iPhone or PodPhone?
Apple more or less invented the PDA with the Newton, but because it got the sizing and pricing wrong it had to kill the product and the company developed an aversion to the portable market as a result. All that changed, of course, with the iPod. Given the bitter Newton experience, though, there are good grounds for believing that Steve Jobs won't tamper with the pod. It ain't broke so there's no need to fix it by adding on, say, a phone. And with predictions doing the rounds that the planet will be supporting 100 million podders by 2008, who in their right minds would want alter the hottest and the coolest thing since toast? Still, Motorola did announce back in July that it would be bringing the iTunes Music Player to its next generation of mobile phones early next year, so if iTunes can be embedded in a phone, why can't a phone be embedded in an iPod?
Well, of course it can be done and Apple will do it. It will have to. Consider this one fact: the ringtone market for mobiles is worth a staggering $3 billion. That's much, much, much bigger than the current music download market. So, with the mobile music market expanding and with mobile phone makers beginning to incorporate MP3 players, Apple will have to act to protect the iPod's core market. However, if Apple decides to stay clear of the telecoms business, it might license the iPod to Motorola which would then roll the hardware into a PhonePod. Then, with GPRS or UMTS, you could use the iTunes software to buy songs for your phone! By the way, those who would argue that by adding a phone the iPod would look unwieldy should take a look at the mini. It could be expanded and still remain aesthetically pleasing.
Note: you can now get socks, yes, Podsocks for your iPod in any one of six vibrant colours: green, purple, grey, blue, orange, and pink. Price? $29. Don't you wish you had bought an iPod?
