Apple's Sept. 9 music event: What's Steve Jobs got up his sleeve?
Image: Apple Inc.
New iPods? Check. With cameras? Very likely. iTunes 9? Why not. Steve Jobs on stage? Who knows. The Beatles on iTunes? Don't count on it — but don't count it out, either.
Apple's (AAPL) invitation-only special event Wednesday could go either way.
It could be a ploy to get the press to publicize some relatively inconsequential improvements in Apple's increasingly long-in-the-tooth iPod line (a product line that once accounted for anywhere from a third to half the company's quarterly revenue and now brings in less than one fifth.)
Or it could signal the confluence of three classic Apple story threads:
- A new and surprising confection of hardware and software that restores our sense of childlike wonder;
- The reappearance of Apple's iconic CEO, restored to health by the organ transplant that saved his life;
- The digital debut — via iTunes — of one of the most influential bands in the history of popular music (and a Steve Jobs favorite), nearly 40 years after their break-up.
The timing is propitious.
The Beatles' Apple Corps has not only settled its lingering legal disputes with Apple Inc., it has scheduled for the same day (9-9-09) the long-awaited release of the digitally remastered Beatles catalog and the much-anticipated video game Rock Band: The Beatles.
Meanwhile, Steve Jobs is back at work on the Cupertino campus — leaving his car parked, once again, in a handicapped space. To be sure, he's been stepping back from the spotlight — even before his medical leave — giving other members of Apple's management team a chance to shine. But if he's ever going to appear in public again, this would seem a perfect opportunity.
Finally, it's probably time to do something with the part of the iPod line that isn't morphing into an iPhone. Either trim it — as Silicon Alley's Dan Frommer suggests — or take it in a new direction. Some megapixel eyes to go with those white ear buds would be a good start, last-minute reports of a technical hiccup notwithstanding.
Has Apple piqued your interest yet? Tune in Wednesday at 10 a.m. Pacific (1 p.m. Eastern). When we know something, you will too.
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Brian in Irvine, CA, gets it right… It is a friggin' circus. But somehow, I still find if fascinating.
Apple is the most innovative computer company on the planet, and they have managed to take their expertise into the music, video, and telephony markets to revolutionize the way we listen to, edit, watch, and send media.
Some how, the trade press forget that everyone else follows the leader. Somehow, the copycats at Microslop, Sorry Ericcsbuns, Moto Rollo, LUG, Sam's Song, etc. are presented as "almost as good" or "equivalent" or "competitive."
Well, they're not. Did they come up with the model for mass market acceptance of a GUI? Did they invent an easy way for musicians to sell music over the web, and an easy way for consumers to download it? Did they invent an easy way for users to RIP their existing media to their music players? Did they invent an easy way for producers of media to edit sound and video? Did they couple that with the best quality and easiest ways to transmit video over the web? Did they show the world how to make a smart phone that is actually addictive to use? Did they show the world what is possible, point the way, light the torch, and excite the crowds?
Hell no! They just copied Apple as best they could without illegally ripping them off.
Show some respect, RJ.
No question there will be a Beatles tie in tomorrow. They announced it LAST YEAR (in so many words).
Secondly, did you write that the Beatles were 'one of' the most influential bands'? What's up with that? They were THE MOST influential bands of all time, period. They didn't just change music, they changed the culture. Everyone knows this, the only question is wether they appreciate the music or not.
Finally, I agree the percent of sales stats are VERY misleading for iPods. Apple has brilliantly transformed the iPod into the iPhone. Not ragging on Phil here, but the business press are so utterly wrong on this point. Apple transitioned the iPod into a mini tablet computer, and simply added a phone feature to create the iPhone. But it's still more of a computer/iPod than a phone. The phone feature is trivial.
People are still thinking that the iPod needs a RADIO? That's amazing. But what is really mind boggling is that anyone thinks Microsoft got this right with the Zune.
@RJ, what crap intellect are you coming out of Cambridge, MA, questioning PED about posting news about Apple on his Apple blog site?
What a dumb a$$.
How many of these have we sat through, kids? How many such articles on the day before have we read? Face it: tonight, we'll all go to bed with visions of sugarplums dancing through our heads. And by noon Pacific time tomorrow, we'll all swoon with some disappointment. And if you're not disappointed, the pundits will be.
I can hear it now:
"WHAT?!!??? NO CLOUD-BASED ITUNES???!!??? AAAAANNND WHADDAYA MEAN THAT THERE AIN'T NO NUCLEAR-POWERED TABLET????"
And on and on.
CNet will sniff at the event. Dvorak will be in his usual lather, foaming at the mouth. Enderle will say that Windows is better. TechCrunch will declare that Apple is doomed. An anonymous Reuters reporter will do a drive-by attack story that, since it's anonymously posted, can't be refuted. Cramer and his frigtard pals will start an anti-Apple rant. Bloomberg will circulate more poison pen stories that Steve Jobs looks thinner, that he only has hours to live and if he does not appear at all, this confirms that he is dead, and that Apple should get slammed by the Feds for a cover-up. Wall $treet will sneer and promptly start a sell-off of Apple stock. And basically, the world as we know it will end. Or so it seems.
Did I miss anything?
It's a circus. But you already know that.
So, put on your protective suit, your Snell-approved crash helmet and go to a place of safety for the next two weeks, preferably one that is lead- and copper-lined with padded walls. Beyond the good news tomorrow, you can expect a torrent of vomit spewed forth by the frigtard pundits, analysts and their ilk.
I used to look forward these announcements. But it's not fun anymore. I used to have a childlike sense of wonder, and I still want to. But the pundits have an agenda. We're just collateral damage.
New iPods? Yawn. With Cameras? Yawn. iTunes 9? Bigger yawn. Steve Jobs? Who cares. The Beatles? YAAAAAWWWWNNNN!!!
Pretty much sums it up. Only the Apple fanboys will think tomorrow's event amounts to anything.
For Tom…
Day after day,
Alone on a hill,
The man with the foolish grin is keeping perfectly still
But nobody wants to know him,
They can see that he's just a fool…
Just what we need, more from the original "boy band", they were mediocre during their day, but the girls were gahgah over them…
ex ped: "The Beatles, "mediocre"? Who would you rate as worthy, Tom?
No Beatles this week. The event is on Wednesday because of Labor Day. The same thing happened in 2007- the event was moved to a Wednesday because it was the week of Labor Day.
The Beatles are packed with activity on Wednesday. Apple doesn't want to be second-fiddle to all that other stuff.
One of the most deceptive lines ever written, "a product line that once accounted for 55% the company's quarterly revenue and now brings in less than one fifth."
It gives the impression that iPod sales have dropped dramatically while the reality is that iPod sales have continue to grow while Apple has; become the #1 music seller, introduced the iPhone and the App Store, and increased sales of it's computer lines (what!? Apple has computers too?!!). Yes, there was a small drop in iPod sales in recent quarters but nothing of the order that the above statement implies.
Should take a cue from the upcoming Zune update. Radio reception capabilities to include HD radio. It would finally pull in alot of individuals that look for that in their devices.
The first person that posted obviously doesn't realize the impact the iPod has had on digital music.
Apple has historically been so careful about the messaging & timing of events… They dropped MacWorld for these kind of announcements!
I don't understand why they'd go up against the Beatles marketing juggernaut if they weren't part of it.
Wow RJ from Cambridge you sure have impressed me with your brilliant observation here that with thousands of other companies in the world CNNMoney is posting daily stories in a blog called Apple 2.0: Mac news from outside the reality distortion field that are actually about Apple.
How dare they write stories about Apple in a blog about Apple! I share your indignation. Obviously I would expect to read the latest news about Dell or Sony or someone else in the Apple blog.
What's that you say? They don't have a Dell (or insert your favorite company) blog here? Hmm, good point. But then, perhaps it because most people like to read about what Apple is doing and couldn't care less about what Dell (or most other tech companies is doing except occasionally.
OTOH it could be that most of us could be called sheep for all wanting Apple stories in a blog like this, but, I couldn't help but notice that you came here to this article to read it right along with the rest of us sheep.
@RJ
Philip's column for Fortune is "Apple 2.0". It is his brief to write about Apple. Other writers have other briefs. John Fortt for example writes about "Big Tech". So you are slagging off Philip for, er, actually doing his job. Way to go.
And I love that you are from Cambridge, Ma, and yet you think it is a good idea to go to South Korea for your technology.
Wow a few new mp3 players. Hardly what I call newsworthy…..
Seriously Fortune, what gives? There are thousands of tech companies but for some reason you like sitting in the walled garden and posting a story about apple almost DAILY!!! Apple is just one out of thousands of tech companies and contrary to popular beleif,,,, has much less influince on tech industry trends than the 1 dimentional apple fanboy media realizes. Want to see a world without apple? GO to South Korea, where they have better technology thats smaller, can do more and costs less…..
ex ped: My apologies. I took Labor Day off. Too much good tennis to watch.
Where are the Beatles Brian??!