The future of the iPod

Wonder how the iPod of the future will be like? The folks at ShortFlip take a look at some of the features that we're likely to see in a future iPod. One of them is the integration of the mobile phone into the iPod. That's what I want! From ShortFlip:

While the iPhone is more of an inevitability than pure speculation at this point, look for Apple to integrate a phone into most iPod lines over the next few years, as features and convergence of portable personal devices become an ever increasing probability. In fact, analysts at Morgan Stanley predict such a device this year with sales revenue in the $1.2 Billion dollar range.

Given the nature of cellular phone use and the popularity of the iPod’s click wheel, Apple could make good use of such a transition. Since cell phone users generally dial friends stored in a contact list, a click wheel seems a much more effective method for quickly accessing the number of a friend than the standard up and down arrows. With text messaging becoming increasingly popular amongst cell phone users and touch sensitive gestures likely being integrated into the iPod, text messages could be sent much faster in an iPod phone.