Apple Media Event Countdown Begins (NASDAQ: AAPL)

Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) now annual fall media event is just hours away, an event in years past that has been focused on music and has seen a number of product and technology announcements, including several iterations of the iPod Nano and the iPod Touch.

The most common speculation for this year’s event is that there will be a new crop of iPods topping the agenda. CNET said that there’s “may also be a lot more besides the widely expected iPod Touch with front-facing camera and retina display.” Some have suggested that Apple will talk about new music discover features on its iTunes music store. One leak suggested that sample clips may increase from 30 seconds in length to 60 or 90 seconds.

Others predict that CEO Steve Jobs will have something to say about a new Apple TV, potentially with Netflix streaming. The device may be powered by the same iOS which powers the iPod and the iPhone. There may also be new pricing for TV show rentals.

With Sony making an announcement just hours ago about a new music and video subscription service, there will be more interest than usual in what Jobs has to say about the largest music sales service I nthe world. Amazon has also been in discussions with big media companies to offer unlimited views of older television shows and movies online.

Apple also announced late yesterday that it plans to provide a live stream of the event, but only for those running Mac OSX, or an iOS based device.  Some believe that the move to only broadcast the live stream to Apple users is a snub on the part of the company, but it’s more likely that Apple is hoping to limit the number of viewers of its live stream in order to prevent the stream from being overloaded by substantial amounts of traffic.

Apple Inc. (Apple) designs, manufactures, and markets personal computers, mobile communication devices, and portable digital music and video players, and sells a variety of related software, services, peripherals, and networking solutions. The Company sells its products worldwide through its online stores, its retail stores, its direct sales force, and third-party wholesalers, resellers, and value-added resellers. In addition, the Company sells a variety of third-party Macintosh (Mac), iPhone and iPod compatible products, including application software, printers, storage devices, speakers, headphones, and various other accessories and peripherals through its online and retail stores, and digital content and applications through the iTunes Store. The Company sells to consumer, small and mid-sized business (SMB), education, enterprise, government and creative customers. In December 2009, the Company acquired digital music service Lala.

Shares of AAPL traded up 2.37% during morning trading on Wednesday, hitting $248.85.