Apple (AAPL) will be letting the cat out of the bag Wednesday regarding its new product plans which may again forever impact the music industry.
Meanwhile, the tech media has kept guessing what Apple will unveil in San Francisco.
Last week, Appolicious blogger and electronics guru Eric Benderoff mentioned Apple could be offering FaceTime (Apple’s video chat for the iPhone) for the iPod Touch, or possibly a cloud-based iTunes.
Here are some other views on what Apple will or should do:
–Barron’s Technology Trader blogger Eric J. Savitz mentions that a guitar on the invitation to the Apple event may be a “a hint that Apple at long last has cut a deal to offer Beatles songs via iTunes.” He also suggests that iTunes could add social media features.
He adds: “Also a possibility: a new iPhone Nano. The company last year gave the Nano the ability to take video. There are rumors that the new version could be smaller than the current model, and might eliminate the familiar click wheel. There also have been rumors that Apple could kill the music-only iPod Classic. Do people still buy them?”
–Leslie Katz blogging in CNET’s Crave mentions Facetime with the Retina display and the front-facing camera for the iPod touch. Sixty-one percent of nearly 2,000 readers told a poll they expect facetime for FaceTime on the touch.
Katz says there may be “changes afoot for Apple TV, including a scaled-down device, a much lower price tag of $99, and access to the App Store.”
She adds: “Plenty of other ideas are being tossed around as well: 99-cent TV show rentals, a redesigned iPod Shuffle, an end to the Shuffle, an end to the Classic, an updated version of iTunes, an updated iPad, and an updated Zune (just making sure you’re paying attention). The list goes on.”
–Michael Wolf at GigaOM: says: “I’m not entirely sure Apple will introduce FaceTime next week at their big event, but they should. No one has been able to do video chat in the living room right just yet and, at least for the next six months, it’s Apple’s market for the taking.”
–Nicholas Kolakowski at eWeek.com mentions revamped iPods. But he also suggests intriguing content deals could open new doors: “Apple’s North Carolina server farm, currently under construction, is the focus of still more media-related rumors—specifically, that Apple will offer a streaming media service along the lines of Pandora or Netflix.” He adds: “Depending on the Apple-centric blog and the day, other possible upgrades could include a touch-screen iPod Shuffle or iPod Nano.”
After 9/1 this year’s new features guess-a-thon will end. And then a new round of rumors will start being milled for 2011.
