that schools have ever had to deal with. I hope I’ll be able to write more about that once the tablet is announced and I have one in my hands.
- Steve will be there because …
- The Beatles catalogue will be available on the iTunes music store, and I don’t think Steve would let anyone else announce that. I’m not sure if there are any other predictions about this, but it seems to me that the stars have lined up for this one. Apple and The Beatles (or their heirs) have settled any longstanding legal issues regarding the use of the Apple brand. The date – September 9 – is also significant for two other reasons. All The Beatles albums have been remastered and are being released on September 9, as is the Beatles edition of Rock Band. And if you are a fan of the White Album, you might recognize something significant about the date – 09/9/9.
So, those are my predictions. I suppose if I’m wrong I could just re-write or even delete this post but you wouldn’t let me get away with something that sneaky, would you?
UPDATE – yep, others are predicting the Beatles announcement at the Apple event but I did think of that one independently.