indirectly......DM, what say you?

Apple Likely to Debut New iPods Next Week

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Apple's got something up its sleeve, and it's probably a new iPod.

The famously secretive technology company sent out a cryptic e-mail to reporters Tuesday inviting them to an "event" in San Francisco Sept. 9.

Apart from the familiar silhouette of a man dancing while listening to an iPod, the invitation said only "Let's Rock" and "Playing Soon," plus the date and time.

"It's got to be new iPods. That's 100 percent certain," Needham & Co analyst Charles Wolf told Reuters. "The only question I cannot answer is whether they will also do new MacBooks."

Pacific Crest Securities analyst Andrew Hargreaves was less enthusiastic.

"I'm not expecting anything revolutionary," he told Reuters.

American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu, possibly the leading Apple expert, thinks it'll definitely involve price cuts for the iPod Touch, which now costs more upfront than the iPhone.

"Pricing needs to be adjusted downward toward market conditions. We are in a tougher economy. That's what makes most sense," Wu told Reuters.