If Apple can keep the iPad 2 price on par with the original iPad (starting at $499) or even lower, this would take the wind out of the sales of the Motorola Xoom being launched today. The Xoom tablet and iPad rival costs $800 (or $600 with a two-year, $20-a-month Verizon data plan). It doesn't take much imagination to envision a smirking Jobs teeing up the iPad 2's unbeatable price tag on the heels of Xoom's launch.

So what will be the "one more thing" at next week's event?

Industry watchers speculated that Apple might hold the refresh of its MacBook Pro line for next week, but Apple made the announcement today. The machines come with new Intel processors, improved graphics cards, and a new "Thunderbolt" port for video and data.

Predictions are risky business in the world of Apple, but a tidbit from Apple's annual shareholder meeting this week offers a clue (or at least a possibility). Apple said its massive $1 billion North Carolina datacenter, wrought with delays since late last year when it was supposed to open, is expected to open this spring. The data center will support iTunes and MobileMe services.

Apple's "one more thing" might be that the long-awaited iTunes in the cloud is coming. If so, you'll be able to store libraries and backups in the cloud, stream music and video, save precious local storage space. More importantly, you're days of syncing to iTunes on the desktop would come to a happy end.