In recent days, Apple rumor mongering seems to have reached an all-time high. With talk about a new iPod Nano, leaked images and rumors of a Special Event on September 5th, things are certainly beginning to heat up. If you haven’t seen it, here’s a rendering from Gizmodo.

The reaction from the blogosphere has been uniformly negative. When I first saw it, I tended to agree. After all, the new dimensions seemed really odd. The increased size was rather strange too; people who purchase the Nano usually want a tiny portable device. Then it struck me.

This thing isn’t the iPod Nano, despite what everyone is claiming. Here’s what I think: Apple will increase the Shuffle’s and the Nano’s capacities. They will upgrade the 5.5G iPod to an aluminum case (as shown in the rendering above), and introduce an even better widescreen iPod.

That’s four different models, just as AppleInsider claims. How thin would this new video iPod be? I honestly doubt that Apple can shrink the dimensions any more; expect the thickness to be roughly the same as the current line-up, but perhaps with a tapered edge.

I also believe this unit will be using flash memory for storage. Although more expensive than a micro-harddrive of similar capacity, flash memory comes in a smaller footprint and uses much less power. Not to mention it is also more durable than a hard drive. Capacities would ra

What do you think?