Apple's plan for the next year is for three new iPod models to hit the market, including the oft wished-for widescreen model.

Sources have told AppleInsider that a new video-centric model will either replace or supplant the current fifth-generation iPod video, but there aren't any details on the other two models yet.

These same sources have said that Apple is unwilling to shell out for the marketing needed to push the device into the market, until the company, with Steve Jobs at the helm, has seen the reaction to the iTV set-top box.

AppleInsider sites the comment that AppleVP of Worldwide iPod Product Marketing Greg Joswiak made in October: “The new iPod shuffle completes our all-new lineup of iPods for this holiday season and beyond”.

Be prepared for a deluge of Apple stories and rumours in the coming weeks ahead of the MacWorld conference in San Francisco in January, where traditionally big product announcements have been made.

>> Apple Insider - Rumour story