The preceding days ahead of any Macworld expo tend to be overshadowed by lots of speculation. This year so far has been dominated by the news that Steve Jobs will not be attending to give his traditional keynote speech, the first time in more than 10 years, due to health reasons. Instead, Phil Schiller, VP of worldwide product marketing, will take the stage. This news, combined with speculation that this may be Apple's last presentation at a Macworld expo, has focused attention away from the usual speculation about new products and gadgets.

Over the last few days, rumours of a potential 'nano' version of the iPhone have circulated in the press. Given that Apple's strategy has been built on successfully extending its product ranges (like the iPod), a number of people expect the company to release a smaller version of their popular mobile telephone. At the same time, some experts argue that the iPhone design has already been reviewed with the release of the slimmer 3G model. Some commentators have also suggested Apple could be considering the release of a 'netbook', an ultra-slim laptop with little memory, designed to allow users to access the internet very easily. However, some experts suggest that Apple already offer such a product with the popular and super thin Macbook Air.

We expect to see more such rumours in the next few days ahead of the expo. Have you heard any other rumours of new products? If so, let us know where you heard them and how likely you think it is, we would like to hear from you. In the meantime, you can read more details about the Macworld 2009 expo in a recent article by the UK's Telegraph. 

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