The future of the iPod?

Having owned an iPod now for a couple years, I've seen how such an innovation can improve the daily routine. So much music in my pocket has been a great luxury. Keeping notes, contacts and calendars on it has been a handy feature too, even though I often tend to not have a cell phone with me. Now that the iPod has matured into a wildly successful consumer product, I've wondered where Apple might go with it and if they'll be smart enough to stay on top.

The primary benefit of an iPod; music anytime and anywhere, seems like an obvious and evolutionary fulfillment of a need. We've had small radios for decades that have served a similar function. Having most, if not your entire music collection at your disposal is the real key feature. That was unheard of just a decade ago. The ability for such capabilities to fit in such a small package was an even greater breakthrough. The sexiness and features of the iPod certainly helped it's success, but the ability to serve the basic need of a portable personal music library was foremost.

Many smarter people than I have tried to look into the future of the iPod and similar devices. If we could see through the walls and observe the designers and engineers at Apple as they propose improvements to the device, what would they be discussing? The technical limitations of size, capacity, cost, etc., would be the primary limitations. Providing ever greater storage on the iPod would be an easy enhancement. Adding more features or even wrapping it up in a cell phone seems like a moderately easy feat. There's nothing to suggest Apple won't continue to evolve it over time.

The challenge to Apple is to continue to improve the iPod so that it retains marketshare and entices new consumers. I wouldn't doubt that several years ago, in a board room at Apple headquarters, the discussion of portable media came up. By the time Apple introduced the iPod, I seem to remember there were already a few products available by other companies that did some of the same things. But at the time, if someone asked "What is the most popular, easiest to deliver digital media?", the answer would have certainly been music. MP3's had been available and popular for quite some time. Before I had an iPod, I'd connect my laptop up to my car stereo using a cassette adapter. In effect, my laptop served as a giant iPod. Reducing the size of the device down to a deck of cards couldn't have been terribly difficult. Other than music, the only real other popular consumer digital content is photos and movies, and to some extent the internet including e-mail and web services.

So the road taken by Apple seems logical based on the ease of delivering music (MP3's). Including photos and movies into the mix would take some time to consider. Apple did introduce the iPod photo but hasn't really done a great job promoting it or providing more and more capabilities. The small screen certainly limits the device's cool quotient. Movies, if they are ever possible on the iPod, are also limited by the size of the screen and capacity of the hard drive. Producing a small, light device with a nice screen for movies seems to be a potential success considering the Sony Playstation Portable touts such abilities and even allows purchased movies to be played. But the ultimate success of portable movies on small screens seems like an unknown at the moment.

So what's next for Apple? I've heard they are watching the PSP's movie capabilities to see how consumers use it. An iPod with a screen as large as the front of the device might be in order. The wheel interface could be built into the screen somehow. This would provide a large screen for watching movies and viewing pictures. Is this enough of an upgrade to keep the iPod on top? Is Apple going to also sell movies as part of the iTunes store? Could happen but will take some major negotiations with studios and news is that some want a more flexible pricing policy for existing music sales. Apple seems to demand most of the control for costs, so movie studios could balk at letting Apple sell complete movies.

Unless there is some secret killer device underway that combines all the benefits of our small gadgets: camera, phone, music, movies, web, e-mail, etc., huge changes in this industry will be rare. What type of device would I like, considering I'm already a huge fan of the iPod? The perfect product for me would be a gadget the size of the iPod and capabilites to watch movies, either on it's own screen or plugged into a TV or monitor. An optional projector for intimate viewings would be nice too. Using photos in a similar way would be a slam dunk. Where I think Apple could find the most success is also providing a full-featured web browser and e-mail. Using Wi-Fi or even cell phone services, this feature would really turn heads. E-mail and browsing on cell phones today isn't that impressive. I'd love to be able to plugin a USB keyboard to write messages too. An attachable webcam would be great for using iChat AV too.

So while I think movies would be an obvious improvement to the iPod, to me web and e-mail services would be a great addition for business users and consumer alike. As long as I'm dreaming, a nation-wide free wireless network would be revolutionary! Such a device (along with free access) would prove invaluable and make us put our current iPods away for good. Too bad it could take much of another decade to see this happen. Let's see if Apple has the ability to make this happen or if another company grabs the glory.