Apple readies online store for new products

Apple has shuttered its online store amid speculation that new products are about to be unveiled.

Rumours have been circulating that the firm will issue updates to its Mac Pro workstation line and its consumer oriented iMac, as well as introducing a new monitor. It is unlikely, however, that a new iPod will be revealed as Apple chief executive Steve Jobs prefers to hold dedicated events for the firm's high profile products.

The Mac Pro has been in line for an update for some time now and as delivery lead times have increased, speculation has grown that newer graphics cards and connectivity will arrive on the high-end machine. USB 3 and Firewire 1600 or 3200 have been mooted, along with the latest graphics cards from Nvidia and AMD.

A similar stock situation for the iMac has led commentators to speculate that the all-in-one will receive a hardware update. More exotic rumours include a touch-screen device. Intel's Core i3 processors are tipped to appear on the lower-end of the iMac scale, ridding the line of Intel's older Core2Duo chips.

In the last two years, Apple has only released one monitor, the 24in Cinema Display in October 2008. Its top-of-the-range 30in Cinema Display has remained untouched for over four years and is expected to be replaced by a 27in LED backlit display.

Other candidates for updates include the Macbook Air, which has gone for over a year without change. However, given that Lenovo pulled the plug on its Macbook Air competitor, the ThinkPad X300, there is little pressure on Apple to issue any updates at this point.

Apple will be keen to garner some positive press with its latest updates after the fiasco it suffered with the iPhone 4’s antenna.