With Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)'s announcement coming soon, the rumors surrounding The Beatles coming online to Apple's iTunes store have been circling the internet a while. Still, we should remember that all previous information from the Fab Four's camp always stipulated that if the band's songs ever went for sale online, the deal would not be exclusive to any retailer, including iTunes.

Chatter about an Apple/Beatles deal for the sale of digital tracks have been out there for some time, but not as intense (or so it seems) since Apple and EMI reached an agreement in early April that secured the use of tracks without Digital Rights Management technology. Before that announcement, it was presumed that a Beatles deal was in store, to the disappointment of many fans. In late May, a similar thing happened when Paul McCartney's solo catalog went up for sale in promotion of his new album. The catalog was supposed to be some kind of lead-in for The Beatles to show up online at a later date. Since then, two other solo Beatles catalogs have gone online, with all indications that the Fab Four will be arriving in 2008, but without an official announcement as of yet.

So here we are today, and again we hope that rumors The Beatles will be for sale digitally will come true. Frankly, as hopeful as I am, an announcement with Apple would certainly be prudent, but with the hype surrounding the event, it hardly seems that The Beatles will be the major announcement ... if they are part of it at all. I see the next generation iPod being unveiled today, maybe with The Beatles catalog being one of many new features available on the device. Of course, that is just wishful thinking...