Calling Time on the iPod Phone?

The iPod Phone Myth:

According to proponents of this myth, Apple's success with the iPod is about to be crushed by an onslaught of music playing cell phones, so Apple needs to desperately come up with an iPod + cell phone

Daniel Eran is currently dissecting the myth of the ever-imminent iPod Phone, and he makes some excellent points. Though I have no doubt that Apple labs have examined the potential for a hybrid phone/music player in extraordinary depth, and that they have interface designs that look like alien technology in comparison to the nightmares of UI that Sony Ericsson, Nokia, and MS would have us use, there's no real reason to believe that we'll see such a device from Apple anytime soon, and plenty of reasons to believe that phone and music functions are a poor fit. A stills camera is something that the average person uses occasionally and intermittently, and one that doesn't interfere with the operation of the phone. When I'm deep in Steely Dan Land, the last thing I want is another junk call breaking my reverie.

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