Mac Faithful Stricken With Apple Rumor Seasonal Affective Disorder
by John Paczkowski
Posted on August 29, 2007 at 4:50 AM PT
Awakened from its iPhone reverie by news of a special Sept. 5 Apple event called “The Beat Goes On,” the Apple rumor mill has regrouped and is now churning out visions of new OS X-based, touchscreen iPods and video Nanos.
“We expect Apple will enable video features on the Nano line for the first time, and the capacities will likely range from 2GB to 8GB,” Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster wrote in a research note published this morning. “The iPod may also be dramatically improved. Though we are less certain of the specifications for the new sixth generation iPod, it may closely resemble the iPhone (without calling features). Specifically, we expect the sixth gen iPod to be a widescreen device with multitouch technology. It may also have Wi-Fi capability and the capacity could be as high as 160GB. Apple will likely raise the lowest iPod price point back up to $299 (from $249). The fifth gen iPod is the longest-lasting iPod model ever; it was released nearly two years ago and refreshed with high capacities and a lower price last September.”
Also making the rounds are rumors that Sept. 5 will see The Beatles appearing on iTunes. Seems the title Apple has chosen for the event–”The Beat Goes On”– also happens to be the closing line of the band’s final press release.
Coincidence? Who knows. As Apple 2.0’s Philip Elmer-DeWitt notes, it was Sonny and Cher, not the Beatles, who made “The Beat Goes On” famous. That said, Apple has been hinting at a deal to distribute the Fab Four’s music for some time now. During the 2007 Macworld keynote address CEO Steve Jobs cued up the song “Lovely Rita” from the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” Coincidence, or another of Apple’s marketing master strokes? Again, who knows. At the time Apple dismissed Jobs’s selection of music as a matter of taste. “Anyone can rip their own CD,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president for iTunes. “Steve’s a huge Beatles fan–huge. He rips and burns.” A plausible explanation, but one that could have just as easily been smoke and mirrors as well. We’ll find out which on Sept. 5.
UPDATE: Word on the street has it that the Beatles will not play a role in next week’s announcement. Guess we’ll have to make do with Sonny and Cher …
