Apple to stream event live at 6PM GMT/10AM PT, gaming announcements expected
iPod touch 4, Apple iTV, Game Center, iPad iOS 4?
As usual at this time of the year, Apple will be holding a special press conference in California. The pearly-white hardware giant is expected to announce the latest iPod models, and reveal a few more details on the company’s future plans.
The company’s infamous CEO Steve Jobs is expected to bound up on stage at 6pm GMT tonight and, if the rumours hold out, announce an iPod touch that’s in line with the feature-bump seen in the iPhone 4.
That means everything from the high-resolution ‘Retina’ screen, to a massive memory increase, and a couple of cameras, are a possibility for the device.
Like the third-generation iPod touch to the iPhone 3GS, this new device should expect to get Apple’s two pint-size iOS gadgets on an even keel, with parity in the biggest features.
Hopefully, it means that gaming enhancements seen in the iPhone 4 - the gyroscope used in games like NOVA and the high res screen used in a massive number of titles - will be available to our phone-averse iOS gamers.
Other, not gaming-pertinent rumours, concern smaller iPod models, boosted iTunes song samples and video streaming in iTunes.
The other biggy is Apple’s new TV box, the rumoured iTV (which already has the company in some legal tussles with our third channel) which might use a version of iOS, allowing you to run apps on your TV.
Could this be Apple’s first step towards battling the Xbox 360 and PS3? Imagine the iPad’s party play mode on Scrabble, but played on your TV.
Also on the TV front, The Wall Street Journal has reported that American TV studios Fox and ABC are up for offering their shows on iTunes for 99c rentals.
Tech pundits are unsure whether we’ll see announcements on software for other gadgets: namely, more information on achievement service Game Center, the much-anticipated iOS 4 for iPad (which would bring multitasking and folders to the tablet), and the final build of iOS 4 for iPhone.
You can watch the show yourself, as long as you’re an already converted Apple fan. The company is live-streaming the keynote, but it’s exclusive to users running Safari on Mac OSX or an iOS device. That’s one way to shut out haters and Android fanboys.
We’ll also have all the gaming info up at Pocket Gamer, of course. Check back at 6PM for live coverage.
