Top 5 iPod Features Apple Won't Unveil (Even Though It Could)

By Seth Porges

Nothing sets gadget geeks into a frenzy like an Apple product launch. The drama! (Will Steve Jobs play nice?) The mystery! (Will he unveil a MacBook Touch?) The inevitable disappointment! (What, no iPhone Flip?)

So when Apple holds its event in San Francisco today, the only thing we're relatively sure about is that there will be a few new iPods (the company made this much clear with its "Let's Rock" email invitations). And while most speculation is centering on incremental, evolutionary improvements to the existing product line (and accompanying iTunes software), there are a few features we'd like to see on the iPod (particularly the powerful iPod Touch).

Now this list isn't mere fanboy fantasy: Every single one of these upgrades is something that Apple is perfectly capable of delivering (or allowing another company to deliver through a piece of software or approved iPod accessory). But, we're going to guess that, come this afternoon, we're not going to see any major innovations on these fronts. Stay tuned to PM's Apple Central for instant analysis, but, in the meantime, we can always dream...

1. Wi-Fi VoIP

In the future, phones will likely be data-only communicator devices, ditching minute-based voice plans and instead relying on next-gen wireless networks such as WiMAX or LTE (Long Term Evolution) to transmit your voice just like any other piece of data. Of course, the voice-to-data part of this technology already exists: It's called VoIP (voice over Internet protocol), and it would be fairly easy for a software developer to create a program that would allow you unlimited calling through the iPhone's 3G or Wi-Fi connection slots of similar programs already exist for other phones. And although Apple has already signaled that 3G-based VoIP programs won't be allowed (no surprise, considering it would cannibalize its partner AT&T's business model), it left the door slightly open for future Wi-Fi-based VoIP programs. Still, the prospect is unlikely, as it's hard to imagine AT&T not objecting to people using Wi-Fi connections to avoid paying for phone calls. But there's really nothing to keep the company from putting it on the iPod Touch, which doesn't have a contract-based revenue model to cannibalize.

Why Apple Won't Offer It /// Apple would never put a killer app on just the iPod Touch, without also giving it to the more lucrative iPhone. And it will likely be a lot longer before a third-party developer is given the go-ahead to do this either.

2. Non-AT&T 3G Modems

The iPod Touch shares the Safari Web browser with the iPhone. But while the iPhone can use AT&T's data network to surf the Web when you step outside of a hotspot, the Touch relies solely on Wi-Fi for its data needs. There are iPod Touch users out there who are happy subscribers to the 3G networks from Verizon and Sprint who would love to take advantage of the Touch's slick surfing abilities without having to get a new device and a new cellular provider. To remedy this, it would be great if the Touch featured the ability to plug in a USB 3G modem from a company such as Sierra Wireless or Novatel. And while there's no USB jack on the iPod, it couldn't be too hard to develop a modem that plugs into that famous iPod dock. Come on, Apple, your competitor Archos has this feature in its new line of portable media players.

Why Apple Won't Offer It /// The only real way of tapping into the iPod's hardware is through Apple's proprietary dock connection. Because Apple controls the distribution of the hardware needed to tap into these docks, the company holds a tight grip over what sorts of accessories can be made. So unless an iPod modem is to come from some under-the-radar Chinese knockoff shop, the chances of us seeing one anytime soon are steep. Why? It just doesn't fit in with the company's character. They like to hold firm control over the entire product ecosystem, and allowing anybody to plug Apple's products into just any data network is a stretch.

3. Bluetooth

If the iPod Touch had Bluetooth, we could stream music to headphones and speakers, or beam files to other devices.

Why Apple Won't Offer It /// As a whole, Apple is allergic to Bluetooth. The iPhone famously only has Bluetooth profiles that work with mono headsets, yet won't work with high-fidelity Bluetooth stereo headsets. None of the iPods (including the iPod Touch) have any Bluetooth capabilities at all. We're not going to spuriously jump to any conclusions as to why Apple won't include the ubiquitous wireless audio standard, but it would allow users to skirt the use of dock-based accessories, which are a steady cash cow for the company.

4. Camera

Apple's iPhone has an integrated 2-megapixel digital camera, but the iPod Touch does not. What gives?

Why Apple Won't Offer It /// Apple's philosophy and business interests are probably to blame for most of this list's feature omissions. But why the company hasn't put a camera on the iPod Touch is anybody's guess. After all, Apple doesn't even make stand-alone cameras that could see sales cannibalized, and they were pioneers when it came to making built-in laptop webcams a standard feature. And the iPhone's camera is pretty impressive, as far as cameraphones go. Still, such a large feature upgrade is unlikely in the upcoming line of iPods (we would have probably heard some rumors about it if it were), but it isn't out of the question for inclusion in the near future.

5. FM Radio

The multitouch capacitive touchpanel on the iPhone and iPod Touch is a groundbreaking technology that Apple's competitors still haven't managed to offer in their products a year after launch. Broadcast radio is a technology with an almost 90-year history that just about every electronics manufacturer has managed to incorporate into at least one portable device. The only way to listen to live radio on Apple products is if that radio station is simulcast on the Internet, and if your Apple device has access to the Internet.

Why Apple Won't Offer It /// Apple has had seven years to integrate a radio tuner into the company's iPods, and has shown no interest in doing so, despite years of expressed interest by iPod fans who just want to tune into their local Lite FM stations. Jobs hasn't budged on the issue, and we don't expect he will now. A creaky old technology like radio in a sleek and beautiful iPod? Never had it, never will.

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