I kind of like the new inMotion Classic from Altec Lansing. Follow me on this: it’s not just an iPod dock as it has FM radio, the handle doubles as a stand, and it has rechargeable batteries. The only thing I don’t dig about it is the price.

That blasted Apple event is on Wednesday, and in the interest of having fresh-but-not-really posts on this holiday weekend, here’s some interesting predictions I’ve stumbled upon. The highlight: say goodbye to the iPod classic.

A recent patent filing—well, recent in this sense that is was just published, but was actually filed last year—shows some sort of exercise progress meter + iPod contraption. It’s sort of like the Nike+ deal, yes.

Guess which portable music player finally outsold the iPod in Japan for the first time in four years? If you read the headline of this post and guessed “The Sony Walkman,” then you, my friend, are correct.

Someone out there is liable to actually spend $129 on this original iPod. I don’t even know if it’s available to buy even though there is an Add to Cart button. But more power to you if you have extra cash laying around to spend on a 5GB MP3 player. Truth be told though, this first generation was a very satisfying device. The scroll wheel was actually mechanical and you had to physically move it. Actually, I kind of wanna buy this.

The only reason I’m writing about this is because it looks ridiculous. It’s the “Retro Cassette Stereo Mini Speaker for iPod/iPhone,” and it’s exactly as it sounds. Plug your iPod in there, and off you go.

As much as we’d like the Tapplet, or iPad, to make its debut next month, it’s looking like that won’t be the case. “Sources close to the company” say that the event will be on September 9th and will most assuredly not be Tablet-related. Instead, like last year’s September announcement, it’ll be new iPods and possibly that fancy new iTunes we’ve been hearing about.

While the inclusion of yet more services into Apple’s increasingly bloated all-purpose media player may be seen as excessive, you can always count on Apple to at least sell it.

I’m not sure I’m reading this exactly right. The Transformer cord lets you back up your computer’s files to an iPod, and also lets you pull your photos and music off the iPod. I’m guessing what it boils down to is something like Yamipod or Senuti, built into the cord. Sounds good to me; carry it around and you can always donate a few tracks to a friend when they hear something they like. Whether it works with actual iTunes tracks isn’t spelled out, but I’d guess no.

Tangled cords are absolutely the bane of my existence and yet I’m not quite anal enough to wrap twist ties and rubber bands around excess slack, so I enthusiastically applaud the shortest version possible of any proprietary cable (or any cable, for that matter). Applause, then, to the unfortunately-named iStubz iPod cable.

Recycling cassettes seems to be a trend these days. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. After all, who among us doesn’t have a Fine Young Cannibals single that would be better suited to lamp or wallet duty? Or how about these great little Nano cases — a bit pricey, but they’re Canadian so you can pay with syrup if you have it.

Isn’t this the perfect solution for anyone with an iPhone or iPod Touch (or any iPod for that matter)? I think so. Kensington’s combo charging dock and mini battery pack for the entire iPod family is up for pre-order now. The dock is compatible with the “iPhone 3G, iPhone, iPod touch, iPod nano (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th gen), iPod classic, iPod mini, iPod (1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th gen).” The mini battery pack charges simultaneously as your iPod when docked and will add up to 30 hours of music, six hours of video and three hours of talk time. Not bad for $70.

Most of the buzz surrounding the new iPods was buzzed up when we got the first reveal of the new cases. The hole in the center obviously portended a camera, and the internet has been all-a-twitter ever since. Personally, I can’t get excited over another crappy camera that you’ll never use because you already have an equally crappy camera on your phone. But try telling that to the internet!

Anyway, Cult of Mac, apparently posing as an American reseller (shady), got a Chinese accessory company to send over a bunch of pictures of their new cases. Here I have the quote from the company:

My company had got full information and dimension. Enclosed some image and instruction for your reference. Most of the sample available now. If you need some sample check quality please freely let me know.