A big Apple event in San Francisco on 9 September 2008 will undoubtedly see the update of one if not several of the iPod range, if the Cupertino-based firm’s press invite entitled ‘Let’s Rock’ is anything to go by.
Aside from the ultra-compact Shuffle, the Nano is the smallest in the iPod range. Last year, it was treated to a complete redesign with the release of the slimmer, third-generation model with video playback and Cover Flow interface.
This model earned itself the name ‘Fat Nano’ but the Nano may be returning to an updated version of its slimmer self (pictured) if rumours and photos flying around on the web are anything to go by.
First of all, Digg.com founder Kevin Rose has not guessed but stated “here’s what I know” in relation to the new 4GB Nano, which he claims will have a widescreen format that views lengthways or perhaps flips sideways due to a built-in accelerometer.
Instead of the usual flat design, some pictures show that both the screen and body of the new Nano will be slightly curved and will sport a darker click wheel, which would make it look like the second-generation Nano after having got styling advice from the MacBook Air.
Even more convincing are the pictures of the 4GB Nano cases spotted by Wired.com at the recent IFA 2008 trade show. But what will happen to the orientation of the click wheel once the screen goes sideways?
Rose also said we will be seeing a lot of price cuts across the entire range, but this claim remains to be backed up elsewhere online. However, more promising are his reports about the new iTunes 8.0 release – as this is finally moving on from the iTunes 7.x iteration, it signifies a big enough change for the media player.
Could this be iTunes Unlimited – the much-talked-about, all-you-can-eat music model which would entirely change the way Apple sells its music since its first iTunes Store launched on 28 April 2003.
We could also be looking at minor updates for both the Classic and Touch models, but it is anyone’s guess as to whether Apple will do anything aside from enlarging the Classic’s screen and bulking up the storage.
Each time Apple has released an updated version of the Classic, the screen has become bigger and more advanced, from monochrome to colour to video – what next aside from becoming obsolete in the face of the Touch?
The only thing left is a sideways widescreen functionality and slimmer body, unless Apple goes a completely different design route to set it apart even more from its Wi-Fi-enabled, touchscreen sibling.
By Marie Boran
Pictured: an image doing the rounds online of the rumoured 4GB iPod Nano
