Apple is expected to unveil new iPod music players at a media event next Tuesday but may not launch a long-awaited update to its MacBook laptop computers until a later date. Apple e-mailed reporters an invitation to a September 9 event entitled "Let's Rock," which has an image of a man jumping in the air while listening to an iPod, with the words "playing soon."

No further details were available from the company.

"It's got to be new iPods. That's 100 percent certain," Needham & Co analyst Charles Wolf told Reuters. "The only question I cannot answer is whether they will also do new MacBooks."

Apple's iPod line needs to be refreshed and the price of its iPod Touch models need to be cut because they have a higher starting price than its iPhone, which includes a mobile phone and other features not included in the device, said American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu.

The Internet-ready iPod touch starts at $299 in the United States, compared with $199 for the iPhone.

Analysts said they still expect Apple to refresh its MacBook notebook PCs soon.

In July, Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said in a statement the company was working on several new products to launch in the coming months, but executives declined to give details.