What [that darned phone] tells about the next iPod

(My apologies for the title; I did not want to upset anybody with yet another iPhone article, or so some might think if I used the iPhone word)

Now that the immaculate phone of multiple facets is finally out the door, we can finally start looking into the next generation of iPods, like any true Apple fanboy. Apple is a company with the most extreme of marketing strategies and generally play its cards close to the chest. And while they never had a history of making product announcements until they are made available on that same day, last Friday’s events will certainly go down as the release date for another product that’s been pre-announced (oh, how times have changed) – and for a stealthily-slipped note about “OS X based iPods currently in development”.

Yes, I think El Jobso just said they’ll be OS X based.

Why exactly would you need a full-blown OS on an iPod, when it’s already come under 5 non-OS X based reiterations, each one having contributed to the mega success that the iPod now is? Why did the iPhone forego the long-hailed touch-wheel experience in favor of coverflow and ticking, the new paradigm for the iPhone’s iPod application?

I think we’re about to see a complete about-face from the wheel paradigm of 2001, when the first iPod was released. Facts point to the likelihood of an iPhone without the phone:

A full-screen experience. Actually, I’d be surprised if it didn’t come in full-screen, multi-touch goodness. The iPhone demonstrates the maturity of touch technology, and that Apple can implement it the right way. My mobile phone has it, my laptop has it; when you’ve had a taste of touch control, you’ll never go back. Throw in the nifty orientation sensor as well and you’ve got yourself a winner.

No click wheels. Or touch wheels. Just pure cover flow and flicking bliss. Contrary to the most popular renditions with virtual click wheels, the iPhone’s iPod’s new way to navigate through your library shows very well how a wheel is not the most efficient way, a flawed one even, to implement and take advantage of a fully touch-sensitive screen. (well who said it’ll be full-screen and with multi-touch anyway? if it ain’t, I’ll be dead)

Integrated speakers and out-of-the-box recording. If Apple wanted to save time and get the new babies out the door by the year-end shopping season, they’ll settle with an iPhone and leave the internal speaker and mic intact. Then it’s easy enough to implement recording and speaker output on software, all the more since it’s got all the OS X love it can get. In any case, these two features have been a long time coming on the iPods considering how a lot of the competition has them.

Wi-fi, a la Zune. Then again, maybe not like the Zune’s paltry excuse for Wi-fi “features”. If it’s got OS X and can run Safari and iTunes iPod in there, then I see no reason why the iTunes Store would be a far cry. So keep that iPhone wi-fi module in there, Apple. Please? Thank you.

Anything else I may have overlooked? Hit me up with a comment or two below, or here.