Vern? Seems like you haven't been around much lately.

Lessee, "wireless USB": the battery life will drop dramatically, especially if it's on all the time. My Palm TX has both WiFi and Bluetooth. Leaving either on (even if not connected to a node) drops the battery life by at least 1/3.

"technologies from MIT" (where I got all three of my degrees): Ultracapacitors are great for providing quick bursts of energy, but how appropriate would they be for a low-current device like an iPod? One major problem is that, like all capacitors, their voltage is a function of their charge. Reduce the charge by 1/2 and the voltage drops by 1/2. That would be unacceptable for almost any electronics device. The voltage in chemical batteries is much more constant, as it depends upon the nature of the chemical reaction. (They do drop when nearly fully discharged, as the internal resistance increases, leading to a greater voltage drop within the battery.)

As for "higher capacity flash memory," we already have those--they're called, "iPod Nanos." Would you really want 4GB of music storage without a good way to select it?

Kiosk sales would make sense, but some stores might resist them, as they could cut into much more profitable DVD and CD sales.

The future is some kind of implant on your arm that can receive audio and video that can be overlaid on your everyday experience. You would have a soundtrack for your life, but nobody else would hear it. Imagine watching a Friends rerun while on a boring date, wondering what your boring date is watching. That is the future.

A Flux Capacitor on the go! Because of it's current size, it can go inside a backpack. But when nano technology permits, it should be able to fit inside your underwear! Wow, I wonder what 1.21 Jigawatts would feel like!


Whooooooo hoooooooo!!!

Sounds exactly like a commlink from Shadowrun. This idea has been around a lot longer than the iPod... not that I wouldn't be lined up outside an Apple store waiting for one.

I like your focus on the Suffle; It is my personal fave. I seldom want to pick out a single song; In fact, I seldom reload my iPod at all. I only have about 2 gigs of songs on my Mac and the Suffle holds all I need. I also have a 4 gig Mini but hardly ever use it anymore. I might use an iPod that holds photos but 8 gig would be plenty large enough.

The suffle is perfect for many users; And the new Suffle is exquisite in size and form.

roger

Vern, while I understand your ideas for development of the shuffle beyond it's current form, I'm really not so sure. Yes battery power can be improved, and perhaps more importantly so could recharging time. However, I see this resulting in yet smaller form factors if that is possible. Wireless, as already mentioned is a terrible battery hog and prone to interference particularly with real time audio, I have doubts if the benefits are worth the cost commercially.

Although it was originally posted as a joke, the picture with Steve Jobs with the shuffle as an ear clip is perhaps not so far off the mark. A behind the ear device could even be made with today's technology. Ironically such a device may never be a commercial success as it would be too discrete and wouldn't have the badge effect the shuffle shows of 'I'm listening to my music'.

I suspect we see in the current shuffle the limit of shrinking the size while maintaining the function - perhaps it is the perfection of the shufle music device - or is that just me being short sighted?

Sure enough, but quite simply, I think I shall stick with the main iPod. But here goes.

In the future, gadgets will have multi funtions, like the MP3 player, badgephone with communications similer to Star Trek: The Next Generation with a tone when someone calls you by 2-way digital signal or by your home centeral computer. (You tap on the bad to respond or call a name).

Finally, future MP3 players will have satalite technology that lets you stream copy songs from your computer to your player without going all the way home just to connect the player in order to obtain the songs. You also can shop for music no matter where you are, using the satelite radio technology to connect to online music for buying songs and subscribing to blanket licenses.

In addition, AM and FM radio will gave way to podcasts, webradio, satelite radio, space radio (We are going to be in space in the future), and HD terrestrial radio. CDs, DVDs, and other forms of physical media will be on it's way out, making way for an all-digital, environmentally friendly music business model that gives consumers unparrelelled flexibility, while being ultra secure from pirates.