Audio/Video receivers with an iPod connector. Head units in cars have had the ability for some time to control a CD changer and it was not much of a stretch to adapt these units to control and charge an iPod. Apple could work with audio manufacturers to allow the same thing with home audio equipment. The display on the receiver could display playlist and track information all controlled by the remote that comes with the receiver. The video could also get directed to the TV for slide shows with the iPod photo. This could be accomplished in the same way as the deals struck with auto equipment manufacturers and would go a long way towards cementing the Apple lock on digital audio.
A headless iPod. I know, I got the headless Mac I have been asking for, and isn?t the shuffle headless? What I would like to see, once the iPod connector becomes ubiquitous in the auto and the home, is a cheaper high capacity iPod. Take a 2.5 inch laptop drive, put it in a case with the brains of an iPod, but no display or battery. Plug it into your computer and it behaves just like an iPod, but it should be cheaper and have an even larger capacity. Plug it into your car or stereo receiver and you can just leave it there. This does nothing to cannibalize iPod sales because it is not a portable player, just a storage device that can feed a player in your home or car.
Or what about a terry-cloth headband with a pocket for the shuffle and earbuds with very short wires. Noise canceling headphones with a USB plug for a shuffle. Not sure if this is possible, but an adapter to allow the iPod shuffle to act as the remote for an iPod? A cassette adapter for you car that allows your iPod shuffle to just get sucked into your stereo and get controlled with the forward and reverse buttons! From O?Grady: A lanyard attachment for the shuffle with earbuds built in to cut down on the tangle.
Audio/Video receivers with an iPod connector. Head units in cars have had the ability for some time to control a CD changer and it was not much of a stretch to adapt these units to control and charge an iPod. Apple could work with audio manufacturers to allow the same thing with home audio equipment. The display on the receiver could display playlist and track information all controlled by the remote that comes with the receiver. The video could also get directed to the TV for slide shows with the iPod photo. This could be accomplished in the same way as the deals struck with auto equipment manufacturers and would go a long way towards cementing the Apple lock on digital audio.
A headless iPod. I know, I got the headless Mac I have been asking for, and isn?t the shuffle headless? What I would like to see, once the iPod connector becomes ubiquitous in the auto and the home, is a cheaper high capacity iPod. Take a 2.5 inch laptop drive, put it in a case with the brains of an iPod, but no display or battery. Plug it into your computer and it behaves just like an iPod, but it should be cheaper and have an even larger capacity. Plug it into your car or stereo receiver and you can just leave it there. This does nothing to cannibalize iPod sales because it is not a portable player, just a storage device that can feed a player in your home or car.
Or what about a terry-cloth headband with a pocket for the shuffle and earbuds with very short wires. Noise canceling headphones with a USB plug for a shuffle. Not sure if this is possible, but an adapter to allow the iPod shuffle to act as the remote for an iPod? A cassette adapter for you car that allows your iPod shuffle to just get sucked into your stereo and get controlled with the forward and reverse buttons! From O?Grady: A lanyard attachment for the shuffle with earbuds built in to cut down on the tangle.
