Rumor: 2 or 3 new iPods launching with iPhone 5 Sept. 12

Apple has finally confirmed that there will be an event on Sept. 12, and it's clear that the new iPhone 5 will at long last be introduced.

But while the iPhone 5 will no doubt be the star of the show, Apple's got plenty of other products due for an upgrade as well.

Initial rumors claimed that the supposed iPad Mini would be introduced at the same event, though popular opinion now holds that Apple will unveil the new, smaller iPad later, possibly in Oct.

So what does that leave for the Sept. 12 iPhone 5 event?

New iPods, of course

Apple's iconic portable music player is due for an upgrade across all lines - Nano, Shuffle, and Touch.

The latest versions of all three iPod models were introduced in Sept. 2010, shortly after the introduction of the iPhone 4.

So new iPod models are practically assured, and 9to5Mac is reporting that at least two - and possibly three - new iPods will be unveiled alongside the iPhone 5 on Sept. 12.

All three new iPod lines will come in multiple colors, claims the Apple blog, and one of them will come in two different storage sizes. The other two will ship with one storage option.

Naturally, there are some conclusions to jump to based on that info.

New iPod Nano + new iPod Shuffle

Compare the rumored new iPods to the current offerings: the latest iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle come in multiple colors, and while the iPod Nano is available in 8 or 16GB, the current iPod Shuffle only packs 2GB.

That fits nicely with everything that's known about the rumored new iPods.

So it may be safe to assume (for now) that Apple is preparing to introduce a new iPod Shuffle and a new iPod Nano to complement the iPhone 5 on Sept. 12.

So what about the third new iPod?

The rumored third new iPod could be a new iPod Touch, as was rumored in July, though it would be the first time the iPod Touch came in multiple colors - the current iPod Touch is either black or white.

9to5Mac speculates that the final new iPod could be a new line of iPods altogether, small in form but with a taller screen than other small iPods.

This new iPod would sport a "home" button like the iPhone and iPod Touch.

On the other hand, Apple could be reviving the iPod Mini brand, the last of which was released in 2005, to pair with the iPad Mini, though it would be strange to introduce one before the other.

Let's not forget about the iPod Classic, which last saw a release in 2007. It was reported in 2011 that Apple has "no plans" to kill the iPod Classic.

With Tim Cook now in charge, that might have changed, but it's never too late for a classic to come back, is it?