AppleInsider reports with a multinational iPhone 3G launch now successfully under its belt, Apple is preparing to close out the year with a final phase of product introductions that will stretch over the course of the next two months.
Included on the co's roadmap are new iPods, overhauled notebooks, and refreshed iMacs, according to people familiar with the situation. They say availability of those products should follow that particular progression, with a handful of ancillary announcements staggered in between. It will all kick off in September with an event believed to be tentatively scheduled for the second week of the month.
Cheaper and slightly modified iPod touch players, new iPod nanos and related service announcements are expected to take center stage, as Apple emphasizes a particular focus on pushing adoption of its fledgling multi-touch platform and App Store.
However, and despite on-and-off-again background noise, the event will not give birth to a new breed of handheld multi-touch device, those familiar with Apple's plans say. At the same time, the scope of the event remains somewhat of an enigma.
Internet reports have failed to pinpoint a precise agenda, as it's unclear whether the event will dual as a launch pad for Apple's next-generation Mac notebooks, or whether those systems will be presented at a separate forum.
WSJ reports iTunes has been the runaway hit of the music business but a growing number of record cos are trying to steer clear of Apple's behemoth music store, because they say selling single songs on iTunes in some cases is crimping overall music sales... Avoiding iTunes runs against the conventional logic of the music industry, where it's now taken as an article of faith that digital downloads will eventually replace CDs.
But there is growing discomfort with the dominant role iTunes already plays: The store sells 90% or more of digital downloads in the U.S., according to people in the music industry. Label executives, managers and artists chafe against the iTunes policy that prevents them from selling an album only. ITunes, with few exceptions, requires that songs be made available separately. Consumers strongly prefer that, though Apple also typically offers a special price for buyers who purchase all the songs on an album.
Some artists see their albums as one piece of work, and don't want them dismantled. Their handlers believe they can make more by selling complete albums for $10 to $15 than by selling individual songs.