“Overwhelmed with anticipation, some fans of Apple Computer’s iPods are ripping through software code to find clues about what the company has planned for the next-generation of the digital music players. And they may have found some answers,” Katie Marsal reports for AppleInsider.
“An AppleInsider member by the name of VL-Tone recently dissected the latest iPod firmware update and made some interesting discoveries,” Marsal reports. “While Apple has been relatively mum on any plans for iPod-branded cell phone, the latest iPod software includes references to an ‘t_feature_app_PHONE_APP’ application and variables such as ‘kPhoneSignalStrength,’ ‘clPhoneCallHistoryModel,’ ‘prPhoneSettingsMenu,’ ‘prPhoneSettingsMenuView,’ ‘prPhoneEnableSetting’ and ‘prPhoneMenuItem.'”
Marsal reports, “Apple may also be working on some form of iPod-based instant messenger application, if you believe in reading into some additional clues embedded into the latest iPod software such as ‘t_feature_app_MESSENGER_APP,’ ‘clMessengerModel,’ and ‘clMessengerApplication.'”
Full article here.
Related articles:
Patent application shows iPod capable of live wireless video conferencing – June 13, 2006
Apple patent application filed for wireless iPod+iTunes distribution – May 04, 2006
Generator Research: Apple to Ship $4.2bn in Wireless iPods (WiPods) by 2010 – March 14, 2006
Ready for your wireless Apple iPod? – February 09, 2006
Wireless iPod? CSR and PortalPlayer to bring wireless connectivity to personal media players – February 08, 2006
Wireless Apple iPods coming in 2006? – December 09, 2005
sweet!!!!!!!!!!!!
Since when have software developers named variables appropriately?
:-O
Search MDN archives for the iPod phone and you’ll find zillions of hits going back years. Still waiting…
While Microsoft is rushing an MP3 player to market to compete with iPod, Apple is developing a combo iPod + iPhone. Microsoft will lose another round. Soon they will be TKO’d.
hmmmm…
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There are only three certainties in life: death, taxes, and iPhone rumors.
I remember that hackers found hints of an iPhone in iTunes. A few months later the ROCKR was announced. Let’s see if Teh Steve will have one thing to announce at WWDC in August.
Add-on dock attachment. There will be a number of them coming, I’d bet, offering various functionality. Cool if true.
The iPod is a platform that will become even more personalized depending how users want it– video capture, cell phone, pda,…
I guy can hope, right?
>”There are only three certainties in life: death, taxes, and iPhone rumors.”
You can take out taxes from this list, especially if you happen to live in certain Middle Eastern countries!
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I live in a certain North American country in between Canada and Mexico. I don’t pay taxes. In fact, your taxes pay for me.
R, you are Right On. A dock attachment only makes sense, since it will allow the ipod to be ipod, and would obviously work on SIM tech. Meaning you could pull the SIM from that stupid-ugly-locked free phone you got from cingular, and plug it into the dock unit.
Typical.
I got sick of waiting on Apple and my old phone stinks, so I just dropped 500 bucks on a new unlocked SE phone.
It’ll be just my luck that Apple comes out with a new phone next month.
But honestly, I could care less and will buy an Apple phone given how bad all of the phones are on the market right now.
I hope Apple blows us away with the mobile phone we all deserve.
Am I the only one that thinks that an add-on for existing iPods would make a lousy phone?
Seriously. I can see it now, you take an item which contains a number pad, microphone, external speaker, plus the innards of a cell phone, and plug that into your iPod. Guess what you just plugged in… A phone. Why would I want to plug the phone into my iPod, just to have an “iPod Phone” when I could have just had a phone to begin with, and it would have been smaller, and lighter in the first place? Answer: I wouldn’t.
Apple is smarter than that. It’s not going to be an add-on. Either they will make their own phone, or they are opening up their software for someone else’s. There is no other answer. An add-on would be cumbersome, and cumbersome is not the Apple way.
MW: Told. I told it how it is. 😀
I just got a Motorla “Q” last week. It runs Mobile Windows 5.0, and uses Exchange Server for email. The think would be great if I didn’t have to constantly send software problem reports to Microsoft, and it didn’t bog down periodically. It’s sexy though. I know Apple could make something better to use and even sexier.