Fall is fast approaching, and that means new product announcements from Apple. I have written about some of Apple’s new developments earlier on my blog–you can find my previous posts here and here. Apple is set to make some new announcements in mid-September, and the word is that a new iPod Video is likely to be announced. The biggest anticipated new development for iTunes is downloadable movies. These movies are expected to be priced at $9.99 or $14.99. Either of these price points seem too high–one can go to Wal-Mart and pick up the same movie at a higher resolution and with special features on DVD, and people wth even a little tecnical knowledge can convert their existing DVDs to iPod format already. The convenience factor of direct iPod movie downloads will likely rack up a lot of sales for Apple (and the movie industry), however.

Some of the expected movie release titles for iTunes include American Psycho, Dogma, Cold Mountain, The Lion King, Aladdin, and Chicken Little. You can find a complete list here.

Apple is notorious for keeping their new products under wraps, and the new Pod is no exception. The AppleInsider recently reported on some new features supposedly coming from Apple this month. :

Although the semi-official word out of Apple Americas is that invitations to the event have “not been sent” out, a seemingly inadvertent leak out of Apple Europe last week pinned the affair for Tuesday, September 12. It will be hosted by Jobs in a yet-to-be disclosed California location and beamed via satellite throughout the world.

Jobs will have much to talk about during the event, sources familiar with the chief executive’s plans have said, including new iMacs and a much-anticipated update to the iPod nano. But the real push, they say, will be tied to the big screen.

After what has seemed like nearly two years of rampart speculation and unbridled enthusiasm on the part of its fans, the Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple is ready to introduce its al la carte feature film download service as part of iTunes.

Though slightly battered in his negotiations with major motion picture studios, Jobs is expected to announce that flicks from at least one major studio will be immediately available for download starting at just $9.99 a pop. In very much the same way national television networks elected to join the iTunes video bandwagon after some initial hesitation, additional studios are likely to follow suit in the coming months.

This is great news for Apple and for iPod fans. Movies downloads are the next logical step after music video and TV show downloads. There are also rumors of an iTunes jukebox and a new 23 inch widescreen iMac. A video-enable AirPort Express base station is also rumored to be announced. It is also anticipated that the new Core 2 Duo chips will be added to Apple’s current desktop and laptop offerings.

It is widely speculated that the new iPod with video will contain a much larger screen. Here is a widely circulated “leaked” image of a new iPod video screen. Who knows if this is actually for real.

In related news, DRM problems with Sony audio from the iTunes music store have been reported. Apparently some tracks from Sony artists are being prevented from being downloaded. Read more on this subject on Kim Cameron’s recent post.

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