It’s that time of year again, time for Steve Jobs to take the stage at MacWorld and captivate us with his newest additions to the Apple/Mac line. The conference starts January 14th and runs until the 18th. One thing in particular is keeping consumers and investors actively intrigued with this upcoming media event.

Yes, consumers have been well rewarded by some of Apple’s latest product creations, and it has becoming a regular occurrence to hear fantastic news when Steve Jobs steps onto the stage at MacWorld. This year most of the media is focusing on a rumored creation of iTunes movie rentals.

The move will allow Apple to capitalize on consumers’ desires to watch full-length movies on their Apple devices, but not pay a permanent, hefty fee of $9.99 to $14.99 for current movie releases.

A rental feature is expected to fill that gap and offer the movies at a more reasonable price, while also adhering to Apple’s standard for innovation in portability. The rental movies need to be available to the consumers for long periods of time.

Current online rental standards follow a pattern of a 30-day viewing period from purchase, but the videos often expire 24 hours from the first click to watch. Expect Apple to follow these standards, while also evolving the rental period to better suit multiple viewings of a movie over a longer period of time with iPods. (Perhaps a set number of full-length viewings of rental movies)

C’mon Steve! Surprise us!