World of Apple

Mac Rumors has some last minute info to hand about today’s media event being held by Apple. According to the rumour sites sources, Apple will refresh the entire iPod line.

The iPod nano is expected to receive a capacity bump from 4/8GB to 8/16GB and will be available in up to 9 colours, up from the 6 currently available. The 3 new colours are rumoured to be purple, yellow and orange.

Mac Rumors goes onto state that the iPod touch is expected to stay at the same capacities of 8/16/32GB, it is unknown what changes (if any) are being made to the iPod touch.

Apple will be holding it’s “Let’s Rock” media event today at 10am PT, 1pm ET, 6pm BST. Join World of Apple for live coverage.

Engadget has posted of a purported photo of the fourth generation iPod nano which is expected to be released at next Tuesday’s special event.

Purported photo of 4G iPod nano

The photo is consistent with rumours that the new iPod nano would return to the long thin form factor and feature a longer display. The new iPod nano also reportedly has a curved design.

Alibaba the world’s largest B2B marketplace has posted a photo of what appears to be a 4th generation iPod nano.

The image corresponds with rumours and other imagery that has been making the rounds over the last week.

On September 9th, Apple will be holding a special event where the new iPod nano is expected to be released.

iLounge has published what it claims are the dimensions of the new iPod nano and iPod touch which are expected to be released next week at the September 9th Special event.

The diagrams suggest that the iPod nano will return to the longer design of the second-generation model. The diagrams also suggest somewhat of a curved design.

The iPod touch appears to be receiving a similar look to the iPhone 3G, gaining a more tapered design. The diagrams show a slightly thicker iPod touch compared to the current model and external volume controls also appear present.

Separately, iPod case manufacturer XSKN has begun promoting 4th generation iPod nano protection cases.

Last week Kevin Rose pinpointed September 9 as the date on which Apple would unveil new iPods as well a “big update” to iTunes. Apple has now officially confirmed next weeks Special Event and with that news Kevin Rose has spoke further on iTunes 8.

In a short blog post on his own website Rose wrote:

iTunes 8 includes Genius, which makes playlists from songs in your library that go great together. Genius also includes Genius sidebar, which recommends music from the iTunes Store that you don’t already have.

With iTunes 8, browse your artists and albums visually with the new Grid view; download your favorite TV shows in HD quality from the iTunes Store; sync your media with iPod nano (4th generation), iPod classic (2nd generation), and iPod touch (2nd generation); and enjoy a stunning new music visualizer.

Rose clearly states that the information comes from a new source but is consistent with details he has heard before.

In addition to these details Kevin Rose sent out a post on Twitter talking of “trippy” visualisations in iTunes 8 describing it as:

the new iTunes 8.0 visualizations are really trippy - there is one with planet like objects wrapping around each other w/stars/light streams

The event which is being held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco next Tuesday will likely see the introduction of new iPods.

The September 9 Special Event date was originally rumoured by Kevin Rose, the invite (partially pictured) suggests that the event will be music related and not see the release of updated notebooks.

Members of the UK press have been invited to watch a satellite broadcast of the event in London.

Engadget is reporting that its sister site Engadget Spanish has gained some hands on time with an iPod nano case designed for a currently unreleased model.

The case is by Hama and is a Sport Case specifically labelled “for iPod nano 4G” and closely resembles rumours that circulated last month about a taller iPod nano that is expected to be released this month..

We hesitated to post this Engadget article about Kevin Rose’s predictions of new iPods and other iStuff mostly because it seemed too… detailed. That, and as Engadget points out themselves, Kevin hasn’t been a –to put it kindly– very reliable source.

Recycleosphere has a fairly well thought out summary of the rumor mill’s latest predictions, including a thorough picking through Mr. Rose’s comments. They take into consideration some key points about iPod touch price decreases, Microsoft’s position in the PMP game, and an iTunes subscription service that, while considered as any rumor, are well worth reading.

I personally am worried about the suggestion that an “iTunes Unlimited” subscription service could be on the horizon, considering the amount of bungling Apple’s been doing with MobileMe and the AppStore and previously with .Mac. It seems to me that Apple needs a helping hand in designing and maintaining their interactive web stores and web infrastructure.

AppleInsider reports that retail sources have disclosed signs that point towards Apple’s current line of iPods being ready for a refresh, news that corresponds with recent rumours of an iPod refresh in September.

In the US Target employees have reported to the rumour site that iPod models have recently seen their status change from “Active” to “Discontinued” when scanned with scanners.

Over in the UK, massive retailer Argos is said to be preparing to clear inventory in anticipation of new models in “coming weeks”.

A person familiar with the plans says the company recently took receipt of new point-of-sale displays promoting “price cuts” that should hit the retail floor during the last week of August or first week of September.

The displays are said to be “giant wall graphic[s]”.

Last week analyst Gene Munster wrote a note to clients informing them that Apple would most likely hold a Special Event in September to refresh its iPod lines and MacBook and MacBook Pro notebooks.

At the time the report was mainly pinned as speculative but Mac Rumors has heard “whispers” of an iPod touch refresh within the specified timeframe but offers no details above this.

Today also saw another analyst for Piper Jaffray weighing in on the speculation. Mike Olson wrote in a note to clients today that he expects a refresh to the iPod touch in line with the iPhone 3G. In addition Olson expects the starting price of the iPod touch to drop from $299 to $199.

Olson doesn’t mention the MacBook Pro in his report but does report on slimmer MacBooks cryptically explaining “exteriors made of plastic instead of aluminum and could also have a newly designed keyboards”.