RUMOUR: Next iPod will be a digital photo wallet

Back on August 11th, 2004, I prognosticated about the next generation iPod, using the technical disclosures from the prospectus of the iPod’s primary chip designer and manufacturer.

In short, they had disclosed that the existing chip-set could also handle bluetooth, ethernet, and color LCD display (but not video.)

Well, it seems that Apple is indeed heading in this direction. It sounds like the next iPod will have a colour LCD and will be able to act as a synced iPhoto library. So your one device will now contain music, contacts, calendar items, audio books (with bookmarks that are 2 way synced), your files (from disk mode), your iPhoto library, and allow the user to review and display their photos with or without music synchronization. Hopefully they will integrate some media reader slots directly into it so that you can actually use it to upload the photos while you are out in the field and then sync them up to the computer when you get home. That would be better than having to wait to put the photos into your computer and then only download them to the iPod.

Very cool.