They will probably release it around the same time as they did the Macbook refresh last year. In some smaller event. One that is just focused on the Apple TV, Touch camera, How awesome is Snow Leopard and maybe a refresh for the iMac also.

Not big enough to justify a huge event for but at the same time still something that a lot of people will be waiting for.

The ipod nano will take over as the main multi-functional media player. Iphone will expand. Time capsule will become the size of the ipod classic. Multiple sizes of new tablets will appear 4/5in, 9/10in, and 13/15in. These will incorporate everything the ipod touch has as well as 3g(or 4g), camera, a tablet OSX, as well as numerous innovative features. Thus, the ipod touch will soon be over.

If they released it this year it would only piss off all the people that bought this joke of an update they just announced, heck, it would piss me off and I have no intention of buying one. My guess is it will be a complete redesign along with the iPhone at next years WWDC.

If Apple does another similar event to Macworld in January (CES timeframe announcements?), my thoughts fall to general updates like iMacs and iPod Touch with camera (riding the current model through the holidays), with a one more thing being the tablet. I roll with a tablet announcement early in the year for SDK reasons, with a launch later on, like summer or fall.

I agree with Rabid Puffin... CES will be the announcement of the new iPod Touch as well as aTV.

its all about making money. people want a camera, but the touch now has none. apple thinks people will buy a nano and later they add a cam to the touch, then a touch again. we should boycott apple and not buy any of these at all, because this behaviour is buying psychology and not treating customers nice.

btw: did you notice that only the bad touch with not enough memory has a seductive cheap price? where is the 16 gb touch – there is only a 32 gb one which is quite more expensive (especially considering that there is no cam). again: apple is playing tricks. they know that 8 gb is not much and the people would like more ram. but there is no 16 gb model, you need to buy the expensive one...

I knew it would happen next year.. crap - shouldn't have bought 32GB. Oh well, I'll still get the new one for the camera. :D

Touch camera

Apple has a reputation of not releasing products with which they're completely satisfied. I'd guess that when SJ downplayed the lack of camera in the Touch, it was because something was wrong with the design or implementation thereof--after all the Touch has a thinner case. The presence of a dead space in the breakdowns of the new Touch certainly suggests that it's planned. It's a helluva lot cheaper to get it right the first time, then sell them with known hardware problems for which they'd have to issue recalls--it's the old, "do you want it now, or do you want it right?"

The nano is nothing less than an engineering marvel when you consider what's been crammed into it. Five years ago, mobile phone companies were bragging about 640X480 still shots, now there's a gadget that takes movies at that resolution and is one-fifth the size with a lots of bells and whistles; contrast that to Apple's competitors who rush untested products to market--e.g., the first-gen Blackberry storm and Vista

I predict that the 6th gen nano will have the camera and replace the hardware wheel with a touchscreen "wheel", be smaller and have 16-64 Gb models

Maybe Apple just doesn't want a competitor in its own line for the upcoming Tablet.

Played around with a Nano yesterday - neat, nice, and surprisingly good quality, considering the tiny form-factor.

Re video in the Touch, I'd guess not everything goes right first time, and Apple to release early 2010 now. Pity though.

Maybe gaming is Apple's big game with it - though when tablets come in next year, one could effectively be an upgraded T.

But mmm, that dinky little Nano - IWOOT.

by christmas is no possible simply 'cause the holiday season starts in november and to present an iPod touch in october would be a non sense.

Apple will release new desktop line on mid-October.

Apple will release new iPod touch with camera at the end of february/first days of March at the usual event in which discuss OS X mobile.

I've a 30gb ipod classic and was planning to buy the new ipod touch. I'm a computer science engineering student and was hoping for developing something new for App Store. But after the 9th sep event I'm in a dilemma. Should I get it or wait. Though I believe that there would be no new ipod touch by christmas, as it will get the loyal apple fans fuming and is highly unlike apple. So the $299 question: Should I buy it or wait for another 6 months. Thanks.

PS: Don't suggest me to buy Zune HD or I'll make you cry!

Don't be surprised if Apple releases the iPod touch with a camera before the year is out. They tens to do this. Remember when they released the MacBook unibody without FireWire and then a couple of months after released the new MacBook with a FireWire por and SD card slot. Very dissapoiting for people who had just bought the non-FireWire MacBook. I guess they don't really care!

Quote SJ (after announcing the new iPods):
"This is our holiday line-up"

The reason for no camera in the iPod touch is blazingly obvious! Apple don't want to detract from the iPhone. Aside from phone capabilities, always-on internet (as opposed to Wi-Fi dependant access) and the magnetometer, the iPod touch is pretty identical in features. Not adding a camera to it, is just another way to differentiate the two devices, and the video editing prowess of the iPhone 3GS can remain a huge selling point. I don't expect a camera in the iPod touch until Apple have sold plenty of iPhone 3GS devices and probably not until the iPhone 4th Gen is out.
The 3rd Gen iPod touch could easily manage the voice control of the iPhone 3GS at it now has similar horsepower - but Apple are holding back because they don't want to damage potential iPhone sales by having two devices with almost identical features.

They declared so many times...

- the touch will be the top of the line for games (with no phone), so it is the main competitor of the games console (DS, PSP, etc.)

- iPhone will address more the business/enterprise market (they are pushing on that like crazy... but until their server, desktop and OS reputation in that market will be not a bit more consolidated, they will take more time to achieve that target), and of course, the gadget's maniacs and the VIPs and who believes to be VIP.

- The real media device is the nano...

- The shuffle is for moving people, is tipically a second device, so they don't see a lot of new incomings from the shuffle itself.

- Classic is for very old customer base, the nostalgic of the primitive big iPod.

If you see, the music functionalities are at the base of ANY device and this will push their sales with iTunes... but now they have a very clear and sharp categorization and segmentation for ANY target of people.

Too late to count. They needed to release it or set a date for release at that event, the fact that they failed to do so took the shimmer off of iPod. It will be hard to polish it back up.

I see only one possibility here... They had production problems with the camera they intended to include and didn't want to hold up the launch date so launched without it. Perhaps, the camera was always intended to be optional.

What I find surprising is in this scenario however is that Apple didn't just announce the product and then set the launch date a month or two off. They CAN NOT announce another product between now and the holiday season, total impossibility, but if they had said iPod Touch available next week and iPod Touch with camera available in Novemeber, they'd be fine. They'd keep current product on the shelves, people would buy without uncertainty... either waiting for the camera or not... right now many are afraid that camera may materialize any momment and render there purchase foolish.