Rumor: The Future of iPod - BlueTooth, Airport? 





MacBidouille unearthed this little nugget when an eagle-eyed reader trawling through Apple's iPod division's classifieds spotted this recruitment ad:

"Required Experience:
* BS/MS EE or equivalent required.
* Must have great EE fundamentals.
* 5+ years overall experience needed, 3+ years in a lead role preferred.
* Experience in the following areas is important: system integration, digital logic, SDRAM, Flash, ASIC’s, processor selection, ATAPI, various communication protocols (ie: GSM, Bluetooth, IEEE 802.11, Firewire, and USB), display types and video and analog integration.
* Broad experience: both digital and analog.
* Experience building actual products in labs."

Analysis: Now the FireWire and USB experience aren't surprising; nor is the ATAPI stuff for the iPod hard drive. Flash - well, that's the Microdrive in the Mini. But GSM, BlueTooth and Airport point to capabilities the iPod doesn't have.

So are recent predictions that the iPod will 'inevitably' morph into some kind of PDA accurate? iPod syncing with cell phones? Or is it another device? "Experience building actual products in labs" suggests prototypes, yes? Of course, that could be simply 'iPod the Next Generation'. But food for thought... 

Posted: Sun - August 22, 2004 at 03:28 PM        

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