iPod This years iPod & OS introductions ... When?

[aljawad]

If the past is any indication, September will see a dedicated Apple Music Event when it is customary for Apple to release new iPods and new versions of iTunes. The event is usually held on a Tuesday, although if I remember correctly the 2007 event took place on a Wednesday Usually, Apple sends an invitation for the event to the press on the previous Friday. This year it is rumored something totally new (iTablet?) will be announced/released, but lets ignore that for now.

So, when is this years event going to take place? Now lets remember that Apple has promised the release of MacOS 10.6 "Snow Leopard" in September. Again, from previous releases, the OS release will take place on a Friday, possibly towards the end of the month, so I'd say if Apple is to stick to its promise it will be released on September 25th.

So what about the iPods? My guess is that the musical event should be held with a suitable time difference from the OS introduction, say a few weeks. That way enough supplies of the hardware devices will trickle down Apples retail channels way in advance of the software introduction. The last time this situation occurred was in 2007: that year the iPods were announced on September 5 while MacOS 10.5 was released on October 26, roughly a month and a half later. I doubt that Apple will postpone the musical event to October, if anything it should be early September (barring a late August 25th event): possibly the 1st, the 8th at the most - although personally I don't see it just a couple of weeks ahead of the OS introduction.

In any case; September will be an interesting and a very rewarding month What do you think?

 

[leomac08]

In any case; September will be an interesting and a very rewarding month What do you think?

i think the event will be held the first week of september, apple will introduce the following:

-itunes 9
-ipod touch 3G
-ipod nano 5G
-ipod classic (the next generation idk?)
-Mac OS X 10.6 Snow leopard!!!!!
-maybe a new iphone OS 3.2?


As for the Apple Tablet

i hardly think that this device will come out in Sept, i think it might come out as early as 2010.

 

[aljawad]

i think the event will be held the first week of september, apple will introduce the following:

-itunes 9
-ipod touch 3G
-ipod nano 5G
-ipod classic (the next generation idk?)
-Mac OS X 10.6 Snow leopard!!!!!
-maybe a new iphone OS 3.2?


As for the Apple Tablet

i hardly think that this device will come out in Sept, i think it might come out as early as 2010.

Hello leomac08! I tend to agree with almost all of your predictions: given the new iPods means a new version of iTunes - possibly a major one garnering a "9.0" moniker. And to exploit the new features of this version of iTunes, an upgraded iPhone OS might be in order.

Updated iPods: Agree on the Touch and the Nano - I don't know what Apple intends to do with the Classic - possibly higher capacity / better battery life? Actually the capacity came down with the last release Probably the Classic will be unchanged - much like the Shuffle, except Apple might choose to release the latter in colors?

The event might also be used by Apple to announce the release date of SL 10.6: if the event is held on a Tuesday, the release date might be Friday of the next week. Again; I'd place the release of SL towards the end of the month - but we'll have to wait until more tidbits come out about the current betas and the emergence of a likely candidate for a golden master.

Now for any new products: it depends on who will introduce the iPods. Are we gonna see the return of Steve? Remembering that the last Stevenote was last Octobers release of the Uni-Macbooks (during which Steve was a mere moderator, rather than an actual presenter), he might need more time before returning to the stage for one of his legendary appearances

That return might be reserved for a "one-more-thing" type of product, be it the iTablet / iProd / ... ? Also, if Apple intends to introduce the rumored product in collaboration with a cellular carrier (Verizon?), then shouldn't such a product be submitted for the FCC for approval? The original iPhone was introduced some 6 months before it actually shipped exactly for that reason: Steve himself said Apple prefers the consumers learned about it from the company rather than the FCC. The announcement might be presently made for a release date sometime in 2010 :-/

Again; Septemebr is going to be mighty interesting

 

[leomac08]

Hello leomac08! I tend to agree with almost all of your predictions: given the new iPods means a new version of iTunes - possibly a major one garnering a "9.0" moniker. And to exploit the new features of this version of iTunes, an upgraded iPhone OS might be in order.

Updated iPods: Agree on the Touch and the Nano - I don't know what Apple intends to do with the Classic - possibly higher capacity / better battery life? Actually the capacity came down with the last release Probably the Classic will be unchanged - much like the Shuffle, except Apple might choose to release the latter in colors?

The event might also be used by Apple to announce the release date of SL 10.6: if the event is held on a Tuesday, the release date might be Friday of the next week. Again; I'd place the release of SL towards the end of the month - but we'll have to wait until more tidbits come out about the current betas and the emergence of a likely candidate for a golden master.

Now for any new products: it depends on who will introduce the iPods. Are we gonna see the return of Steve? Remembering that the last Stevenote was last Octobers release of the Uni-Macbooks (during which Steve was a mere moderator, rather than an actual presenter), he might need more time before returning to the stage for one of his legendary appearances

That return might be reserved for a "one-more-thing" type of product, be it the iTablet / iProd / ... ? Also, if Apple intends to introduce the rumored product in collaboration with a cellular carrier (Verizon?), then shouldn't such a product be submitted for the FCC for approval? The original iPhone was introduced some 6 months before it actually shipped exactly for that reason: Steve himself said Apple prefers the consumers learned about it from the company rather than the FCC. The announcement might be presently made for a release date sometime in 2010 :-/

Again; Septemebr is going to be mighty interesting

The September event will most likely introduce all this things. Steve Jobs will most likely not show up due to his health.

About the ipod classic, (the ipod won't really change, i think only a memory increase of 160GB)

The Apple Tablet, will probably be introduced, like when the iphone was presented in Jan 2007, and it came out in June 2007,

It needs pending of course. Especially if a carrier provided 3G wireless service to the netbook.

Most Likely the apple tablet, or the "macbook touch" in my opinion will come out Jan 2010.

but i would not be surprised if it would come out in the winter of 2009.

 

[aljawad]

The September event will most likely introduce all this things. Steve Jobs will most likely not show up due to his health.

About the ipod classic, (the ipod won't really change, i think only a memory increase of 160GB)

The Apple Tablet, will probably be introduced, like when the iphone was presented in Jan 2007, and it came out in June 2007,

It needs pending of course. Especially if a carrier provided 3G wireless service to the netbook.

Most Likely the apple tablet, or the "macbook touch" in my opinion will come out Jan 2010.

but i would not be surprised if it would come out in the winter of 2009.

I think you've summarized my points nicely Although I still think an introduction of something as novel as the rumored iTablet deserves its own event, given that it will only be announced months ahead of its release date. Also, in all likelihood it will be marketed as a media device - at least for its initial introduction - rather than a portable computer, so an announcement during Apples annual music even might be justified

I don't know about a 2009 release, around Christmas, though? Is a period of 3 months or so enough for Apple to get the FCC approval, start the production for large quantities for the holidays and build up the hype as they did with the iPhone?

Speaking of which, any thoughts about the wisdom of releasing the unit with a dedicated cellular link, rather than just WiFi? This will lead to an international marketing strategy similar to the dichotomy between the iPhone vs the iPod Touch: the former is still unavailable for legitimate sale in many countries, while the iTouch is available where ever Apple products are sold. This is also reflected in iTunes App Store vs the Music Store. Or will Apple release a subsidized iTablet vs a fully unlocked one at an original cost - possibly for the international market?

 

[gan6660]

My thoughts for September:

Snow Leopard: late september alongside an imac refresh.

Now the rest will appear at the music event in early September:

iPod Classic- Maybe a storage increase/conversion to a SSD. Body will stay the same.

iPod Nano- keeps same form factore but screen increases in size and the clickwheel is shrunken slighty and moved down, camera is added, storage is now 16gb and 32gb for $149 and $199.

iPod Touch- keeps same form factor, video camera added, 8gb dropped, 16gb for $229, 32gb for $299 and new 64gb for $399.

iPod Shuffle- stays the same maybe storage is bumped to 8gb.

Apple Tablet is released and available in November for the Christmas season, HD screen, Speaker, will have a dock connector like the ipods/iphone, made to be a media device and not a full computer, no cellular connectivity only wifi.

iTunes 9 released, app organization, blu ray playback, ebook store, console like games added but only for use on the Tablet.

 

[leomac08]

I think you've summarized my points nicely Although I still think an introduction of something as novel as the rumored iTablet deserves its own event, given that it will only be announced months ahead of its release date. Also, in all likelihood it will be marketed as a media device - at least for its initial introduction - rather than a portable computer, so an announcement during Apples annual music even might be justified

I don't know about a 2009 release, around Christmas, though? Is a period of 3 months or so enough for Apple to get the FCC approval, start the production for large quantities for the holidays and build up the hype as they did with the iPhone?

Speaking of which, any thoughts about the wisdom of releasing the unit with a dedicated cellular link, rather than just WiFi? This will lead to an international marketing strategy similar to the dichotomy between the iPhone vs the iPod Touch: the former is still unavailable for legitimate sale in many countries, while the iTouch is available where ever Apple products are sold. This is also reflected in iTunes App Store vs the Music Store. Or will Apple release a subsidized iTablet vs a fully unlocked one at an original cost - possibly for the international market?

I think the Apple Tablet does deserve an individual introduction, (wasn't the MacBook Air introduced at the Macworld Conference & Expo on January 15, 2008 by Steve Jobs?)

I have heard many rumors about apple making connections with verizon wireless. It seems odd that apple would give up their contract with AT&T.

Anyways, i don't think that the apple tablet would receive a 3G wireless modem of some sort inside. But i would not be surprised if it did. AT&T sells 3G modem adapters.

Sprint also sells 4G modem adapters such as the mi-fi.

Makes me wonder if the apple tablet would have a USB slot or an expandable memory SD slot?

I think 3 months starting from september to january would be required for FCC approval, so the apple tablet could be released as early as january 2010 for the start of the new quarter.