Your Picks For Apple's "Let's Rock" Event: New iPod Nano, Cheaper Touch, iTunes 8

Tomorrow, Apple's Steve Jobs will take the stage in San Francisco and unveil at least part of the company's product lineup for the holiday shopping season. What's it going to include?

Last week, we asked you, our readers, to submit your best guesses for what Apple will announce, and how Apple's stock would perform. Your consensus:

• A new iPod nano with a vertical form factor, perhaps like the one pictured below, via Engadget. Now that people are used to the idea of turning the iPhone/iPod touch to watch video in landscape mode, it makes sense that Apple could introduce it to other products. More memory -- perhaps up to 32 GB -- but the same price -- starting at $149.
• A cheaper iPod touch -- probably starting at $199, the same price as Apple's cheapest iPhone. This could include some enhancements like a camera, more memory, Bluetooth (and Bluetooth headphones), or a plastic case like the iPhone has.
• iTunes 8, which could include more HD content (makes sense, especially if for computers and not just Apple TV), more TV shows and movies (maybe), more DRM-free music (maybe), an all-you-can-eat iTunes subscription (doubt it), or the Beatles' catalog (unlikely). We should note that many iTunes 8 rumors include some sort of automatic playlist generator to match up songs that go well together.
• Apple's stock (AAPL) will close Tuesday at 168.19, which would represent a 5% jump from Friday's close.

These predictions -- a mix of leaks and speculation -- sound believable, and many have shown up in the Mac and gadget press over the past several weeks. And while we still expect Apple to release new MacBooks in the next month or so, we don't expect them to show up tomorrow. There should be enough iPod, iPhone, and iTunes content to make up a 60- to 90-minute show.

Other predictions you offered make less sense, like Apple-branded HD televisions. And if Apple is planning some sort of tablet computer -- whether it's an extension of the Mac line or the iPod touch line -- we don't think it'll show up until next year.

We do expect some sort of iPhone-related announcements, which our readers didn't predict in much detail. We think Apple could offer an update on iPhone 3G sales -- 4 million? 5 million? -- and perhaps a software update to fix some of the phone's pesky bugs and add a few minor new features. Daring Fireball's John Gruber -- who actually does have sources at Apple -- says the iPhone news hasn't leaked yet. So we look forward to hearing about it tomorrow.

Meanwhile, there's still time to enter our predictions game.

In the comments below, or via email to tips@alleyinsider.com, please submit:

• A list of products/services/features/statistics you think Jobs will announce, such as "new iPod nano with portrait screen" or "iPod touch with camera" or "Apple has sold five million iPhone 3Gs."
  
• Apple's (AAPL) closing stock price on Sept. 9. For comparison, AAPL closed at $160.18 Friday night.
  

How we'll score you:

• You get one point for every feature/service you guess correctly. (We're no longer penalizing incorrect guesses as we'd rather foster creativity than stifle it.)
  
• If you're within $1 of Apple's closing stock price on Sept. 9, we'll give you 5 extra points. If you're within $5, we'll give you 1 extra point. All other guesses are worth zero.
  

What does the winner get? Your name in lights, SAI style. What's that? A post proclaiming your supreme ability to predict Steve Jobs' moves, like our WWDC winner, like our WWDC winner, Chan, or our Macworld winner, Bartek Ringlewski. Entries must be in by 12 noon ET on Sept. 9; one entry per person.

See Also:
Music Subscriptions Coming To iTunes Next Month? Nope
Is Steve Jobs Moonlighting In Customer Service?
Is Apple Losing Its Touch? The Numbers Say No