The Beat Goes On – Apple Announces Media Event For September 5th
Apple will host a media event on September 5th at the Moscone West in San Francisco to introduce a variety of new gear and software according to invites sent to members of the media this week.
The invite, seen above, showcase the CoverFlow interface with the caption, “The beat goes on” Which, interestingly enough, seems to have been adopted from the last line of The Beatles’ final press release issued by Apple Records on April 10, 1970, following the band’s breakup.
Here’s a brief overview of the current rumor mill…
1. New iPod Nano: Called the “Midget” (here at FutureMusic), or the Phatty, this nano update will come in a new size and most likely gain a bump in storage with an 8GB and a 16GB lineup. Apple’s legal team demanded that websites displaying leaked photos of the new nano remove the images or face the wrath of Steve. Probability: Bank on it
2. New iPod Video: A new iPod Video is also rumored to make its debut. Based on how Steve Jobs described the iPhone during its unveiling — “the best iPod yet†— we’re speculating that the new iPod Video will have the touch-screen functionality of the iPhone in a 16:9 form factor, but much thinner and slightly more pocket-sized. There should be a Flash-based model in the line up, as well. It will run a modified version of the Mac OS X, and will most likely have onboard Wi-Fi. Probability: Very Likely
3. Wireless iTunes: This is a relatively new rumor that corresponds to the Wi-Fi video iPod listed above. A wireless store is definitely in Apple’s future, but do they have the technology sorted to make Air Tunes as seamless as iTunes? Probability: Maybe
4. Apple Logic 8: Logic 8 has been in beta for sometime so this appears to be a go. The rumors include that Logic has been completely revamped into a one screen interface with transparent floating plug-in windows and non-German interface update, which reportedly gives the “Environment paradigm” the boot. Probability: Very Likely
5. The Beatles Catalog on iTunes: Well, the event’s slogan, The Beat Goes On, was used in the last official Beatles communication before they split…and the legal battles between Apple Inc. and Apple Corps are behind them, so it would be a great time to unleash the catalog to the masses. Probability: Likely
6. iPod Shuffle (Product) [RED]: A red Shuffle to support the Global Fund to fight AIDS in Africa. Apple gives a portion of the selling price to this worthwhile fund. Probability: Who cares… Not that we don’t support charity tie-ins, but this is really just filler…
7. New Mac Mini: Mini-Me is definitely due for an update, but this seems like more of a January MacWorld announcement to us. Probability: Unlikely
We’ll keep you posted on the latest chatter right up to when Jobs dons his black mock turtleneck…
