iTunes is far too large a brand name for them to just drop, and moving syncing over to iSync would be far too awkward. The public know the brand extends beyond music, it's gone beyond its 'Tunes' beginning. I don't feel that's an issue.

Methinks there will be a new version of iTunes, but it will still be iTunes!

In no way they will change the name of the most sucessfull onlinestore application.

But as you said, it is a good brand! And if a business goes to the lengths it has to make iTunes the biggest music store and most widely known one, why would they change the name... The software does explain it's use in the name because it is used to access the iTunes music store, so in essence if the software name changed the store name would to... iTunes is now synonymous with online music downloads, that makes the brand more powerful that the relevance of the name.

Thats something I hadnt considered, and to be fair, the possible upgrade is potentially very likely.
I hope they stick with the name though, I dont know as they'd change it, its too much of a 'brand name'. And if they do release version 8, I hope there isnt too many changes that will alienate current users.
I actually like the name iMedia though to be fair :D haha

I sure hope for a major new version of iTunes. I just don't understand why they're dragging their feet when it comes to iTunes. It's evolving so slooooow. There are 100s of features missing that they could implement in days that would make sure iTunes stays number one. Every new version is just a disappointment, I think. Bu I hope. Of course I hope.

I don't see it happening. Apple isn't ready to change the iTunes name now and I don't think they'll change it alone. Eventually, Apple is going to go away from the "i"-whatever format and when it does everything will get a refresh. Supposedly Apple has one more "consumer device" waiting in the wings. Wouldn't be surprised if the big change comes after the introduction of whatever it is they're planning.

I think it's very unlikely they will introduce anything like iTunes MediaCenter, as this will severely undermine the market of the AppleTV - which of course makes no sense. I would possibly look for an update to FrontRow (hasn't been updated for ages) and a PC port of the software on the 5th.

There you go - more idle speculation!

1. iTunes 8: 9/10
2. Renaming iTunes: 0/10
3. iMedia App: 0/10
4. Upgrade of Front Row: 5/10
5. Port of Front Row to PC: 2/10

Entirely made up of course, and not based on any data, but still, I think it is essentially improbable that Apple would rename iTunes! Products evolve all the time, and their own branding evolves with them. I don't think anyone genuinely feels odd watching TV Show in an app called i"Tunes". You just don't think about it! iTunes is what it is. I mean, even the generic term "mobile phone" or "cell phone" no longer suggests such devices are merely for making calls. Phones have had cameras, mp3 playback functionality, calendars, text messaging and so on for many years now, but there is no pressure to rename or rebrand them

Like like to see a play this next feature.

iHope they fix Outlook to iPhone syncing - the last update broke this for many of us

Something Apple has done nothing with, and it's almost universally perceived as poorly implemented is iTunes' audio dynamics control. Sound check is nearly worthless, and it's been nearly worthless through countless revisions of the program. It's high time Sound Check became more like Plantronics' Volume Logic. You shouldn't have to pay for an add-on program to get descent dynamic control in iTunes. It would also be extremely useful for those dynamic changes to be directly transferable to iPhones and iPods. I've payed for the excellent Volume Logic on my Mac, but on my iPhone and iPod it's still "volume up, volume down, volume up, volume down" constantly.

If I'm outputting a video to TV, I should be able to browse my library on my iPod without having to stop the video.

how about being able to set what amount of playtime constitutes a "play" for example, if you listen to a song for 1 minute, it counts as a play regardless of whether you finish the song or not.

I think the comments made from hmurchison are spot on, but unfortunatly its a lil too idealistic to implement in one application at this time. Although PC's these days are capable of that it doesn't mean everyone that uses a PC / MAC has that sort of spec, the average family computer isn't gonna be a 'average' of that varity, most people I know that own a computer are only just getting into the 1.5GHz sorta spec with a average of 512RAM, so its just not feasable to have all those features yet IMO

In 5Years, maybe everyone will be running a ideal average for todays standard.....

Annnnnnnnnnnnnyyyyway, they'll never drop the iTunes brand, it'll cause too much confusion with the drag n drop on the go sort who dont realise that its the same thing they're already using, 'keep it simple' after all!

One day though :)

Given Apple's record, Tuesday's keynote will be exclusively about iPods and a brief update on iPhone in the form of the ringtone+song packages.

Of all the suggestions hmurchison has i think only 2 or 3 might show up:

iTunes Store Mobile
A more video-centric, Wi-Fi iPod calls for more movies and and a long shot mobile video store. Probabilty 30%

iTunes ID
A new iTunes upgrade will, hopefully, improve the community aspect. A similar system like LastFM would besides making it cool, can very easily milk existing metadata and increase sales big time. Probabilty 80%

iTunes Lyrics
Something hmurchison forgot is that music discover sometimes is through lyrics. So, why not provide lyrics, and enable an iTS search by lyrics. It's a lot of work, but it's the only way iTunes can make money from too much effort. Probabilty 75%

Custom iPod EQ
Yep, I don't see why a Mac OSX-based iPod would not open up the equalizer. Come on, Apple! Probabilty 40%

In the future, I firmly believe there will be a need for an Apple consumer media server, aka iTunes Server. Having a centralized depository would be killer. Just my $0.02

I don't think we'll see a significant upgrade to iTunes. Remember, iTunes 7.3.x versions support the functionality of the iPhone, and the new rumored iPods have nowhere near the full functionality of the iPhone.

It will be more like iTunes 7.5, mostly for bug fixes and for hardware support of the "iPod mini" and the 6G iPod video.

It's a given that there will be an iTunes 8 by the end of the year. It allows Apple to have an iTunes '08 or 2008 without having the year in the name (which is a little too Microsoftish for their tastes).

Two years ago, Apple released a major upgrade, iTunes 5 on September 7. Then on October 12, they had iTunes 6, which was mostly iTunes 5.1, with the support of the video store and the new iPod video. So, it's clear they chose to sync the release with the business year, as September is the beginning of 2007/08.

It doesn't make sense for a major update for iTunes. If you are comparing it to the fact that iLife is 08, the apps themselves are actually version 7. So... iLife has finally caught up to itunes in version numbers.

More then likely... yes, there will be an update for itunes, probably to make it version 7.5 or something, and still add new features

so it looks like the commenters are split! I still think 8 is a given. Even if it has just the basics, it is just a milestone release

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?

Leopard will come with iTunes 8

What is Leopard's color (not blue (iTunes 7) or green (iTunes 6) ??

I notice a lot of sites and blogs always talking about what the pending release of an upcoming or updated product should have, a wish list or a gripe and rant, if you will, but how effective is that a week before the release? Some of your ideas are excellent and well thought out, so much that Apple developers might take note and actually implement some, but given tge timeframe, you might have to wait until iTunes '09 or iTunes 8.0.

The feature to store Apple Lossless and transcode to lower-bitrate AAC when syncing already exists in iTunes, but only for IPod Shuffles (although fixed at 128-kbit)! IT is really amazing that Apple doesn't just enable this feature for all things syncable.

You can already change some "metadata" by using applescript (but that's only for those using macs, sorry windows users). Anyways, I can't speak for the "date added" attribute in particular, but I know most if not all attributes of a song can be changed through applescript that you can't normally change, like play count etc so it should be possible. If you are looking for some scripts, check out http://dougscripts.com/itunes/ otherwise it's not to hard to pick up enough of the basics to write your own simple scripts.

Also, if a new version of iTunes is released, I sure do hope they keep the blue iTunes icon. Out of the three that I have seen (purple, green, blue) I would have to say that blue is my favorite.

Ringtones for iPhone?!?!