The media queuing up for today's Apple event.

Well, folks, tomorrow night is the start of the NFL season, which can only mean one thing: Apple will announce new iPods today so it can show the new toys off in commercials during tomorrow night's game. Other than the promise seeing the same ad 400 times in the next month, what can we expect from today's event in San Francisco?

Predicting is always a crap shoot when it comes to Jobs and company, but here's my guesses: a 64GB iPod touch with a built-in camera, one last go-round (gasp) for the iPod classic, a newly designed nano, and the introduction of new iTunes features and the (sort of) highly anticipated Cocktail. Who doesn't want a cocktail? It's morning over in here in San Francisco, but by the end of this day, I'll probably need one.  

Oh, and here's what I hope Apple introduces: a touch-screen nano. Sound silly? A touch-screen would ensure that all iPods--except the classic, which will be dead in a year, if not by the end of the announcement today--will operate using the same interface in the same manner; it'll just be smaller. The nano already has an accelerometer, so I'd bet Apple is  considering this...

Anyway, we'll fine out soon enough! Come right back to this post before 10 AM Pacific time, 1 PM Eastern, when I'll be live-blogging the announcement.

12:43: Lance Ulanoff and I are sending photos and updates already; check out our live coverage after the jump!

2:15: Song over! Lights back up....here's SJ.

And: Show's over folks, lights up, and off I go to work.

2:13: In the meantime, stay tuned to PCMag.com later today for reviews of the new iPods, written by me. I am pretty disappointed that there is no actual "Cocktail", since I will need one at the end of this day.

It's a Fender Mustang, not a Jazzmaster--sorry about that.

2: 10: Song over...Oh no, there is another...

A song from her new album...pretty guitar work actually. not bad, NJ, not bad...
Who is she ripping off vocally? I can't put my finger on it yet, but I will let you know when i figure it out.

2:08: Norah Jones, why are you so sad? This is a heartbreak, folks. Lance Ulanoff is crying. Walt Mossberg and David Pogue are hugging.

2:07: Okay, peeps, let's just get through this together, after all, you never know if there will be another ONE MORE THING...though, i kinda doubt it. I am surprised that there is no camera in the ipod touch...

2:06: She is accompanied by a full band. "This is the earliest I've ever played," She is rocking a Fender Jazzmaster? Very photogenic, Apple-friendly band onstage with her.

2:05: SJ claims all the new models are environmentally friendly... hmm.

Looks like SJ is wrapping it up... Lights dim a bit more.

"Like you, we love music, it's the primary reason to do this." Live performance time. Who? Norah Jones. Better than Jack Johnson. I saw her in a movie recently... Don't quit your day job, Norah

2:04: nano pricing: 8GB for $149 or 16GB for $179, all available today. ...One more thing?

Another ad. People dancing and being video recorded on the nano with cheery pop music playing. "nano shoots video." Expect to see this 100 times in the next week.

2:03: FM RADIO! No kidding! Finally!

And a voice recorder app and a pedometer for those who jog. So, FM radio, Voice Over, pedometer, and camera in the new nano.

New colors, too--shiny polished anodized aluminum.

2:02: Easy to sync to your PC or Mac using iPhoto, and with one click, it will be sent to YouTube. The nano is the most popular PMP in the world. Adding VoiceOver, just like the ipod shuffle, Genius mixes, etc.

2:00: On back of every nano, a video camera and a mic, as well as a speaker. Same look, with new camera. Will it also be inside the new iPod touch? I think so.

Showing footage playing on a nano that was shot on a nano...looks good!

1:59: Um, he said that's new the iPods, but what about the nano? There must be more...
Wait! ONE MORE THING! A new iPod video camera! We think...

SJ is talking about how everyone is using portable video cameras to make YouTube videos
The flip is 4GB for $149--and we want to challenge that. We will start with 8GB of memory..and it will be FREE! meaning--it will be included in... the new iPod nano.

1:55: iPod classic is same price 160 GB now--a 40GB increase. Same size/shape.

Next: iPod shuffle. Nothing new here, just a rundown of the new player they introduced this year...expect more headphones from manufacturers with shuffle controls. They showed a slide of the Monster beats by Dre headphones with an integrated shuffle controller.

Yeah, yeah, yeah...we already know about the shuffle...Oh, they have added new colors: black, pink, green, $59 for 2GB or $79 for 4GB. And a special Edition polished stainless $99 for 4GB shuffle...Ohhhhh, ahhhhh....It's still a shuffle.

1:54: is there a camera? Ummmmm...no?

Here's the new ad: annoying music, various iPod touches, gaming, Tiger Woods golfing in a game, "the funnest iPod ever"...same slogan.

On to the iPod classic! no camera!

1:52: iPod touch is "the most affordable gateway to the App Store," At $229 it is quite affordable...but now it will sell for less.

How much less? Today an 8GB is now $199...not bad! 64GB is now here--$399. 32GB is now $299.

It is "faster", new graphics card OpenGLES.

1: 50: This game is just like real life, except the 49ers suck. Go Skins! Use the screen to draw customized plays--pretty cool. Touchdown 49ers...yeah, right. More games coming to App Store, like Command and Conquer...

...OK, gaming demo seems to be wrapping up.

1:47: Last up: EA's Travis Boatman. Travis: Showing us the next title EA is working on, Madden NFL 10. New to the app store. Steelers vs 49ers demo. Looks pretty good, though not nearly as detailed as the Madden we know and love.

Deep NFL playbook allows you to pick a favorite defensive scheme and apply the virtual 49ers virtually intercept as John madden says something obvious...

1:45: Next up: Gameloft's Mark Hickey. Mark: seems nervous. Demos a first-person shooter called Nova. Good looking graphics for killing evil aliens. Get off the ship, and immediately blow away intelligent life on the planet you've just touched down on.

Use the screen to zoom in on evil aliens and KILL them. But you can also do this while listening to music from your music library, just like in real life. Green Day is playing while he kills aliens. Shipping later this year.

1:42: You can play Black Eyed Peas--yay--and even remixes of their tracks. Folks, this is a hard game to describe, but it's basically a race-car game set to music. You can share the music mix you played to with your friends and challenge the to beat your score.

"Thank you and rock ON."

1:41: Hmmm... Basically an ad for the game...where's the beef, Phil?

Next up: Tapulous...Bart Decrem will be talking to us. Bart says they reached 1 million users in three weeks. Riddim Dibbon, introduced today, is a music game in which you are a DJ, racing down a ribbon. If you fall out of rhythm you will DIE.

1:38: Phil invites gaming developers--Ubisoft will now take the stage...here's Ben Mattes, a producer from Ubisoft. Ubisoft is putting finishing touches on Assassins Creed 2: You are an Italian nobleman basically killing people in medieval times.

Violence! You can put your own face on wanted posters using your photo library
you can customize your game with your photos. Will be in stores Nov 11th.

1:36: iTunes has 21, 178 gaming titles compared to 607 on Sony PSP and 3,680 on Nintendo DS. Video showing us cool games you can buy...lights out, hard to type, sorry folks. It's mainly just cars crashing and loud music and dinosaurs eating aliens. Video over, applause from the hired crowd.

1:35: So, they are framing the touch as a great iPod, a great handheld computer, and a great portable gaming device. I assume Phil will now tell us that it's going to be a great camera now, too. But first, more about gaming...

1:34: "It's also a great mobile computer" with great email, a great browser (BUT NO FLASH SUPPORT!). ...Babbling about what you can already do on iPod touches--go on to Facebook, Twitter...all in your pocket. "It's also a great portable game player."

1:32: What are the 3 things that set apart the iPod touch? It's "a great iPod", it's "a great video experience", and it's "great for discovering new music with the Wi-Fi iTunes music store."

Ok...so, what are they adding? Babbling about Genius... "Now, with Genius Mixes, you can listen to mixes created for you from your library..." We have covered this.

1:31: Itunes 9 is available for free today. Noooowwww...iPods? Phil Schiller will show us the new players. First: iPod sales figures...220 million iPod sales. iPod has 73.8% market share. SanDisk at just over 7%, Microsoft at 1%. Aw, poor Zune... Will the Zune HD change this?

Over 20 million ipod touch sales.

1:28: On to iTunes Extras: like LP, but for movies looks like the extra features sections on a DVD menu...in fact nearly identical...goods, they needed to do this. And now it's easier to navigate films by chapter, just like a DVD menu. Demo for iTunes complete.

SJ returning to stage.

1:27: Pretty great, interviews with band members, exclusive videos of performances...how much will we pay for this. ugh, now they are showing Dave Matthews Band's LP. He made his own artwork and the font is based on his handwriting...so, that's cool that artists can do that, even if they are smooth jazz light rock dudes like Dave.

1:25: On to iTunes LP: Let's check out the Doors...photos, videos, memorabilia in Now playing screen, you get photos of band, lyrics--looks pretty awesome. Hmm, I assume this is for both iTunes on a computer and iPods, but not confirmed yet...

1:20: On to iTunes Store: simple, clean design with icons on a white background. Top Charts now feature a preview button--easy to listen to songs that are most popular--and of course, easy to buy them.

On new music, click on the "i" button on an album's cover, and you get a window that pops up and immediately begins streaming the album. You can now gift an album, add it to your wishlist, and share to Facebook or Twitter.

Just like sharing an article online on Facebook--you can comment above a thumbnail and a link to the record.

1:19: First we demo App Organization...on the sync page for the iPod, there's now an App tab; click on it, and a virtual iPod screen with the App icons appears. You can drag and rearrange them easily, and they are also listed on the left in a scrollable column.

A search window allows you to search for specific apps, and immediately load them onto your player--click Apply and it's done.

On to Home Sharing: enter account name and password. Under Shared, you can see his wife's library...even her Apps are available. If he wants to play a song of hers, he can stream it. but now, he can select an app or song and drag it to his library. Will it sync to your ipod, too? Unclear.

You can auto-sync purchases from shared accounts as well--nice.

1:17: ITunes LP: it comes with videos, liner notes for an album
tons of artwork, comes with everything an LP would have--but digitally--plus videos
Looks very cool, and artists can get involved in the design...will it be available to indies. or just major labels?

Here's SJ's sidekick Jeff to demo iTunes 9 for us.

1:15: The iTunes Store gets a redesign with new artist and movie pages, Zune Marketplace-esque in look. And...iTunes LP...is this "Cocktail"?

1:13: Home Sharing: now you copy songs, movies, TV shows onto up to 5 computers in your house... log into iTunes, and not only can you stream from your sister's computer, but you can copy from here compter's itunes library to yours. Nice.

1:12: You can sync all of these Genius Playlists...but also sync "events" and "faces"--sync photos from Becky's Birthday. But now, you can manage your apps on your ipod touch and iPhone as well--in iTunes on your computer.

"

1:11: After analyzing 54 billion songs, Genius Mixes will be endless mixes of songs from your library that go great together. Next: Improved Syncing.

1:10: over 8.5 billion song sales, and over 100 million accounts now on iTunes
Today: we introduce iTunes 9. Easier to navigate; "We've cleaned it up a bit", and we have improved Genius."

1:08: Also, they are adding ringtones--30,000 from the Big 4 major labels
they will be $1.29 per ringtone. 3.1 is available today for free...moving on to music
Start with iTunes: it is now in 23 different countries, and it is now the #1 music retailer...in the wooorld!

1:07: "iphone OS 3.1 has some new features and bug fixes--out today. Genius technology will now work with Apps, not just music...so your phone will suggest apps to you based on the apps you own."

1:06: "Today, we get to talk about music, but first, iPhone sales are now at 30 million." Applause.
"The App Store has over 75,000 apps now, 1.8 billion apps--not including updates."

1:05: "I now have the liver of a mid-20's person who died in a car crash and I wouldn't be here without that person's generosity--I hope we all become organ donors....I'd like to thanks Tim Cook for running the show in my absence. So, I'm vertical and back at Apple."

1:03: "I'm very happy to be here today with you all, 5 months ago I had a liver transplant."

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere's Steve Jobs! Skinny but smiling, standing ovation from the crowd of completely impartial reporters

1:00: Song's almost over... And here we go....lights dimming.

12: 59: "I Know It's Only Rock n Roll" is now blasting...this is Apple's slogan for this event, so this must mean we are mere seconds from Awesome. A security guard informs us that the doors have been closed, and we are trapped.

We are being asked to turn off cell phones...the start is almost upon us.

12:56:And will today be the death date of the iPod classic? Is SJ gonna be the host? Who will be today's awkward musical guest?

12:53: Get excited for new iPods-almost definitely an iPod touch with a camera, probably a nano with a camera, and a new music format that will save the major labels, called Cocktail.

My dream of a touch-screen nano is likely a pipe dream...

12:52: Well, folks, we are here yet again, on a beautiful sunny day in San Francisco. The Who is blasting on the PA while people in purplish Apple logo shirts frantically push reporters into seats.

12:45. This place is literally buzzing with the tech media ltterati. There's Mossberg, Pogue, Gartenberg,Spoonaur, Topolosky and more.

[Engadget's live blog has a pic of Lance and Tim online; second photo down, the two good-looking guys on the right. I guess they really are there! - Carol M.]