How about a A5 powered iGame unveiled right before E3

The Pippin still thinks otherwise.

No physical buttons.

Even though Apple touts it constantly I still don't think Apple grasps the possibilities in the post PC world. Such a device doesn't have to be a pure gaming play. In fact the base model should be rather similar to today's models. The back though needs an intelligent approach to the fastening and interfacing of sleds.

To that end they need to take a hard look at SLR camera tech and other methods of coupling to the docked hardware. The idea would be to dock a card read, gaming sled or other I/O device with a minimal of physical connections. Then you have a device that on one hand is an iPod, the next minute a gaming machine and later a point of sale device. People with imaginations could easily imagine many other uses for amhandheld device that sturdily mates with an I/O sled of some sort.

I recall seeing some POS designs based around the ipad already (note the correct use of that acronym is "point of sale"). They really nailed that device.

Yep both iPad and Touch/iPhone solutions exist. The thing here is the idea that a Toch or whatever device designed from the beginning to mate up with different sleds would lead to even better designs. If one of those sleds is a gaming solution all the better. The idea that sleds are producible by anybody means that we can have many solutions instead of one defines by apple.

Nintendo has sold about 17 million units of the 3DS in 12 months (4.25m per quarter)
Sony has sold about 2 million units of the Vita in 4 months (1.5m per quarter)
Apple sold 15 million iPods last quarter, 50% of which I believe are iPod Touches (it's at least 5 million per quarter)

Assuming Apple built another device, they wouldn't wipe out Nintendo and Sony but let's say they managed to persuade 50% of 3DS and Vita buyers across. This is 2.88m extra units per quarter. I reckon their sales right now are 7.5m per quarter so just a 38% increase in sales.

For that 38%, they have to manufacture an entirely new unit and run the obvious risk of simply migrating some iPod Touch users over to it.

I'd say an easier way to get that 38% is to simply ensure more AAA titles are developed for the platform like Mass Effect Infiltrator:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Edw37nvX818

I think the only control improvement they need to make is to allow the thumb controls to be mostly off-screen so make the bezel touch-enabled. Then, to allow console-like control is have an equivalent to the shoulder buttons. In order that it maps across to the iPad, this could simply be a touch band placed around the perimeter of the device. This allows you to aim with the thumb and shoot by tapping the edge. It could even be a touch panel on the back of the device.

One feature it could get that the others can't is tactile feedback. The 3DS and Vita have long life cycles so they couldn't do this sort of thing for a while but Apple could do it this year.

I'd like to see a bigger screen in all their pocketable products but no bigger than 4" and no physical controls like buttons, sticks etc.

The last time that I visited an Apple Store, I was checked-out by a salesperson using a dedicated POS app on his iPhone. There was no sled involved. In order to automate the process rather than have the salesperson type in credit card numbers, the POS app could use the iPhone camera to photograph credit cards with OCR to read credit card numbers. The bottomline is that this is 2012. We don't need no stinking sled.

I have always wondered why Apple don't allow App sales for AppleTV.
AppleTV could be a great gaming device. Especially with A6/Rouge class SoC.

What is more they went out of their way to assure that AppleTV couldn't effectively act as a gaming or app delivery platform in this rev. It really seems like a no brainer.