iPod touch seen as small but stealthy asset in Apple lineup

[AppleInsider]

Though iPod sales are predicted to be the weakest-performing segment of Apple's overall sales this quarter, the iPod touch is said to be the ace up the company's sleeve, thanks to the platform's compatibility with the App Store.

Advancing next Tuesday's earnings report from Apple, Caris & Company released an analysis Friday that predicts the iPod touch will grow toward 10 percent of the company's revenues.

"No longer just a music/video player, iPod Touch is increasingly a gaming device, etc., with video camera a likely addition in next (fall?) refresh," the Caris report reads. "We believe iPod Touch sales have been ramping all year, representing an estimated 18% of iPod units since Sep-07 launch."

Even though the iPod lineup is not expected to have grown in terms of sales this past quarter, analysts still have high hopes for AAPL stock. Both Caris and J.P. Morgan have raised their target prices for the publicly traded company and recommend that investors buy. Both firms anticipate the company will report tremendous growth in both iPhone and Mac sales.

J.P Morgan had initially set a target price for AAPL of $155, but upped that this week to $167.50. The stock closed Thursday at $147.52. The firm said input from "industry contacts" suggests 2.5 million Macs were sold in the quarter, along with 4.34 million iPhones.



The J.P. Morgan report views the iPod touch as Apple's netbook, of sorts. At least, the analysis says, until Apple officially enters the netbook market – something the firm expects the Mac maker to do.

"We think the iPod touch provides the portability, Internet browsing, and email features that are the hallmark of the netbook PC experience," the report states. "With the iPod touch, the main limitation is the small screen size relative to netbooks. While we continue to believe that Apple will introduce its own netbook-like device, in the interim, the iPod touch should help the company benefit from the latest computing trend related to the netbook."

Meanwhile, Caris has set a price point of $170 per share for AAPL. The company expects Apple to continue to grow through the September quarter, bolstered by the $99 iPhone 3G and price cuts in the MacBook lineup.



"We see Apple’s iPhone and Mac sustaining considerable headroom for growth via market share gains, with its iPhone/App Store shaking up the entire billion-unit cell phone industry," the Caris report reads.

[Chintan100]

What stealth???

iPod Touch is the gadget that competes directly with PSP and thats no secret. With camera (and maybe something even more) being reportedly added to iPod Touch later this year, it will be the gadget which beats the GameBoys and PSPs.

[teckstud]

The Touch deserves more credit than that - it more important than the AppleTV or the MBA ever will be in the Apple line up. Those are rarely ever mentioned or advertised anymore.
I see Touches all over NY these days- on the subways, streets, gyms.

[Chintan100]

Hey teckstud,


A MacBook Pro has taken off from canada to me in india.

Going Mac from tomorrow onwards. And will never go back...

I keep quoting your signature now and then... :P

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by Chintan100

Hey teckstud,


A MacBook Pro has taken off from canada to me in india.

Going Mac from tomorrow onwards. And will never go back...

I keep quoting your signature now and then... :P

Great- you are in for a fantastic ride going forward. Enjoy it! I've used Mac's over 10 years but am stuck in a PC world at work. The Mac is like nothing else. Peace.

[Virgil-TB2]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Though iPod sales are predicted to be the weakest-performing segment of Apple's overall sales this quarter, the iPod touch is said to be the ace up the company's sleeve, thanks to the platform's compatibility with the App Store. ...

I think the giant elephant in the room that is rarely, or perhaps only off-handedly mentioned in regards iPod sales analysis, is that obviously every iPhone sold is also an iPod sold.

I've read dozens and dozens of supposedly learned articles since the iPhone came out talking about declining iPod sales. The author typically (not necessarily in this piece), wrings their hands in anxiety over this unprecedented turn of events where the iPod sales are either shrinking, or not growing at the rate they have in the past. One look at the actual numbers on the charts tells you exactly where those sales have migrated however.

The real story is that iPod sales haven't dropped very dramatically at all when you take into account the sales of iPhones. They really should have, but they haven't. It's really a story of phenomenal growth if you take the market as a whole, but it's often reported as "the sad case of shrinking iPod sales." I know this isn't rocket science, (or even news in some circles), but I find it a bit sad how the mainstream media so often reports this as a negative when it's the exact opposite.

[al_bundy]

At this point only the crazy packrats buy HD based iPods. Nano/shuffle on low end and touch/iPhone on high end

[GQB]

Originally Posted by teckstud

Great- you are in for a fantastic ride going forward. Enjoy it! I've used Mac's over 10 years but am stuck in a PC world at work. The Mac is like nothing else. Peace.

Who are you, and what have you done with techstud?

[Chintan100]

Originally Posted by teckstud

I've used Mac's over 10 years but am stuck in a PC world at work.

LoL... "Stuck with PC at work"... I am an iphone developer. Mac at work, Mac at home..

[AIaddict]

Originally Posted by al_bundy

At this point only the crazy packrats buy HD based iPods. Nano/shuffle on low end and touch/iPhone on high end

To some extent your low end high end division still holds, but I think there is also a size and functionality division as well. To the extent they really are two different device families. For example, my wife has a nano and 3GS, and to her they are not redundant devices or high/low end. The nano is a small, relatively durable, simple and convenient music player/Nike + device. The iPhone is a pocket computer that also makes phone calls and plays music. In fact, I think calling the iPhone either a phone or an iPod misses the reality of the device completely. Same for calling the Touch an iPod. Yes it can play music through iTunes, but so can my laptop and desktop PC's, and no one would call those iPods. The nano and shuffle are iPods, toch and iphone something completely different.

[AIaddict]

Originally Posted by GQB

Who are you, and what have you done with techstud?

He only hates the iPhone/AT&T. As far as I can tell he has always liked the Mac.

[Rot'nApple]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

"with its iPhone/App Store shaking up the entire billion-unit cell phone industry," the Caris report reads.

Shaking up an entire billion-unit industry... would we expect anything less from Apple?!

[wizard69]

Like iPhone iPod Touch is an amazing device. I'm not sure how this could be considered stealth though, it is an in your face device. It is not like Apple hides the thing in stores or online.

Personally though I have a hard time with the idea that Touch will get a camera in the next rev. Some people actually choose it over iPhone for the lack of that camera. Just like some choose for lack of a contract. I know I debated for months before going the iPhone route. There will be more Touch devices obviously but I'm just hoping that a model similarly configured to todays Touch stays around.

Now if the do offer up a camera I'm hoping it is not based on a tiny cell phone chip. I'd rather have a 4 or 5 mega pixel sensor out of an point and shoot with the corresponding optics. A camera based Touch truly needs to be an alternative device. Yes I realize that means a bigger device to contain the optics, but this does not imply a hugely larger device either.

Speaking of larger devices I hope Apple realizes there is need for a larger Touch, what many of us call Newton 2. It still needs to be easy to carry and pocketable (large pocket) but needs a much larger screen to support video, e-book reading and the web better. Of course this would make for an ideal portable game player and as such needs hardware to support that.

The thing is I can see a whole family of Touch devices being sucessful with out cell tech being built into them. Ideally one or more though will have that option as we do today. It will be interesting to see where Apples "different direction" takes them. I can see a Family of Touch devices at least as large as the entire line up of iPod devices is today. This isn't stealth at all if you look at what Apple has had on the market. Rather it is a rapidly maturing concept, that is a expression of what handheld computing can be.



Dave

[anantksundaram]

Originally Posted by AIaddict

He only hates the iPhone/AT&T. As far as I can tell he has always liked the Mac.

Now he **loves** his iPhone, and actually tolerates ATT.

I bought some more AAPL when I learnt that (and the stock is up about $15 since the announcement).

[Wiggin]

Originally Posted by al_bundy

At this point only the crazy packrats buy HD based iPods. Nano/shuffle on low end and touch/iPhone on high end

A 32 GB touch would maybe hold all of my music & video, but the extra space is nice to have so when you sync photos you can automatically include the originals and have an automatic backup of your entire photo library (one of the few truly irreplaceable types of files you have). An HD-based iPod also makes a nice little emergency boot drive, which I just used recently when the drive in my mini crashed. And an encrypted disk image on the iPod makes a great place to backup important documents. So if there's a break-in, fire, or flood while I'm out and my computer is lost, a copy of my most important stuff is with me. But the touch has no "enable disk use" option, so none of this is possible.

I can also use Apple's radio remote to listen to FM on my 5th gen iPod. And their camera connector allows me to copy photos off my camera's memory card for backup should I lose or damage the memory card before I get home. So I no longer need to take my laptop on vacation with me. You can even view the photos on the iPod's screen to show to your friends and family before you've ever loaded them onto a computer.

So it's not just the "packrats" with 100s of GB of music that appreciate the HD iPods. They are actually quite capable for a lot of other things, but Apple never advertised those capabilities. I've had 3 friends go out and buy the radio remote after they saw mine. They just never knew it could do all that.

[anantksundaram]

Originally Posted by Wiggin

A 32 GB touch would maybe hold all of my music & video, but the extra space is nice to have so when you sync photos you can automatically include the originals and have an automatic backup of your entire photo library (one of the few truly irreplaceable types of files you have). An HD-based iPod also makes a nice little emergency boot drive, which I just used recently when the drive in my mini crashed. And an encrypted disk image on the iPod makes a great place to backup important documents. So if there's a break-in, fire, or flood while I'm out and my computer is lost, a copy of my most important stuff is with me. But the touch has no "enable disk use" option, so none of this is possible.

I can also use Apple's radio remote to listen to FM on my 5th gen iPod. And their camera connector allows me to copy photos off my camera's memory card for backup should I lose or damage the memory card before I get home. So I no longer need to take my laptop on vacation with me. You can even view the photos on the iPod's screen to show to your friends and family before you've ever loaded them onto a computer.

So it's not just the "packrats" with 100s of GB of music that appreciate the HD iPods. They are actually quite capable for a lot of other things, but Apple never advertised those capabilities. I've had 3 friends go out and buy the radio remote after they saw mine. They just never knew it could do all that.

All good points. And, the Touch is too refined for a car.

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by Chintan100

LoL... "Stuck with PC at work"... I am an iphone developer. Mac at work, Mac at home..

If only I could be so lucky. I work in the financial world, which for the most part is the friggin' PC world.

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by anantksundaram

Now he **loves** his iPhone, and actually tolerates ATT.

I bought some more AAPL when I learnt that (and the stock is up about $15 since the announcement).

Hey - where's my cut?

[anantksundaram]

Originally Posted by teckstud

Hey - where's my cut?

Oh, I view it as just compensation.........

[Jurassic]

Interesting. According to the charts, Apple is now making more money each quarter from iPhones (which have only been around 2 years) than they do from selling Macs. It's easy to see where this is leading, and where the company will be focusing its resources.

[wallymcgoo]

The iPod touch has other advantages not mentioned above, in other markets, Ireland for instance, has very punitive iPhone call plans, so it is not advantageous to have an iPhone. However if you own a macbook and a Mac Pro and a subscription to MobileMe as I do, it is advantageous to stay with your regular phone carrier and use the iPhone touch for email and browsing over Wi_fi. In Ireland there is a cap of 1Gig. per month for data downloads, so shopping on iTunes may incur additional download fees, and a 700 minute plan is €100 euro per month. Which is about double it's neighbours price(UK). You can enjoy the incredible amount of features, email, surfing, gaming, music, video etc without very high phone and data charges.

[jeffharris]

There's nothing "stealth" about the iPod touch. It's a fantastic, flexible little computer!

Originally Posted by al_bundy

At this point only the crazy packrats buy HD based iPods. Nano/shuffle on low end and touch/iPhone on high end

I'm no crazy packrat, but I DO rip CDs using Apple Lossless.
The 32GB on my iPod touch doesn't even begin to cut it music storage-wise.

My 80GB 5.5G iPod has 73.5 GB (3700 "songs") in it and it is almost full. Probably 85% of the music on it is "classical", mostly orchestral music and I demand the sound quality of Lossless! The rest is jazz and "world" music, with a smattering of pop (ripped at 256 VBR. I use "pop" in the broadest sense). I may be able to jam another 1/2 dozen CDs onto it, but I'm tempted to get a 120 GB iPod Classic. Maybe I'll use the 80GB as my Mahler/Bruckner/WagnerPod? hmmmm...

I shifted all podcasts onto my iPod touch and there's no music on it at all. The battery life is atrocious and I need my calendar, contacts and OmniFocus stuff available, so eating valuable battery power playing makes no sense. I DO carry a wall USB charger and cable... there goes portability.

[jeffharris]

Originally Posted by Wiggin

But the touch has no "enable disk use" option, so none of this is possible.

There are few nice options to allow you to do that.

DiskAid, is Windows-like... ugly and kludgy, but works. http://www.digidna.net/diskaid/
PhoneView works well. http://www.ecamm.com/mac/phoneview/instructions.html

There are so iPhone/iPod touch apps that allow you to transfer and store files on your touch over wi-fi.

Discover for iPhone/touch is free.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/M...292416855&mt=8

[Inkling]

For once, an analyst has got it right. The iPod touch is a marvelous gadget for those of us who don't want to get locked into AT&T's pricey two-year contract. As I contemplate replacing my aging iPod mini, I know that the iPod nano is a direct replacement, but ask why I should replace one gadget that works fine with another that's functionally little different. When I look at the iPod touch, however, I realize it offers so much more for only a little more money. The nano is a toy. The touch is a tool.

I know Apple got burned in the early to mid 1990s with too many models of Macs. But when it comes to the iPod touch, they really do need more models to cover the market properly. They should consider creating:

1. Today's standard model, basically like the iPhone except for the cellular phone, so it can run iPhone software. That means a camera and compass in the next version. A GPS is a bit more iffy.

2. An iPod Extended that's not so thin, the added space making it the thickness of an iPhone and being devoted to a larger battery for travelers and those who want to use it as an all-day, on-the-go tool. That's what I'd buy.

3. An iPod Sport that's ruggedized and waterproofed like many GPSs. It'd be great for those with an active lifestyle. Price it high and it would still sell. I'd suggest also giving it a larger battery.

4. An iPod Traveler for those on vacation. It would include a GPS and a larger battery, along with software to download and display tourist maps and information while traveling. In a car, it would give turn-by directions. Hand-carried, it would show the way to tourist spots or offer a tour guide to museums and the like. It'd bypass the lack of cellular by downloading data ahead of time via the app store.

5. An iPod Kid for children that lacks some features to keep the price down, but that's built for play and the 'funner' sorts of education. Trying to create a handy UI for adults, I suspect Apple has stumbled across the ideal UI for little kids. Why not make a version just for them?

The iPod Sport and iPod Traveler do bring up issues that Apple will have to resolve. To what extent should these iPods offer features that add to the cost but that only some users will need? Despite one grumpy posting above, I suspect most potential purchasers do want a half-decent camera (including video). It can be very handy to have a camera available at all times. Building it into an iPod means one less gadget to klutz with.

But including more pricey options like a GPS is a more difficult issue, particularly when most people want a GPS that includes maps and data files. An iPhone can get that information easily. An iPod touch needs a WiFi connection that may not be available in a pinch. I'm rather neutral on GPS in an iPod touch, mostly because I rarely get in situations where I'd need a GPS where I've not carrying one of the stand-alone GPSs that I own. I suspect I'm not alone in that attitude.

[Macbrewer]

Well said.

[echosonic]

Originally Posted by Macbrewer

Well said.

...who?

[cameronj]

I know Apple got burned in the early to mid 1990s with too many models of Macs. But when it comes to the iPod touch, they really do need more models to cover the market properly. They should consider creating:

Heh, why stop there?

What's the good of economy of scale anyway?

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by Jurassic

Interesting. According to the charts, Apple is now making more money each quarter from iPhones (which have only been around 2 years) than they do from selling Macs. It's easy to see where this is leading, and where the company will be focusing its resources.

Think of how much more money they could having been making from Macs if they had offered a matte (or less high glossy) option over the last 2 years for the iMac alone.

[brucep]

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

I think the giant elephant in the room that is rarely, or perhaps only off-handedly mentioned in regards iPod sales analysis, is that obviously every iPhone sold is also an iPod sold.

I've read dozens and dozens of supposedly learned articles since the iPhone came out talking about declining iPod sales. The author typically (not necessarily in this piece), wrings their hands in anxiety over this unprecedented turn of events where the iPod sales are either shrinking, or not growing at the rate they have in the past. One look at the actual numbers on the charts tells you exactly where those sales have migrated however.

The real story is that iPod sales haven't dropped very dramatically at all when you take into account the sales of iPhones. They really should have, but they haven't. It's really a story of phenomenal growth if you take the market as a whole, but it's often reported as "the sad case of shrinking iPod sales." I know this isn't rocket science, (or even news in some circles), but I find it a bit sad how the mainstream media so often reports this as a negative when it's the exact opposite.

Agreed

[GQB]

Originally Posted by teckstud

Think of how much more money they could having been making from Macs if they had offered a matte (or less high glossy) option over the last 2 years for the iMac alone.

Not that much...
Matte is a niche demand, offset by greater demand for the brightness os the glossy screen.
Overrated issue

[al_bundy]

Originally Posted by Rot'nApple

Shaking up an entire billion-unit industry... would we expect anything less from Apple?!

Has everyone forgot the debacle that was the ROKR?

[al_bundy]

Originally Posted by jeffharris

There's nothing "stealth" about the iPod touch. It's a fantastic, flexible little computer!



I'm no crazy packrat, but I DO rip CDs using Apple Lossless.
The 32GB on my iPod touch doesn't even begin to cut it music storage-wise.

My 80GB 5.5G iPod has 73.5 GB (3700 "songs") in it and it is almost full. Probably 85% of the music on it is "classical", mostly orchestral music and I demand the sound quality of Lossless! The rest is jazz and "world" music, with a smattering of pop (ripped at 256 VBR. I use "pop" in the broadest sense). I may be able to jam another 1/2 dozen CDs onto it, but I'm tempted to get a 120 GB iPod Classic. Maybe I'll use the 80GB as my Mahler/Bruckner/WagnerPod? hmmmm...

I shifted all podcasts onto my iPod touch and there's no music on it at all. The battery life is atrocious and I need my calendar, contacts and OmniFocus stuff available, so eating valuable battery power playing makes no sense. I DO carry a wall USB charger and cable... there goes portability.

My 3gs has almost 32gb filled up and it's 10 days of music at lossless. When I go over I will just sync what I want. I just need it for the subway ride. Where there is a signal there is slacker and pandora.

[al_bundy]

Originally Posted by Wiggin

A 32 GB touch would maybe hold all of my music & video, but the extra space is nice to have so when you sync photos you can automatically include the originals and have an automatic backup of your entire photo library (one of the few truly irreplaceable types of files you have). An HD-based iPod also makes a nice little emergency boot drive, which I just used recently when the drive in my mini crashed. And an encrypted disk image on the iPod makes a great place to backup important documents. So if there's a break-in, fire, or flood while I'm out and my computer is lost, a copy of my most important stuff is with me. But the touch has no "enable disk use" option, so none of this is possible.

I can also use Apple's radio remote to listen to FM on my 5th gen iPod. And their camera connector allows me to copy photos off my camera's memory card for backup should I lose or damage the memory card before I get home. So I no longer need to take my laptop on vacation with me. You can even view the photos on the iPod's screen to show to your friends and family before you've ever loaded them onto a computer.

So it's not just the "packrats" with 100s of GB of music that appreciate the HD iPods. They are actually quite capable for a lot of other things, but Apple never advertised those capabilities. I've had 3 friends go out and buy the radio remote after they saw mine. They just never knew it could do all that.

my 32gb iPhone has over 1000 photos and it's less than 2gb

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by GQB

Not that much...
Matte is a niche demand, offset by greater demand for the brightness os the glossy screen.
Overrated issue

Right - and that's why Apple was forced to come out with a matte for the 17" Pro and there is rumour now it is coming back because many don't want and haven't bought a glareful Mac. How stupid of me, I totally forgot.

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by al_bundy

Has everyone forgot the debacle that was the ROKR?

Pleeze- that was Motorola's bomb- not Apple's.

[MacTel]

All the more reason for the iPod Nano to be upgraded to an iPod Nano Touch with the iPhone OS. That'll up the iPod numbers. And of course an update iPod Touch with the iPhone 3G[s] treatment with camera and flash.

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by MacTel

All the more reason for the iPod Nano to be upgraded to an iPod Nano Touch with the iPhone OS. That'll up the iPod numbers. And of course an update iPod Touch with the iPhone 3G[s] treatment with camera and flash.

And then Apple comes out with the iCamera and goes after Nikon's, Canon's, and Olympus' ass.

[Virgil-TB2]

Originally Posted by anantksundaram

Now he **loves** his iPhone, and actually tolerates ATT.

I bought some more AAPL when I learnt that (and the stock is up about $15 since the announcement).

yeah, just like everyone predicted, he hates a product until he actually owns one, then it's the best thing in the world.

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

yeah, just like everyone predicted, he hates a product until he actually owns one, then it's the best thing in the world.

Not true- that is too predictable. I own an AppleTV- hate it- but I refuse to go off topic and discuss it. I didn't like the iPhone until it became full featured. I still would never have bought the 1st or 2nd gen- didn't appeal to me in the least.

[wizard69]

Apple got it right the analyst are just there to soak up the goodness, some what like leaches.

Originally Posted by Inkling

...... They should consider creating:

1. Today's standard model, basically like the iPhone except for the cellular phone, so it can run iPhone software. That means a camera and compass in the next version. A GPS is a bit more iffy.

Funny but I look at GPS as a shoe in and the camera as iffy. At least on some models. GPS is extremely useful in creating devices that remain compatible with iPhone, a camera not so much. Just look at all the software packages that leverage GPS tech right now.

2. An iPod Extended that's not so thin, the added space making it the thickness of an iPhone and being devoted to a larger battery for travelers and those who want to use it as an all-day, on-the-go tool. That's what I'd buy.

If it is a device with a bigger screen I'd be all over it. Especially if that bigger screen is combined with a much larger secondary store.

3. An iPod Sport that's ruggedized and waterproofed like many GPSs. It'd be great for those with an active lifestyle. Price it high and it would still sell. I'd suggest also giving it a larger battery.

Not if priced high just to serve those with inflated egos.

On the other hand a completely self contained and rugged iPod would be ideal in many ways. By self contained I mean a device that can harvest its own power and basically keep running for weeks on end. Right now this means either solar or micro mechanical harvesting of power. In any event the device is as you otherwise describe a rugged iPod maybe with a ceramic crack proof screen.

4. An iPod Traveler for those on vacation. It would include a GPS and a larger battery, along with software to download and display tourist maps and information while traveling. In a car, it would give turn-by directions. Hand-carried, it would show the way to tourist spots or offer a tour guide to museums and the like. It'd bypass the lack of cellular by downloading data ahead of time via the app store.

This more or less duplicates what you have already described. As to mapping that issue is quickly being taken care of. Even travel specific apps are becoming common place. I just don't see the pull for a specific device as what you are asking for is very much software driven.

5. An iPod Kid for children that lacks some features to keep the price down, but that's built for play and the 'funner' sorts of education. Trying to create a handy UI for adults, I suspect Apple has stumbled across the ideal UI for little kids. Why not make a version just for them?

Call me old fashion but I'm not into giving kids things they are not ready to handle.

The iPod Sport and iPod Traveler do bring up issues that Apple will have to resolve. To what extent should these iPods offer features that add to the cost but that only some users will need?

I think you underestimate the demand that something like iPod Touch sport would have. Especially if it was in a totally enclosed water proof housing. One thing that makes me a bit nervous is using my iphone when outside or at the beach.

Despite one grumpy posting above, I suspect most potential purchasers do want a half-decent camera (including video). It can be very handy to have a camera available at all times. Building it into an iPod means one less gadget to klutz with.

I think you are wrong here about the camera as many people need an alternative device to take their music to places where cameras are not allowed. For many this is the workplace, but many other venues such as gyms frown on people whipping out camera capable devices on a whim. It is not that I'm against camera in Touch based devices just that it provides people with a real alternative with out one.

But including more pricey options like a GPS is a more difficult issue, particularly when most people want a GPS that includes maps and data files.

Where did this idea come from that GPS is pricey? It isn't always a case of wanting GPS for maps, more exactly we want GPS to support applications making use of it. But really GPS is cheaper than hardware and software associated with a camera.

An iPhone can get that information easily. An iPod touch needs a WiFi connection that may not be available in a pinch.

If I keep seeing the crap posted in this forum I will blow a gasket. GPS DOES NOT NEED A WIFI CONNECTION TO OPERATE. NEVER HAS AND NEVER WILL!!!!!! That doesn't mean that cool apps of the future might not use GPS in conjunction with the network, just that GPS as a tech does not require any networking of any sort.

I'm rather neutral on GPS in an iPod touch, mostly because I rarely get in situations where I'd need a GPS where I've not carrying one of the stand-alone GPSs that I own. I suspect I'm not alone in that attitude.

I fear you are very alone in that attitude. GPS enable feature that your stand alone GPS could never manage, I suspect it would be used more by a new Touch device than a camera. That because it supports a variety of uses by different apps.

Dave