By Daniel Dessinger

September 8, 2008

It’s time for another Apple “special event” and the Internet is abuzz with rumors and speculation galore. Mac geeks will stop everything during their lunch hour tomorrow to watch the gadget liveblogs with bated breath, waiting to see the next tech hotness that Steve Jobs trots out on stage.

During Apple’s last special event at WWDC in June, I was out of the office at a meeting on-site with a client. I happened to have a break for lunch while the keynote was going on, so I hooked up my tiny 7″ Eee PC to my Windows Mobile phone’s data connection and logged into the liveblog on Gizmodo to see what was happening. Like everyone else, I was crossing my fingers for the iPhone 3G. I giddly watched the presentation while I balanced my Eee PC on my lap and tried to scarf down a sandwich from Blimpie’s without spilling mustard everywhere when the new iPhone was revealed.

Tomorrow’s big presentation (apparently called “Let’s Rock”) is thought to be another refresh of the iPod line, specifically a redesign of the popular iPod Nano. Apparently joggers hate the shorter, squarish design of the newest Nano because it’s hard to hold in their hand. Many people were against the “Nano fatty” when early sketches were released prior to the announcement, including myself. However, something magical happened when I saw the new Nano in person–I wanted it! It was sleek, very small, and very shiny. I ended up getting it for Christmas last year and it has been my favorite iPod yet. I don’t get the hate, honestly–if you jog with it, why are you holding it in your hand anyway? Shouldn’t you be using an armband? I’d trip, fall and break my iPod if I carried it in my hand while running.

Some leaked photographs have shown that the Nano has grown again, this time sporting a bigger, longer screen and more vibrant colors. It also appears to have a slight curve to the design, but that could be due to the way the pictures were taken. The photos look legit, but we won’t know if joggers across the country will rejoice until tomorrow.

Other rumors include iTunes 8, which will supposedly include new “Genius” smart playlists and maybe even a new subscription model. There have even been hints that the iPhone 2.1 firmware may come out tomorrow as well. I know thousands of iPhone owners (including myself!) are holding their collective breath waiting for the new firmware to patch up some security holes, add push notification, and finally add copy and paste functionality. I have my fingers crossed for push notification–I hate that you can’t run programs in the background, and if I can’t leave Twitteriffic running, I need some way of knowing when I have a new reply in my timeline!

I think the idea of a subscription model for iTunes is very interesting. I hate DRM, but the idea intrigues me. I used to have Rhapsody and was very disappointed that their service didn’t work with my iPod. I think that a subscription model would be a great way to try music out, and I’m sure Apple would make it very easy to permanently purchase the tracks that you like–maybe even with a discount, since you’ve already paid for the subscription. On the other hand, the iTunes subscription model has been something that gets tossed into the rumor mill just about every time Apple makes a big announcement, so I’m not holding my breath.

Are you hoping for anything special from Steve tomorrow? Tune in to the Internet at 12 PM central tomorrow to find out if your Apple dreams are coming true.

© 2008 – 2010, Daniel Dessinger. All rights reserved.

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