Hmm. an interesting prospect. the only major problem with 802.11 as we know it is that it consumes a lot of power while active. Most modern chipsets are pretty good at running in sleep mode whenever possible, though.

As wireless standard that goes beyond an RS232 (or similar) wire replacement, Bluetooth is dead. Don't expect it on the iPod unless it's a bonus feature for integrating calendars, or for something along those lines.

GSM would be for a cellualr use, which is a direction I don't see Apple taking. Hever, there are a fair amount of SiP platforms out there today (System-in-Package) that combine WiFi, Bluetooth, and GSM for rapid development and implementation. But in the end I don't see Apple taking this approach unless they revise their general strategy of providing excellent core functionality and no bloat.

But there is a big possibility for a video iPod device that is essentially a PDATDNS. (If you know me, you'll known that means "That doesn't suck.") Video, LAN connectivity, etc in a device that is slightly larger than the current iPod. It wouldn't be difficult to run a 320x240 screen on a small outline device which can do all that. Furthermore, it's interesting to note that it looks like Apple would be going with the decentralized ASIC approach rather than the XScale module approach, which is to some extent the flavor of the times. (generally better for battery life unless you manage to build a specialized processor, but at the cost of longer development time and a need for real engineers rather than dime-a-dozen coders)

Anyway, my verdict is that the video iPod may well have lightweight PDA functionality as well, along with email synchonization or something along those lines. If it has GSM, it will be the ultimate Blackberry killer.

They had an iPod job opening for someone with video codec experience months ago. Did the first person not pan out, or do they need more elves to work with the person who got the first job?