Apple® is a leader in so many technology arenas, but they really should specialize in corporate secrecy. According to the Boy Genius Report, a leading online destination for mobile and consumer electronics, Apple has something big a’coming this Thursday May 19th, which is also the company’s 10th retail anniversary. Queue the quirky indie commercial music!

Based on the article BGR, a source within Apple leaked a memo of confidentiality requirements for all Apple Retail Store employees. Among the demands, (no doubt bequeathed by the Emperor of Secrecy himself, Steve Jobs):

• An overnight shift is planned for roughly 15 employees, including key personnel: visual staff, manager, Genius Bar Reps, and a few Apple Specialists

• All cell phones will be locked in an office, and prior to arrival employees will have to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement

• Hardware has already been received, and will be kept under lock and key till Saturday night.

• Employees will be putting up black curtains to mask the front windows.

So what could this mean?

It is highly likely that this is another clever PR Stunt by Apple, but as Apple fans and an iPhone™ app developer, we thought we’d like to speculate about what this latest stunt could be.

• Forums & Fan Boys – The forums had some pretty outlandish and hilarious ideas about what Apple could be releasing. We’ll give you a hint: Centipede + iPad™.

• Special Pricing – We actually think this may be very likely. The hardware shipment could be increased units to account for a drop in price, and this would match a ‘celebration special’ model. The secrecy behind this could also be a way to turn people’s heads back toward Apple, given that the release of the white iPhone wasn’t a huge deal.

• NFC (Near Field Communication) – I think we can definitely say that this won’t be part of the release. According to Bernstein Research, NFC chips designed to enable mobile users to pay with their smartphones (in a ‘swipe’ like way) will not even be included in the next incarnation of the iPhone, supposedly the 4S. This is a bummer to mobile app developers who were looking to get their hands on this technology.

• MobileMe/Cloud Initiative – CNET suggests that this may be a possibility, and that it may be tied to a software application development platform. This would be really exciting for developers, and would be a better entry for Apple into the explosion that is cloud computing.

The fact is that because Worldwide Developers Conference is next month, it really could be anything. Hopefully it is something exciting, so that they won’t be accused of ‘crying wolf’ in the future.

We’ll stay tuned this week to see what Apple has in store (literally) for this Thursday. We might even head down to our local Apple Store to see what is going on. In the mean time, if anyone should need mobile application development, look no further that Amadeus Consulting as we are experts in all things iPhone, Android™, Windows Phone 7® and BlackBerry®.