Rock and Roll: September iPod Event (and more?)

The next big Apple event is coming up tomorrow, and, of course, everyone is talking about it.  It’s a wonder that people still do, but Apple either keeps us surprised or has us so addicted to their crazy aluminum-and-plastic crack that we’d come back anyway.

Tuesday’s event starts at 10 AM PST, which should be about…1 PM in the Midwest, and I’ll be raving about it as soon as possible.  However, for full live coverage, check out Ars Technica’s Live blog from Jacqui Cheng tomorrow.  The event is titled ‘Let’s Rock’ and judging by the numerous posters being put up (as well as the title and other blogger’s opinions) the word of the day is iPod.  However, you can keep up with it as it goes with Steve Jobs Bingo from Cult of Mac.  Rumor has it that Apple’s been struggling to keep up iPod sales while its big brother iPhone is on the market, which is certainly feasible, considering the market is pretty saturated with the devices already, and we’re all looking for new technology from Apple.  Keep reading for an analysis of what’s coming up tomorrow.

iPod Nano: Fourth Generation

Assumedly in an effort to bring back the popularity of their platform-and-age-independent addiction, Apple is widely expected to release a fourth generation of their iPod Nano design, this time back to the slim, taller-than-it-is-wide Nano design, this time with a larger screen than the 2G, but again, longer than it is tall.  The nano itself is supposed to come in multiple colours, and has tapered edges.  It’s presumably made of aluminum.  It’ll be interesting to see how this slimmer design works out once people have gotten used to the wide screen.  However, the Nano and it’s retired predecessor, the Mini, have been popular with runners because of their small size, so athletes are likely to enjoy this new format.

I personally think the previous Nano was a bit awkwardly shaped, it seemed like it’d be hard to hold or strap to an arm, but easy enough to leave in a pocket.  Then again, the new Nano will fit easily in your pocket again.  It’s strange that it’s tapered, as this seems to be quite the departure from the Classic iPod design.

iPod Touch: Redux

Also on the board for tomorrow is an iPod Touch update.  The less known fraternal twin of the iPhone has been by the wayside for a while, not unloved but a little neglected.  There have been no big iPod Touch updates since its release but for some software updates (the inclusion of basic apps and the iPhone/iPod Touch 2.0 Firmware upgrade).  I’m actually quite satisfied with the current slim design, but I would love to see a camera added to the Touch.  GPS would be nice, as well, but we’ll see.  It could be as easy as taking the cell antenna out of a bunch of iPhones and calling them iPod Touches.  Not much has been said about the Touch Redux, nor speculated.

iTunes 8

There’s been a mixed bag of rumors for iTunes 8.  At first it was coming out, then not, and now it appears as though it’s a good bet that iTunes 8 is being released tomorrow.  The rumor roundup (occasionally known as the ramblings of Kevin Rose) includes what’s being touted as a ‘Pandora-esque Feature’ called “Genius” that will find similar songs and organize them together (pulling from your music library).  I’d love to see this functionality taken to another level (even though it doesn’t quite exist in slap-happy consumer land yet) and integrate a Pandora/Last.fm internet radio service into the Genius sidebar.  This would let you access any songs you might want to have a listen to, and could offer an option to purchase in the iTunes store.  Of course, I’d also really like to see Live365 webcasting brought in to iTunes Radio as well.  The radio is an overlooked (although I hope not quite obsolete) part of the music industry.

It’s expected that iTunes 8 will also include HD video support, so you can view the TV shows of the networks still hanging around the Apple Lunch Table.  This could also herald an upsurge in the shows offered by iTunes, as several would need to be converted to be offered in HD.  I can only hope this can increase the content available.  Also rumored are a new view style (grid view) and a new music visualizer, neither of which are terribly exciting to me, but who knows, maybe people addicted to AppleCrack™ might like tripping on ‘AppleShrooms: Visualizer Edition’ too.

iPhone 2.1?!

It’s the sincere hope of many iPhone users (as well as the web consensus) that Apple will release iPhone software version 2.1 two months following the somewhat awkward release of version 2.0.  2.1 has been in beta for developers only since late July, with the omnipresent ‘bug fixes’ and new GPS functionality as new features.  Although Push was included in early developer seeds, it’s apparently been removed from the latest versions.  David Chartier at Ars made a good point (see ‘been removed’ link above) in saying that Apple removing our promised Push functionality might be for the best: it indicates that Apple is taking enough time to ensure the new software is of the highest (or higher) quality than it’s 2.0 release.  Although 2.1 doesn’t appear to be adding vastly new tools to the iPhone toolkit, it looks to be fixing the various leaks and holes (and hopefully you can’t work your way in to a locked iPhone anymore).  Not to be greedy, but it’d be nice if our App-laden iPhones and iPod Touches didn’t take several minutes to backup and sync, either.

One More Thing

Of course, beyond these expected items, we also have the hoped for/dreamed of/uncertain/hallucination of the One More Thing from ol’ Steve.  Right now, there’s mostly just wild speculation.  Of course, we all have come to expect the One More Thing turn, but we’re never really certain.  It could be anything from new MacBook & MacBook Pros to an iMac do-over (although that’s unexpected, since they’re so new right now) to the iTablet to a new iPod Shuffle to the lifting of the NDA.  Apple PR has been calling the event “a big deal” which a) is uncharacteristic of them, apparently and b) is indicative of a very large release or announcement.  Apple has been playing this possible little extra extremely close to the chest this time around.  The blogosphere has always been ablaze with various product rumors, but leaked photos of a possible MacBook Pro update and ideas coming around for a much more internally robust MacBook Air indicate that there’s a lot yet to be discovered.  Who knows what’s in store?  As simple as this event seems, I rather hope that innocence belies a darker (or rather, awesome) purpose.

Check back here tomorrow for discussions of what Apple has released and links to good articles.  Enjoy the keynote (as of press time, we hadn’t heard whether or not the or the keynote will be broadcast or even made available, although the latter is a reasonable assumption) or coverage wherever you get it from (again, I recommend Ars and Jacqui Cheng).

~ by joshuadlwilliams on September 8, 2008.