Apple iPod and iTV event coming September 7th

Rumour mill churning

The web is whipping itself into a frenzy over a rumoured Apple event tipped to happen on September 7th.

Bloomberg and CNN are among the normally sober news outfits getting their collective knickers in a twist over a possible Steve Jobs love-in which could see the announcement of an updated iPod Touch line-up, as well as a refresh to the long-in-the-tooth and never particular successful Apple TV gizmo.

Crystal ball gazers have divined that the iPod will get the iPhone 4's stunning Retina Display screen as well as a couple of cameras which would make it capable of making Facetime video calls over a wi-fi connection to another suitably equipped device.

Apple TV will become iTV unless the identically-named British broadcaster has anything to say about it. The box will slim down substantially and will focus on live streaming of content rather than storage and playback. Apple is rumoured to be in advanced talks with various TV networks and is widely expected to offer $99 rentals for top US telly shows like House and... well, that's about the only thing we'd bother paying for.

As always, none of this is based on anything other than guesswork. With Apple, nothing's over until the thin geezer in the black turtleneck sings.