I’m sad. Downtrodden. Baffled. My iPod appears to be dead.

I don’t put the blame on Apple. While I’m extremely vigilant and organized on a regular basis at work, I don’t fare too well with double-checking whether the toaster is still plugged in or the iron is still on. I should really consider getting a personal assistant for that.

While I keep my cellphone plugged into the charger whenever I’m home (which I just found out is counterintuitive to maintaining long battery life) I fail to plug my iPod in for any charge… on top of failing to check even if I’ve turned it off.

Most likely, I’ve kept the iPod on for way too long in the heated glove box of my car, plugged it too long into my iTrip, and the poor three-year-old battery just had to give up the ghost.

I’d love to say that I’m completely befallen with grief, but this puts me on the market for a new iPod model, which is exciting considering how much I love to shop… and considering I didn’t buy the first one myself anyway.

It appears, however, that I might have to wait a few more days before shopping for a new iPod.

Word on the street is that a super-secret tech event is being planned for the press in sunny San Francisco, complements of Apple Inc. (AAPL:NASDAQ).

Cycled through the rumor mill, and now making major press, Apple is announcing a new product on September 5. Don’t hold your breath for a mini iPhone just yet. According to certain press outlets, the online teaser touting the event is the silhouette of a man dancing with an iPod on, with Apple’s new “cover flow,” a jukebox rotary search of album and movie covers.

Another secret on the street is that Apple had a tough decision to make this year: whether to release the iPhone first, which it did, or this new iPod model, which is reported to feature a lot of the quirks that made the iPhone exciting to tech geeks, and the insanely curious, across America.

After speaking to one of our tech guys here in our Baltimore office, he pulled out his big-screen iPod device and showed me what the mockup for this new iPod should look like. The scroll wheel will be gone, replaced with a flat-touch screen like the Apple iPhone, and everything will be touch activated on a covered skin.

Many are speculating that the iPod could also be Wi-Fi, allowing users to send and receive e-mail and parading as a “mini” version of the iPhone… without the AT&T service and the hefty bills.

Apple has the tendency to create high demand for its products right as people are starting to freak out about the upcoming holidays. In September 2005, Steve Jobs introduced the iPod Nano after only two years of the iPod Mini being on the market. The company also introduced the iPod Shuffle, the first iPod under $100 in January 2005.

Look back at Apple’s first-quarter results, which include the Christmas season following the introduction of the iPod Nano, and you’ll note that Apple reported its highest earnings and revenue in the company’s history.

AAPL made revenue of $5.75 billion in that first quarter, up 65% compared to the same quarter in 2004, and shipped over 14 million iPods that quarter -- over 1,000% more units than its computers!

How does Apple get away with it? Well, look at when the company reports new products: September. A little too late to consider buying it for yourself… but just in time for you to ask for it for Christmas, or use the money you get from in-laws to buy it yourself later.

I anticipate another breakthrough first quarter for Apple, when it reports in January.

Apple Inc. (AAPL:NASDAQ) looks like it will continue at a rapid pace into the new year, picking up more value in its stock price. Its daily chart is coming up softly into upper positive territory in terms of RSI and Money Flow, and a 10-day Moving Average crossover is not far behind.

In late 2005, AAPL saw a gain of 84% from September to January, moving from under $50 per share to $86 per share.

This year, there’s similar potential, considering the correction this month that’s brought price down to a fairer value. Priced at $126.82 per share, anticipate $170 per share (at least) going into 2008.

That would be a 34% gain from its current price. Not bad on such a high-priced large-cap stock.

Ann

 

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