Apple released invitations to digital reviewers everywhere to join Steve for the release of something big on September 5th. I only care cause I don't have an iPod anymore and need a new one. The top 5 rumors are:
Touchscreen iPod: There’s no doubt that the addition of the touchscreen and Cover Flow feature to the iPhone made it the
best iPod ever, so it’s time to spread the love to Apple’s non-cell-phone handheld icon. Rumors of a touchscreen à la iPhone have been swirling ever since an Asia-based tech rumor site
revealed the Taiwanese company that was to provide the touchscreens for a new iPod.
The Beatles catalog on iTunes at last: First Paul McCartney, then John Lennon made it to iTunes (Ringo’s post-Beatles work was added
today, and
word has it George Harrison is coming up soon). Now that the lawsuit over the Apple name has been long resolved, it’s time for
the Beatles catalog to get on iTunes’s virtual shelves. This will likely be the cherry on top of any bigger iPod announcements. The ironic thing is, after years of such careful protection and avoidance of online distribution, the Beatles’ songs will finally get sold in the least protected way possible, with non-DRM tunes from EMI! Get yer CD rippers ready!
Wi-Fi download store for iTunes: Following in the footsteps of the Zune, Music Gremlin and the
Sansa Connect (with Yahoo! Music Unlimited), a Wi-Fi download store that lets users download right to a wireless-enabled iPod sounds sweet. This rumor has been going around for a while, and just resurfaced
yesterday. It’s certainly possible, but we think Apple will limit Wi-Fi to the iPhone for now. Adding communication capabilities to the iPod just cannibalizes iPhone sales — and who wants an Internet Tablet or device, anyway (we talking about “Internet-surfing,” but not much else, devices as the Sony Mylo, the PepperPad and the Nokia Internet Tablet).
Nanos with bigger memories: The main cool thing about the Nano is it doesn’t have any moving parts because it uses Flash memory instead of a hard disk. Problem is, Flash memory didn’t come in larger sizes, until now. So a pint-sized Nano with more memory would be a very welcome thing indeed. Incidentally, there are also
rumors of a Shuffle with more memory, which means you could seriously bring your whole music collection to the gym with you.
The European iPhone: This is
almost a given, since Apple has been talking about a fall launch for the iPhone since June. Only question is, which carriers and which countries will get the iPhone first? Our money is on France, England and Germany, the three Euro countries that download illegal music
the least (at least according to our Madrileno tech writer friend Angel Jimenez, who writes for Spain’s largest daily newspaper,
El Mundo). This announcement is likely, particularly since Apple just launched TV show downloads on iTunes in the U.K., for nearly four times the price (almost $4!) it costs Stateside.
Bonus Rumor: Ringtones This is also looking very solid: According to
reports, for a small fee you will be able to make ringtones on your iPhone out of tracks for sale at the iTunes Stone.