5 Things To Watch For At Apple's Big Event

Rumors range from the likely, as in new iPod Nano and Touch models, to the outlandish, including that this could finally be the week Apple announces a deal to carry Beatles songs in the iTunes music store.

Parsing all the rumors and endless speculation, here's what's shaken out as "likely" for Wednesday's Apple event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco:

1. A New IPod Nano: The new iPod Nano is expected to look a lot more like Apple's iPod Shuffle than the current Nano, with sources suggesting a display size of 3cm by 3cm. Apple Insider, which has been hyping those rumors, has also reported the addition of Wi-Fi connectivity and a 30-pin dock connector for the new Nano.

2. A New iPod Touch: Apple is also expected to upgrade the iPod Touch with a higher-resolution screen and new camera, and some analysts, such as Kaufman Bros.' Shaw Wu, see not one but two Touch releases, one basic and one with features advanced enough to be called an iPhone without the phone. The Apple-centric blog iLounge is further reporting that the iPod Touch is reverting back to what the first iPod Touch looked like from the rear, with some modifications. So sure are some accessory manufacturers that a new iPod Touch is on the way that they're already offering iPod cases reflecting the rumored changes.

3. An Update For Apple TV: Numerous reports suggest Apple is eventually expected to release a $99-version of its set top box, based on Apple's iOS. Will it come Wednesday?

4. An Upgrade for iTunes: Several rumors have it that Apple will double the length of song samples on iTunes to a full minute, in order to better compete with online music services that let users sample and stream full songs. Other whispers include that Apple will add social networking features to iTunes that allow users to share playlists with friends, or introduce an upgraded, cloud-based version of iTunes that allow users access to their music from anywhere. Cheaper TV show rentals (down to 99 cents from $1.99 and $2.99), and even movies from Netflix could also be in the offering.

5. Streaming Tie-In?: More than a few sources have made note of Apple's last minute announcement that it will live-stream today's event via video over the Apple site. To access it "requires either a Mac running Safari on Mac OS X version 10.6 Snow Leopard, an iPhone or iPod touch running iOS 3.0 or higher, or an IPad," according to an alert from Apple. Given that it's the first time Apple has chosen to live-stream one of its exclusive, highly-hyped media announcements, maybe it will choose to demonstrate new products or new upgrades using the live stream.

Apple's event begins at 1 pm Eastern / 10 am Pacific, live-streamed at Apple.com.