The crystal ball is getting a good polishing that week as speculations fly about what Apple will — or will not — announce next week at a Sept. 9 event in Cupertino, Calif. Apple sent out cryptic invitations to reporters that week featuring an iPod-toting silhouette and the words “Let’s Rock” and “playing soon.” Nothing more.

What’s Up?

Most bets favor an improved and less expensive iPod touch, which is seen as overpriced at $299 while a comparable iPhone 3G is $199. With a nearly identical operating system, the touch can already take advantage of many third-party applications from Apple’s App Store, but at the same cost as a full-fledged iPhone. So a price cut and a few new features may be in the cards.

Reports in MusicWeek plus indicate that Apple will resurrect the long-dead liner notes and album art of the LP vinyl days by offering these as extras in its iTunes Store.

The first band in that “experiment,” according to the report, is Scotland’s Snow Patrol with lyric sheets, videos and photos to accompany the release of its latest CD.

Indeed, there could be more announcements about the iTunes Store than new hardware, although Apple has made a habit of introducing its new holiday-season gadgets in the September-October date frame.

Some analysts and wishful bloggers have speculated that Apple might move to an “all you can eat” iTunes buffet, similar to Microsoft’s Zune store where one monthly fee allows an unlimited number of music downloads. The Zune Pass is currently $14.95 a month for unlimited downloads, but critics point out that Microsoft’s music store does not stock as many titles as iTunes.

Other speculations are that Apple might further reduce iPod prices and offer more memory in newer models, particularly the popular nano. Other wish-list items include an iPod touch with…

Original post by dhiram