With iPhone 2 around the corner, what's in store for the iPod touch?

We're less than five days away from at least the announcement, and who knows... maybe the shipment of the next generation of Apple iPhone. We know iPhone SDK is coming as well, and we know the touch will share much of the same software functionality as the iPhone. Could that mean an iPod touch re-design on Monday as well? Take video, for example. If the iPhone is given the ability to record video, is that a function that could come to the touch too?

And if rumors of a $199 subsidized iPhone prove true, what happens to the touch price point? It can't be less than $199, or it would cut into iPod nano sales. More than $199, and why would someone buy a touch when there would be potentially more functionality in the new iPhone?

Apple has previously stated if a product is going to get cannibalized, they want it to get cannibalized by their own product, rather than someone else's. That may be true here too, but it just seems like the price points could make for a crowded product lineup between $200 and $300.

Multi-Channel Gift Card from Apple

I don't want to make too big of deal out of this, as it may have been Apple Retail policy for some time now. However, I purchased an Apple Store gift card at the local Apple Store today, and on the receipt, it was listed as "Multichannel gift card." This could simply be a change to the way gift cards are differentiated in the store (vs. an iTunes card) or it could indicate a new multi-purpose gift card that could be used in the store, for iTunes, or maybe the new App store...

Rampant speculation, but at least it's not more iPhone news...

June Apple Fantasy Merger: Nintendo

(Each month we weigh the pros and cons of a particular potential merger for Apple. Please note the "fantasy" part of this speculation: Many times the mergers mentioned couldn't or wouldn't be realistically possible. But put all that aside and enjoy this month's edition of Fantasy Merger.)

Apple has been on a tear conquering the worlds of portable music, cell phones, and computers. There are two areas though, where Apple continues to meet resistance: The settop box (Apple TV) and gaming. This month's fantasy merger would solve both of these problems overnight: Merge/Buy Nintendo.

The Wii has been a success in large part due to the (here it comes) "think different" approach they've taken to game control. From the outside, it seems like there would be several workplace culture similarities between the two companies, more than say Apple and Sony.

Apple would immediately have a gaming hit on its hands, and a device in millions of homes (millions more than Apple TV) in which to stream TV, movies, and music.

Will it happen? As if with all these fantasy mergers, probably not. But not letting little things like company valuations, international ownership issues, and ego clashes get in the way, it looks like a great match.

Let's not forget the other part of WWDC...

iPhone this, iPhone that. As the WWDC keynote approaches, the chatter is ratcheted up even further abouth the new iPhone, and its slew of features/software.

But let's not forget, WWDC existed long before the iPhone. First and foremost, it is a conference for OS X developers. We might just be looking at a situation in which Steve sneaks something under the radar regarding Mac development, while everyone is worked up in an iPhone frenzy. We already know how the iPhone story ends: Bigger storage, gps, and probably video conferencing. So where could the surprise come from next Monday? How about a new API making it easier to run Windows apps natively under OS X? Maybe the announcement of a similar self-service Apple store independent OS X developers? Maybe some new xCode tricks making development for the Mac and the iPhone simultaneously a cake walk?

Again, even we've speculated on possible hardware announcements like newer MacBooks, or the introduction of a tablet, but it could be a quiet, under-the-radar development tweak that has the greatest long-lasting effect on Apple marketshare and stock price in the long-term.

(And don't forget, we'll have live video coverage of the keynote announcements beginning at noon ET / 9AM PT.)

TDL Live This week: (6/2) Apple News Roundup

Ryan and Adam offer have a Keynote preview, and a look at the rest of the Apple news, now less than a week from the keynote (and our live coverage.)