Safari on Next-Gen iPod?

Next Wednesday’s Apple event will likely see the announcement of the next evolution of iPod, dubbed the iPod Touch. Which is a little bit weird, because the iPhone is obviously the next evolution, what with its revolutionary multitouch interface and the widescreen and the like. So this week, we’re all sort of praying for an iPod with a big hard drive, multitouch, and maybe iTunes purchasing via WiFi. A hard-working country mouse to iPhone’s city slicker.

But in really thinking about where Apple might go (and in the spirit of free-wheeling rumor-mongering), I must admit that a possibility I haven’t seen much of anywhere is that the new iPod would carry over the breakthrough Internet browsing device piece of the iPhone puzzle. As much as I would love an iPhone, its storage capacity is far too small for my iTunes library, and my phone is fine as a phone. I just want awesome multitouch web-browsing and e-mail. If Apple is going to the trouble of building WiFi into the next iPod, it would be a complete waste not to put in real Internet capabilities — even if it steals some iPhone thunder.

All of which leads me to think that the new iPods will remain free of wireless connectivity. Apple isn’t one to give away the farm, and the iPhone is clearly designed to one day completely replace the iPod line. They cannibalize up, not down.

What do you think the next iPod will be (let’s leave the hideous iPod nano phat out of the conversation for the time being)? Widescreen evolution or iPhone web browsing revolution without all those pesky phone calls?

Image via Gizmodo

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