The new Nano: total disaster or clever marketing?

There has been a lot of speculation about the images that have been floating around the net that apparently depict the yet-to-be-released version of the iPod Nano. These pictures were instantly denounced as fake (mostly due to their decidedly ugly design) but when Apple started to send cease and desist notices to any site showing the images, people started to take them seriously. You see, Apple is claiming that these images are owned by Apple Inc., and if they’re owned by Apple a lot of people assume that they must be legitimate. That is to say you’ll be able to go out and pick up a new “Fat Nano™” sometime this holiday season, right? I’m not so convinced.

Sure, Apple is taking this leak very seriously. Gizmodo for instance, who very rarely pulls a story, removed the images from their site after having a little chat with the Apple lawyers. It seems that Apple Inc. did not want these images to be seen – or is that just what they want us to think? Steve Jobs is a master at manipulating the stream of news coming from Cupertino. The most recent example of this is the launch of the iPhone. The iPhone was announced at Macworld ‘07 way back in January, 6 months before the public was able to get its hands on it. Still, it seemed that the iPhone stayed in the news nearly every week during those 6 months. How could this be? The iPhone stayed in the news because Apple allowed it to. Every week or so they would let slip some new tidbit (including false information, such as the last-minute switch to a glass screen which was impossible given their production schedule) to keep enthusiasts interested. Steve Jobs understands completely how news is spread, and by manipulating ‘the system,’ the iPhone gained hype when it should have been losing it.

This all relates to the latest Nano leak in a few different ways. First, like I said, Apple is awesome at marketing. Second, Apple leaks don’t “just happen” like the Nano one has. Apple employees are completely tight-lipped about anything coming down the road (especially new hardware) because many former Apple employees have been fired by Jobs for letting something slip. Finally, it’s important to examine how Apple has handled leaks in the past. A little over a month ago the complete design of their new keyboard was leaked and placed on every gadget site’s front page within a day – well before the final product was released. Did Apple send out their legal team then to serve Gizmodo with a cease and desist then? Absolutely not – they almost never do. With those tidbits in mind I’m going to weave a tale of potential conspiracy that is probably totally off-base…but then again, most conspiracy theories are.

I think Apple let these images slip purposefully. Then, because of the obvious “Fake!” reaction, they sent lawyers after anyone who showed them. The lawyers claim the images are Apple property because they are – but later Apple will admit that the “Fat Nano™” design was just an early mock-up. By leaking the design Apple gets everyone buzzing about the new iPods and therefore creates a ton of publicity. Then, on September 5th (the official Apple event taglined “The beat goes on,” maybe a Beatles reference?), they release a new iPhone-like iPod with touch controls and everyone goes crazy with praise. It’s pretty far-fetched but it wouldn’t surprise me if it happened. We’ll know on the 5th. Expect another post shortly after the event.

I’m excited for this event because I haven’t been very impressed with the current-gen iPods. I’ve actually started jumping on board the Zune bandwagon. If Apple doesn’t deliver the goods at the upcoming event I think I’m going to wait for the 2nd-gen Zune.