I think most people are voting with what they want, not what they believe will be the final result.

That being said, I'll take my 160Gb iPod with wifi

The really really, really sad thing is, I don't want it to have an HDD or Wi-Fi, because ontop of buying a new macbook this year I won't be able to afford it is it does.

I think they will make it multi-touch with HDD and without wifi in order to separate the new iPod 'Touch' (please, no!) from the iPhone. This configuration had an upside compared to the iPhone (large capacity) and a downside (it's not a communication device), which makes in an excellent addition to Apple's product line. Any othger config would make the iPhone and iPod touch too much alike and steal each others customers.
There will be more than one configuration though, for instance the ugly fat nano you guys have shown before, which will probably have flash based storage.

So, yeah.... first of all, the iPod is gonna stay the iPod. There is no real reason to create a new - double - name. The top of the line iPod always was the iPod (although sometimes called the iPod video or things like that). Remember, when we talk about the iPod nano or shuffle, we say "...regarding the shuffle..." or "...there now is a product [RED] nano...". So, that would mean, the new iPod would be the "touch". Which is kinda.... awful. It's not gonna happen, especially since Steve is very pround on this name.

So yes, new iPods, but no, not touch.

Second, concerning the discussion with HDD or NAND... it's really hard to tell whether there will be a NAND-version of the iPod, but from a marketing-point-of-view such a device would be hard to place. iPods historically differ from each other by size. So, let's say there is gonna be a 40GB version, an 80GB version, and a 160GB version. It's kinda hard to tell people why they would have to pay the same price for a 32GB NAND version as for the much larger, and well working, conventional one. Just to satisfy soome geeks? Not gonna happen. Not Apple's style. I am pretty certain they are gonna do something with NAND, but it's gonna be the long-rumored ultra compact laptop.

NAND is gonna come to the iPod in the end, but then as a complete replacement of the HDDs.

Last, Wi-Fi... hard to say. It's gonna be very hard to distinguish a Wi-Fi-iPod from an iPhone, on the other hand, wouldn't it be nice to sync your iPod without having to connect it to the computer? I am not gonna speculate on this one, just too hard to say, although personally I have the feeling that Apple is gonna stick to their philosophy, meaning a no to Wi-Fi. The iPod is a proven concept, they are gonna get rid of the click-wheel, at least it seems like that... too much change is bad :)

We will see 9-5 :)

I think you're confusing RAM and flash memory. Media players to date have had to use flash, which can store memory permanently. Unless you're suggesting Apple will use a RAM disk that drains the battery just to keep your music in one piece, you're probably mistaken. :)

I am tired of people who don't think apple would be competitive and add wifi to the iPods. If they didn't they would loose my business to the archos 605 as it has wifi, touchscreen, internet, up to 160GB HD, 4.3" screen. I seriously doubt apple will let a company like Archos show them up...

i don't care how much cheaper it is and how much more space you can get...i'm done with hard drive based pmp's.

i bought an ipod 5th generation when they first came out. i take great care of my ipods and a year later it was working fine without incidence. then one day when i was walking down the street i was going to put it in my pocket and i really thought i had got it inside and let go and in slow motion i looked down to see it plummeting to the hard concrete below. all of a sudden it was gone...didn't wanna work anymore.

i bought an ipod nano 2G right after that and less than a week after buying it i had it in my hand when i got hit by a car and watched as it flew 10 up in the air and came crashing down in almost the exact place my ipod had fallen only weeks before only this time it worked fine. barely even a scratch. i've seen the advantages of sdd's and i'm sticking with them.

you've got to be joking.You got hit by a car and were still able to watch your ipod fly into the air.I think the ipod is the victim here.

Wi-Fi won't be an option. People were complaining even gen 5.5's battery life. And there has not been a breakthrough battery technology since 2005. ( Unless Apple would go Fuel Cell )

I believe the fugly square iPod Nanos will be RAM based and up to 4, 8 and 16 GB in capacity with the same price tag.

And Ipods will be 80 and 120GB with full touchscreen and Mac OS X Mobile. Their pricing should be 50 dollars more expensive than todays iPods $299 and $399 respectively. Video capabilities of all iPods will be the same as gen 5.5.

On the addition to that, Apple might introduce a PMP, a flagship product just for enthusiasts. Cowon and others were eating the whole pie by themselves for years and Apple never had a compatitor in big screen media player segment. This product could be 16-32GB RAM based, iPhone like touchscreen interface with higher resolution and probably bigger screen and "true" unified video format support (DivX, xVid, ogg audio etc). That kind of device could be priced around $549-$599.

All of these are predictions that I have been thinking. They are based on no rumors.

I'm hoping the nano and ipod "video" lines will become one. this new "nano" would be aimed at the music crowd. ipod "video" sized screen and flash memory. Then the full screen iPod "touch" will be for the more video love'n crowd. Keeps the product line nice and simpe. Shuffle, iPod, iPod Touch. Thinking about it from this angle, i really like the new square "nano" design.

Flash isn't RAM.
RAM means Random Access. Any byte can be read, written to or rewritten to randomly.
Flash doesn't offer Random Access. It can't write or rewrite to random bytes, only rewriting much larger chunks.

Here's the deal: Apple knows there's a market for a non-phone iPhone like device since people are buying the iPhone for such purposes. So they will introduce a Mac OSX based iPod Touch device. What exactly that means is unclear but...

Apple needs to go up in storage capacity, not down. Otherwise, new iPods may come off as kind of a downgrade. Flash memory is too expensive for that right now, so they'll be sticking to a hard drive. Also, the iPod Touch, if it exists, is supposed to be a tad bit thicker than the iPhone. Why would that be if Apple can fit an iPod, phone, and all that other goodness into one device? It's because it's using a hard drive. Even though it can do less, it'll have to be thicker b/c of the hard drive and perhaps also a bigger, better battery to power that hard drive.

Will the Touch have Wi-Fi? Probably. In order to maintain a good relationship with AT&T, it'd be a good idea to introduce a non-iPhone replacement device in order to keep the iPhone an AT&T device. Will it have IMing? That'd be cool and it'd work really well with heaving IMing teens. If Apple's feeling really revolutionary, they'd do it.

Will Apple deliver the device we're dreaming about? Hell no. The next time a mainstream company like Apple or Microsoft actually releases a product that isn't hindered and still maintains great quality with amazing features is not in my lifetime.

Did I just call Apple mainstream? Yes. Are they as mainstream as Microsoft? No, but are they still mainstream? Yes.

What is everyone's opinion on whether it will actually be available on Wednesday? It seems Apple always has it for sale the same day with the exception of the Iphone...What does everyone think?