As we heard on Monday, there’s a possibility that the iPod might see a refresh later this month. At this point, we can only speculate at what such an event could bring, but what could happen with the iPod Classic and iPod Nano? Is this the end of the line for the click wheel, to be replaced by an all-touchscreen lineup, or is there a little more life left in them? Let’s take a look at the options, and why I think both the iPod Nano and iPod Classic aren’t going anywhere.

A “reliable source within Apple” has informed MacMagazine of an iPod press event that is to take place in mid-August. This event would detail the iOS 4 updates for iPad, a potential refresh of the iPod Touch hardware, and perhaps even some information about Apple’s remaining clickwheel iPod lines that have fallen by the wayside in this touch interface era. While the source didn’t give an exact date, we can assume it will most likely be around August 16th or 17th.

As many of you will be aware, Apple is hosting a music themed event in San Francisco on September 9th. The tagline on the invitations reads “It’s only rock and roll, but we like it,” which certainly suggests music will play an important role in the keynote. While there are certainly rumors surrounding an update to the iPod line, there are also many other rumors that have been circulating the Internet, so here’s a round-up of all the possibilities we could see from Apple tomorrow.

According to a new patent application from Apple, the company we all know and love wants to create a new type of packing for their iPhones and iPods. As we have seen through the years, normal packaging is designed to put some sort of advertisement on the outside while also keeping the product inside safe and sound. With this new “active packaging,” Apple would be able to both power the device and send data to it in order to have it display some sort of media, such as a video, while sitting on shelves waiting to be purchased.

If you were to tell any of your fellow geeks that the second generation iPod touch is faster than Apple’s very own iPhone, they would probably point at you and laugh. However, that statement may be extremely believable based on some numbers and information from Handheld Games Corp.’s CEO Thomas Fessler. Their game, TouchSports Tennis, may be the perfect example of this performance difference, too. Since this tennis game requires impressive 3D rendering, Handheld Games has had to specifically optimize its performance for the different Apple products on which it runs. However, they are now saying that the iPod touch second generation has allowed them to keep the most complex graphics, with two 1,500 polygon tennis players with 32 bones each compared to the iPod touch first generation’s and iPhone’s 800 polygon players.

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Here, then, we have a game perfectly suited to the iPod. It’s suited to the controls, and it’s suited to the small screen. What it may not be suited to is your schedule. If you only break out an iPod game when you’re trying to kill time before an appointment or while you’re waiting for your kid’s trombone lesson to end, the addictive nature of Cubis 2 may cause you to be late on more than one occasion.

And actually, I hate using the term “addictive,” as it’s never accurate when speaking about games. Do people go into violent shakes when they can’t play Cubis for a few days? Do they sell the Renoir and the TV set to finance a new iPod classic or iPod nano when they’ve worn out the controls of the 5G due to intense Cubis 2 gaming? I imagine not. But if you’re into puzzle/arcade-styled games such as Bejeweled (also available for iPod), you will probably enjoy Cubis 2, and maybe even find it’s the more satisfying gaming experience of the two.

Full review after the break.

It’s out there. Fox has made X-Files branded iPod classics and nanos, available now through their online store. While the front of the iPods remain unchanged, the back has an etched image of Mulder and Scully over the mirror finish. Beneath the image is space left for your name (or a joke name, or a more »

Despite recent thoughts of the iPhone killing iPod click wheel gaming, Apple and Gameloft S.A. now bring you the popular card game, Uno, for the iPod. Coming in at 60.1 MB, this $4.99 game currently has a 4/5 star rating in the iTunes store and looks pretty great. The preview shows rich colors, cool game more »

Samson Wireless has announced their StudioDock 3i speaker system. This product gives you the ability to play your music from anywhere. You can use the built in dock for your iPod, a 3.5mm auxiliary input jack for almost any other MP3 player, a USB port for your computer, or even RCA input . The description more »