The most eagerly awaited event of the year is here. Yes, we are talking about Apple's let's Talk iPhone event. The event is scheduled to be
held tomorrow in Cupertino, California. While the speculations are still on whether Apple would be launching two phones or just one and whether it will kill off iPod Classic or not, let's just focus on the logistics of the event itself, for a while.
When:
Let's Talk iPhone is scheduled for October 4, 2011 and would start at 10 AM PST, which would be 6:00 PM London time. Apple has deviated a little from its usual iPhone launch pattern. iPhone 4 was unveiled on June 7, 2010 while iPhone 3GS and iPhone3 were released on June 8, 2009 and June 9, 2008 respectively. All these phones were released during WWDC. However, this time over, Apple chose to release only Mac OS X and iOS 5 during the event and the release of the phone was pushed back to October. The reasons for this delay are still not clear. But after much speculation, the big day is finally here.
Where:
The event is being held at Apple's headquarter in Cupertino, California. So this event is not only different in time but also being held at a different place. Most of the previous versions of the iPhone were released during WWDCs, which is generally held at Moscone Center in San Francisco, California. It looks like Apple was not certain about the eventual launch date and thus was not interested in booking big center like Moscone Center. However, when it comes to iPhone, Apple can decide to hold the event in hell and people would still flock to attend the event. And we all know, Infinity Loop is more close to being geek heaven than hell.
What:
The event is named Let's talk iPhone, so the main emphasize will be on the phone device. Unlike other years, this year had wilder than ever rumors about the upcoming device or devices. While earlier we used to speculate about the new features, this year saw a whole new debate about the number of phones to be released. We are only a couple of hours away from the event, but industry experts are still not unanimous whether there are going to be one or two phones released. While we are certain about iPhone 5, the speculations about iPhone 4S are also pretty strong. It would also be interesting to see if Apple is going to add any new carrier partner to its fold. There are also rumors about the launch of LTE iPhone in China.
Apart from iPhone or iPhones, we also expect Apple to overhaul its MP3 player slash media player line up. It is being speculated that Apple may finally bid adieu to the oldest members of iPod clan. The company may decide to retire its non-touch screen media players iPod Classic and iPod Shuffle. In this case, iPod Nano will be placed as the entry level media player. iPod Touch is also expected to get a non-color makeover. After iPhone and iPad, it looks like it is iPod's turn to get white treatment. Speaking from experience, we are sure a white iPod Touch will be enthusiastically welcome by the masses.
However, the biggest characteristic of the event will be that the phone and other devices will be introduced by newly appointed CEO, Tim Cook. While some of us are secretly hoping for Steve Jobs to make a surprise appearance, we are sure that Tim Cook will be able to rise up to the occasion. We will be live blogging, so keep watching this space for the up-to-date information.