Apple Planning San Francisco Event in January

Apple has something planned for Late January at a venue in San Francisco and the general consensus among speculators and rumor mongers is that it has something to do with the long rumored tablet device it has been working on. Reuters is reporting that the company behind the iPhone and iPod touch
has reserved space in late January at a venue in San Francisco in advance of a planned product announcement. this report is based on information gleaned for a Financial Times story that ran on Wednesday.

Apple has rented a stage at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and is rumored to be making a “major product announcement” on January 26. Apple would neither confirm nor deny the rumors. Apple used the Yerba Buena Center last September when it hosted an iPod event that featured the first public appearance by Chief Executive Steve Jobs following his return from a lengthy medical leave. In other words, this is one of Apple’s favorite venues for revealing or hosting very big things for the company.

The excitement surrounding a long rumored tablet computer is helping to fan the flames of this story no doubt, but apple has never officially confirmed that it is working on such a device. The speculation is that this device will resemble a larger version of its iPhone or iPod touch devices. While there has never been any confirmation on this device, analysts believe it to be true and predict that the device will launch in the Spring of 2010 – possibly March.

Apple Builds Product Loyalty With iPod Touch

Apple has not become a successful company by accident. Its latest marketing strategy – using the iPod Touch to build product loyalty amongst kids, hoping to graduate them to iPhones – is nothing short of brilliant.

The iPod Touch was an extremely popular gift this Christmas season. Two different models of the popular music player were second and third place on Amazon’s list of bestselling electronics. On Christmas Day, downloads for the iPod Touch soared, passing downloads for the iPhone by 172 percent. Downloads for all generations of the iPod Touch increased by over 1000 percent on Christmas Day, and by over 900 percent for the 3G iPod Touch.

The iPod Touch is popular with kids because it is not just a music player; it also has the App store, which opens up a world of possibilities. Parents like the iPod Touch because it doesn’t require an expensive monthly contract like the iPhone does.

Apple likes the iPod Touch because it gets an entire generation of kids to want more Apple products, particularly the iPhone. When these kids are old enough for cell phones (or better cell phones than they have now), they will be ready for the iPhone, so to speak, because of their familiarity with the interface on the iPod Touch.