Apple Inc., hosting an annual event devoted to music and media tomorrow, may introduce a revamped iTunes site, an upgraded iPod and push deeper into consumers’ living rooms with a new TV set-top box that plays video. Long before the iPhone, the iPod was the device that helped transform Apple from computer company into a consumer electronics company.
But today, the ubiquitous music player has become less relevant to the company that essentially owns that product category. When Apple convenes a special event in San Francisco to discuss music today – as it has every September for the last five years – we think that Steve Jobs and Co. will touch on the iPod but also talk more broadly about media, including a more evolved iTunes and new ways to watch content in the living room. Apple’s invitation to the event this year featured a picture of an acoustic guitar, complete with an Apple logo, naturally, and, as usual, it has prompted a guessing game.
New iPods? New Apple TV? New streaming-video service? Perhaps all of the above. Here are some of the ongoing rumours on what we might see and what we hope Apple will reveal on Wednesday.
* A new iPod nano – Widely expected. According to several sources, it’s going to have a new, smaller form factor and a touchscreen instead of a click wheel. The biggest surprise would be if it can run some of the 250,000 apps written for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
* A new iPod touch - A camera and a higher-res display would be a plus. Two cameras, including a front-facing camera for Facetime video chats, would be a big plus. A 3G version that works over the cellphone networks, as one rumor has it, would be huge.
* A new Apple TV – This one is iffier, and doesn’t quite fit the guitar-themed invitation. But eventually Apple is expected to release a cheaper ($99, down from $229), iOS-based version of its set-top box, and this could be the week.
* A new version of iTunes – Rumored to double the length of song samples (from 30 sec. to 1 minute) in response to growing competition from Pandora and others. Could include social networking features such as sharing playlists with friends. Could be Web-based (so you can stream songs as well as download them). Could include 99-cent TV show rentals (rather than $1.99 or $2.99 purchases).
* A new iOS for the iPad – A version of iOS 4 for the iPad — with multitasking, app folders and other goodies already available on the iPhone 4 — isn’t due until the fall, and nobody has seen a beta release yet. A long shot.
* A white iPhone – OK, maybe. But there’s not much of a gee-whiz factor in a product that’s a couple months late.
* A wild-card – A last-minute surprise – the “one last thing” that used to be Steve Jobs’ theatrical calling card — gets harder every year, given how porous Apple’s supply chain has become, but it’s still possible. Barrons’ Erik Savitz suggested over the weekend that this could be the week Apple announces that it has finally cut a deal that would put the Beatles on iTunes. We’ll believe that one when we hear it.
Tom Neumayr, a spokesman for Cupertino, California-based Apple, declined to discuss the new products, saying the company doesn’t comment on rumor and speculation. Even so, the iPhone and iPad have emerged as a bigger focal point for investors said Brian Marshall, an analyst at Gleacher & Co. in San Francisco. According to him they account for 70 percent of profit. He also said “While the new devices will bolster Apple’s product line, they won’t generate the kind of buzz it gets from the iPhone and iPad”. Apple itself has called television a “hobby,” rather than a major source of revenue. Today’s event is the company’s first product announcement since it unveiled the iPhone 4 on June 7th.
Are you excited about what Apple will come out with?
