What was missing from the Apple event?

It is possible that what was missing from the Apple event this week is much more interesting than what was included. What does that tell us about Apple and the rumor mill?

The Apple event came and went this week, with mainly music-related announcements: a new iTunes version, a music-related social networking app, new iPod pricing and specs, and so on and on. Of course, we also got to see Steve Jobs back in action, which was probably more meaningful in real terms than any of the product announcements. But more meaningful yet, in some ways, is what was missing from this public relations extravaganza and what those missing pieces tell us about Apple and the Apple rumor mill, according to an eWeek article.

The rumor mill ran rampant in front of this latest event, perhaps because of the absence of a large recent event, or perhaps simply because of the prior public absence of Jobs. So the huge Apple fan club was treated to a wide variety of possibilities, almost none of which came true. We did not get a word about a tablet computer, not a word and certainly not a picture. The Beatles are not for sale on iTunes today, and were not even mentioned in the course of the event.

We didn’t even get an iPod Touch with a camera. In truth, that says little about Apple. An Apple with Steve Jobs at the helm will always be creative, and they will always try to push the time envelope as well as the technology envelope. We did not get a tablet, or the Beatles, or a camera in the Touch, because Apple did not want to give them to us. We didn’t get them because it was not possible to do those things right in the time available, and Apple is unlikely to ever bring a half-baked product to market.

It is the rumor mill, of course, that was at fault. They have the right products in mind, and the products that were rumored to exist will exist at some point in the near future. It is just that it is much easier to imagine a product than it is to design and build one. Apple watchers, industry analysts, and sideline pundits will always be able to imagine products faster than Apple can produce them. That does not lessen the fun, nor does it invalidate the rumors; it simply displaces them in time.

• Is a Jobs Apple event appearance necessary?
• Let’s Rock Apple event will showcase new products like iPod Touch,
• Today’s Apple iPod event
• What will happen at Apple’s Wednesday event?
• Apple trying to coordinate Jobs return with public event, product launch