What is Apple planning for its January 'announcement'?
According to reports, Apple is planning an "important, but not large-scale" event in New York at the end of this month. The event will focus on a "media-related announcement".
AllThingsD, after speaking to its sources, underscored that it was not an iPad 3 announcement, thought to be expected within the first half of this year. Also thought to be ruled out is the interactive television -- dubbed iTV -- which will most likely be held in the heart of Hollywood.
But what, exactly?
January is an odd time to announce something for most companies. For Apple, it sees the post-Christmas doom and gloom as a perfect chance to bring hope, wonder and merriment to the masses.
Apple has taken the January to take advantage of showing what it has to offer at the once-held MacWorld expo. The iPhone was the first major January announcement to come, and then the iPad in 2010. The Mac App Store was opened this time last year -- almost to the week -- adding to further expectations that something new and shiny will come our way in this month of darkness.
In fitting with hardware, it would make historical sense to announce the iPad 3 or the iPhone 5. But Apple probably won't. It's too soon after the Christmas sales to bring something out, just after the company made millions from what was still not a bad fourth-quarter.
Apple's iTV is still thought in the works, and while an official announcement would be nice, unless a significant milestone has been reached, it remains unlikely.
AllThingsD did point to something regarding advertising or publishing.
Apple Internet services vice-president Eddy Cue is thought to be somehow involved, the man on stage for the launch of iPad-dedicated Murdoch-owned newspaper The Daily. With this, Apple's flailing iAd advertisement program could be on the cards, some suspect.
But what springs to mind -- considering it has only been a month since European regulators begun a formal antitrust investigation into Apple and other e-book publishers for alleged "anti-competitive practices" -- is an update to iBooks or Newsstand. Or, at very least, how Apple is mitigating the circumstances of it's European 'cartel' accusations.
Apple could of course throw a wildcard out and announce something iTunes related. Though, considering the recent launch of iTunes Match internationally, and such close proximity still to 'iTunes in the Cloud', it does not seem to fit.
Thoughts?
Image source: Flickr.
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