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September is already looking like a hot time in the gadget biz, with several major releases tipped to be happening in or around the beginning of autumn. This makes a lot of sense since most products hoping to make a splash in holiday shopping will want to be on shelves by October, which means a September release is very important. September is also the hot time for back to school/college buying, which always is a big time for notebooks, netbooks and MP3 players.

So, what’s on the agenda for the fall of 2009?

• The new Zune, the Zune HD, has been reliably rumored all over the place to be set for release on September 8th. The device, featuring a OLED multi-touchscreen, HD Radio and a Tegra chip for superior video quality, has a good chance to be a major hit with students looking for an all-in-one media machine for those long nights in the dorm room. If the price is right, this could be the first really big seller in Microsoft’s Zune line and solidify their Number 2 position behind the iPod in the MP3 market.
• The Second generation iPod Touch was released last September, so the rumors that the third generation will be released THIS September sound reasonable. On top of the history, I think that Apple will need to respond in some way to the Zune HD as well as to Touch users complaining they didn’t get any of the 3GS goodness. What new features will we see? No clue yet, beyond general speed and performance improvements in line with the iPhone 3GS specs. However, I would not be surprised if Apple didn’t go after the one glaring gap in the Zune HD feature set and added full Bluetooth A2DP to the iPod Touch allowing VoIP as well as wireless syncing, maybe skipping the wired earbuds in favor of a wireless Apple Bluetooth set..or perhaps activate FM transmitting. Whatever way they go, I am sure the leaks will begin mid summer.
  (Note: Eric noted to me below, quite accurately, that OS 3.0 DID activate the broadcom BT chip in the iPod Touch, but it is only for stereo, no two way with Bluetooth headsets)
• The Apple “netbook” rumors are still swirling this time saying that Apple will be releasing a “large form” iPod Touch in the early fall, featuring a 7 to 9 inch touchscreen. We do know that Apple has been buying up touchscreens in that size range all over Asia, and the fall would be the right time to roll out such a product. Of course, this is still relatively wild speculation, but I could easily see Cupertino turning out a premium PMP/Internet device, heavily integrated with the iPhone and MacBook Air to steal some Zune HD thunder (Steve, you bully). They would be going for college students and the same high end market that Sony touches with the Vaio P “Not a Netbook”. Such a product would be just the sort of thing Steve Jobs would love to use as a solid “I’m BBBAACKKKKKK” kind of statement.
• Phone wise, I am pretty sure the much hyped BlackBerry Storm 2 will be appearing in September, along with a whole slew of new Android phones. I would also not be surprised to see the next Palm WebOS device appear in the fall, and a number of the talked-about Snapdragon based “Smartbooks” from Samsung and other vendors.

Whichever way these rumors go, I am already saving up my gadget money for September. I have a feeling this is going to be a VERY interesting autumn for tech buyers.

Zealot (468 Posts) - Website | Twitter | Facebook

By day a department manager and writer for a major network device vendor...by night Zealot stalks the mean magnetic streets, striking fear into the hearts of bandwidth abusers and theme park mascots. Zealot has been involved with mobile devices for more than a decade now, starting off with dumb phones, moving to PDAs and then to smartphones, notebooks and netbooks with the odd PMP thrown in. Most of his mobile time currently is spent on a Treo Pro, Zune HD, Thinkpad T61, Gigabyte M912M or a Hackintoshed Compaq Mini 704. He proudly groks the Geek community and considers himself a Neo Maxi Zune Dweebie (thanks Will Wheaton!).