Advance word about the event, set for Sept. 9 in San Francisco, has mostly swirled around the release of a new line of iPod, as well as the health of Apple chieftain Steve Jobs. Jobs has been off the national radar lately because of a long medical absence.
But two highly anticipated items will reportedly not see their debut tomorrow: a video iPod and an Apple tablet.
The iPhone and iPod Touch have both been marquee delivery platforms for adult content since their launch, but adult industry members had to wait until the release of the iPhone 3GS to be able to shoot video with the device.
Despite the wait, the reviews were positive. Leading tech analyst Michael Arrington called the new iPhone the "most useful video camera in the world today," and adult company Pink Visual has already started to shoot content with the device.
But as with any new Apple toy, the iPhone 3GS is still fairly expensive. As early as July 2009, tech experts had speculated that Apple might add video-recording capability to its less expensive iPod and iPod Nano devices. Unfortunately, according to TechCrunch.com, video isn't coming to those devices anytime soon.
Another highly anticipated device is the Apple Tablet. Rumors about the tablet started to gain momentum in July as the tech world speculated that Apple was brokering a deal with Verizon to provide Internet and phone service to the tablet, much in the same way that AT&T provides support for the iPhone.
Despite some doubt from tech analysts about the wisdom in launching a device that Microsoft has been trying (and failing) to get off the ground for years, one anonymous publishing executive said that Apple could get it right.
In essence, the Apple Tablet would be a giant iPhone, but equipped with a stronger operating system, most likely some version of the Apple OS. A large color display screen would not only make it a more attractive delivery mechanism for video content, but it could conceivable compete with Amazon's Kindle book reader.
Assuming Apple doesn't unveil video iPods or a tablet, what will take their place at the show tomorrow? Again, the new line of iPods will make their debut, and it's also possible that Apple may roll out plans to move iTunes to a cloud-computing platform.
For the uninitiated, cloud computing refers to any kind of online application or mechanism that runs on an array of remote servers. A great many webmail apps are good examples of cloud computing in action.
In Apple's case, a move to cloud computing seems more relevant because the company recently bought 500,000 square feet of space in rural North Carolina — a perfect venue for the thousands of servers needed to handle a cloud set up.
For Apple, having their own cloud would give them far greater power to deliver content through iTunes. That would mean faster download times and better video streaming.
