iPod Extinction date - Sept. 5, 2007

The invitations arrived this morning; the anticipation begins now.

Apple has invited the press to a "special event" next week in San Francisco. And as usual, Apple won't say what it plans to announce. Or much of anything.

The invitation, titled "The beat goes on," includes an image of a man, in silhouette, dancing with an iPod on the cover of an album displayed in the style of Apple's "Cover Flow" feature, which allows users to flip through their music on their iPhones or desktop computers.

Here's what else we know: In addition to last month's fresh batch of iMacs, new iPods would explain why Apple guided its current-quarter earnings lower during its latest earnings call citing an upcoming "product transition" (see "Apple Tips Its Hand"). New, potentially pricier parts and shuffling a new product into its stores won't come cheap.

The stake are high. Sales of iPods alone accounted for 29.1% of Apple's sales of $5.4 billion for the quarter ending June 30. And if anything, that understates the iPod's importance. The tiny media players helped Apple crank out $608 million in sales of digital music and accessories. Moreover the halo effect from the hot-selling media players has led to a surge in sales of Apple desktop and laptop computers that has made Apple a player in the computer market once again.

I find it odd that Apple would miss the back-to-school opportunity with a new product. Or are they thinking ahead and wanted to deplete inventory of the iPods during this period and then hit the market with a new product in time for the holiday shopping period?

Either way I can't wait to see what it is. Betweeen this and the google phone there is a lot to look forward to.

Link to article

Update: Engadget has speculated that the potential release is not only around a new wireless iPod, but that iTunes will officially become wireless as well. Wireless iTunes seemed like an inevitable move from Apple considering the huge popularity of the iPhone - but for those who can't afford the huge data rates and hardware costs, why not just download what you want, when you want from your iTunes account?