You do realize that "tablet Macs" comment we just made was supposed to be a throwaway line, right? We, personally, are not getting our hopes up that any such thing will surface come the Stevenote on the 6th; we're not saying it won't happen, either, but we just can't see investing more than maybe a dime's worth of emotional commitment on a rumor that's so fringe you'd think it was a really attractive vest from the '60s. The bottom line for us: tablet Macs in two weeks? Pleasant surprise and plot fodder for days. No such luck? No harm, no foul.

On the other hand, we're having a little more trouble staying aloof about the prospect of cheap iPods showing up to the party; somehow that just seems a whole lot more likely to happen. For one thing, there's been some definite downward pricing pressure in recent weeks (especially with the Dell Digital Jukebox now on the scene). For another, by the time Steve takes the stage, Christmas will be but a distant memory, and shoppers will no longer have looming holidays blackmailing them into paying top dollar for the juiciest player on the market. And between the AOL deal just kicking in and the Pepsi 100 million-song giveaway set to launch in roughly five weeks' time, we get the distinct sense that Apple is really on the verge of a take-no-prisoners push to snap up as much of the portable music market as it can sink its teeth into-- so what better time to lower iPod Heaven's price of entry from $299 to something that'll let a whole new wave of eager consumers hop on the bandwagon?

Of course, Apple couldn't just lower prices on its current 'Pod lineup without nuking those profit margins that are the envy of the industry, which is why AppleInsider's latest buzz about "a pair of low-cost iPod music players" set to debut "in January of next year" strikes us as utterly plausible. Reportedly "sources with proven track records" insist that the new units will come in relatively eensy 2 GB and 4 GB capacities, somewhat corroborating a MacRumors Page 2 blurb of admittedly "uncertain authenticity" reporting an expected January intro of a 2 GB "mini iPod" that comes "in a variety of colors." There's no word about colors from AppleInsider, but it does note that the new 'Pods will have a "more restrictive set of capabilities" (what, no Solitaire?!) and will-- ready for the good part?-- "fall below the $200 threshold."

A $199 mini-iPod? Sounds like a winner for a whole new market segment, if you ask us. If you're disappointed by the storage capacities, hey, c'mon-- a couple of years ago "500 songs in your pocket" would have sounded huge. The 4 GB one, in particular, isn't that claustrophobic; heck, we're still making do with our original 5 GB models, which aren't much bigger. And we paid twice as much as the miniPod sticker price currently bouncing around in Rumorville.

So will this alleged miniPod be able to compete with the Dell player that's only $25 more, but can hold almost four times as many songs? We figure that depends on whether or not the miniPod has at least a tenth of the style and ease of use its big brother has... and how well Apple gets the word out. Considering the sheer volume of iPod ads plastering the planet, we figure the latter is no concern. And the former? Well, this is Apple we're talking about.

Of course, we have to keep reminding ourselves that, as of yet, this is all still just rumor. (One thing that makes it easier to remember is the fact that one of the sources AppleInsider cites for the miniPod reports is, well, us.) Nothing's certain until the 6th, and thanks to Steve's patented Reality Distortion Field, at least two-thirds of everything still won't be certain after that. But at this point, cheap 'n' teeny iPods at Expo are the one thing we'd actually put money on if we absolutely had to. Well, that and Steve's wardrobe, of course.