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By Jon M. Cohen

With all the speculation running wild about Apple, the Internet is full of rumors.  I thought this would be a good time for me to jump in and propose my own predictions for the upcoming Apple media event.

The event is scheduled for September 9th, 2009, and the choice of dates is not by accident. You might ask yourself why this date? What does the number 9 have to do with Apple? Well their is a few things that need to be considered about this date. First, it is the end of the back to school promo. This means Apple should have sold most of the older stock of iPods and Macs. Secondly, if you are somewhat familiar with the music group “The Beatles” then you may also be well aware of the theory of the hidden messages laced in the track “Revolution Number 9“. The theory is that if you play the song backwards then you will find a hidden message. This is a belief that most music fans know about regardless of being Beatles‘ fans or not. With that being said, if Apple has finally been able to add “The Beatles” to its iTunes music store then it would be a great marketing idea to launch this new addition on 9/9/09.

Another idea that I believe to be true is that Apple will add a new model of iPhone 3GS to its lineup. Already featuring a 16GB and 32GB version of the most popular smartphone in today’s market, it is my assumption that an 8GB iPhone 3GS will be released and priced at $99.00 (with contract from cell phone provider). Once again playing on the theme of the Number 9.

I am certain that Apple will add new iPod’s to this product launch event. Included in this will be the new iPod Touch, now being offered with a 64GB capacity. Apple will maintain the 32GB, 16GB and the 8GB model as well. But the new pricing will show that the 8GB iPod Touch will be $99.00, if so, then that will be amazing value! Chances are that the 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB editions will feature a camera as well. While the 8GB will be based on the older generation body style.

My next prediction is the addition of a new iMac that will either fit on the lower end of the price spectrum or be a super iMac that will be the new top of the line. But I don’t think they would refresh the whole lineup of iMacs at this point. I don’t have any idea of the new speeds and specs of the iMac, just a feeling that something new is coming.

So, with 9 days to wait for this big announcement I only have one last topic to mention. That would be the Macbook Nano (Macbook Touch). This long time speculated new device that will create a new category in the market. This will be a touch screen device like an iPhone but in either a 6″ or 10″ size category. This new product will most likely be announced on September 9th, 2009 but will not be for sale until January 2010 or June 2010. This 2010 release date will allow developers a chance to create Apps and port over any already existing Apps.

So their you have it, my September 9th, 2009 predictions, like most predictions that people make only time shall tell if I am right or wrong.

I leave you with this final thought; If Apple does want to capitalize on the marketing of “The Beatles” and playoff of the multiple decades of theories of “Revolution Number 9” then it would be a smart marketing idea to have all products revolve around the number 9, from pricing to the number of products introduced. By my count with 3 new iPod Touches, 1 new iPhone, 3 new iPod Nanos/Classics, and 2 new touch screen devices, and a 1 new iMac brings us to 9 new products being released on top of the addition of “The Beatles” to iTunes. Thus a fitting media event that would perfectly represent 09/09/09.

By Jon M. Cohen

As you might be aware of already, the new iPhone is set to launch on June 19th. 2009. With the release of this new hardware device we see a lot of new added features. But what about the little iPod Touch? Yes it does get the great 3.0 software upgrade that allows for many improvements, but does it really matter on the same outdated hardware? The answer is maybe. The real interesting thing to note is that Apple has posted on its website that the new 3.0 software upgrade for the iPod Touch with allow for stereo bluetooth connectivity a feature that has been long asked for by iPhone users. You may say big deal, the iPhone and the iPod Touch now with OS 3.0 have many great new features, but the real big deal is that the current iPod Touch does not have any bluetooth built in and thus a claim of bluetooth connectivity can only suggest that new hardware will be coming out soon.

With this expected hardware upgrade it would be wise of Apple to also include a camera. Only time will tell and if my guess is correct we will not need to wait very long to see this new iPod Touch.

Maybe the most fun I have had with an iPod yet. After testing the Apple iPhone for a few months I was sold on Apple’s new “touch” interface. The first thing that caught my eye was the fact that this iPod was about 60% slimmer then the iPhone (its closest cousin) and still had most of the same features. One feature that I really liked was the built in web browser (Safari). This feature combined with the built in WiFi (802.11G), gave a real web viewing experience similar to using a full size computer. Some other applications that were very handy were the picture viewer and the calendar. Although the screen was not as sharp as the iPhone, the iPod Touch was better then any other PDA, MP3 Player or even digital camera display that I have seen. As for the Calendar application, it was easy to use and was able to sync up with my iCal, Outlook and my Gmail Calendar applications. The newly released mail application was a snap to set up and was quickly syncing with my desktop mail application. It is a great feeling when convergence works right!

iPod Touch Mail App.

By now you have probably seen a lot of commercials for this iPod Touch and are aware of how the touch screen works. I will not go into detail about the touch operation, as I feel it is mainstream enough. (If you have not seen how it works yet, please click here) One aspect that a lot of people have been asking me about is the Touch’s keyboard. Since there is no tactile keyboard, users are forced to use the built in touch screen keyboard that pops up as needed. I found the keyboard to be a bit clumsy at first, but as I used it more, the keyboard became less and less of an issue. Some other points of interest about the iPod Touch are; the battery life is better then average (with the WiFi off); the iTunes built in download feature makes it easy to get new music on the iPod; the ability to add-on new applications from the Apple.com website allows for this iPod Touch to be a very versatile product; in addition, it plays movies with a beautiful quality.

As with all good consumer products, there is always room for improvement. Some things I would have liked to see are the following: a built in speaker and microphone, a wall charger in the box, an open OS (operating system) to add and change applications on the “Touch” and a built in camera. As a side note, I did hack the OS on the demo unit to see what other add-ons are out there and I was very impressed by the level and quality of what has been developed (by 3rd parties) to date. I do not recommend that you hack your iPod’s OS, as it may have a negative effect on your warranty status. My final thoughts are that unlike any other iPod Apple has created, this one has unlimited potential. I cannot see myself using it at the gym or while jogging, and if all you really want is a replacement for you mid-80’s “Walkman” then this is not the product for you. Alternatively, if you want to have a sexy, fun filled multi functional device that can also play music, then go out and spend the $299.00 (8GB) or $399.00 (16GB) or $499.00 (32GB) on the iPod Touch from Apple and you will not be disappointed.

I was greatly impressed by this product. It featured a lot of great sound in a slick cordless “Street Style” form factor and a price of $49.99 (MSRP). It is a great value for this level of portability without giving up much on the audio side. From the simplicity of packaging to the fact that it folds up, these headphones are a winner for 99% of the population. I must comment that I am in the other 1% of the population that have issues with how they fit. The problem is I have a big head? A big head sounds like an odd thing to comment on, but for these headphones it makes a big difference. I have a head circumference of 22″ and due to this I had a hard time using these headphones because it didn’t reach over my ears correctly, and this would be my only criticism.

Some of the things about Monster’s iFreePlay that I really loved is the lightweight of these headphones, they were extremely durable and comfortable to wear. The iFreePlay is a slick pair of headphones that the shuffle slides right into and it was super easy to use. I would recommend this for people who like to listen to music while they jog or workout, if you travel, if you like to listen to music at work or play and any other time. All in all, a great toy (add on) for your Apple iPod Shuffle.