"As the iPod evolves into a mini movie theater and a telephone, I think we'll see the end of the famed interface and the beginning of whole new face for the digital media giant."

"Back in August, Apple and Creative Technology announced a settlement to the legal battle over the iPod's acclaimed interface. After a dispute lasting several months, Apple relinquished to Creative’s so-called Zen Patent, which "covers the user interface that enables users of portable media players to efficiently and intuitively

navigate among and select tracks on the players. Creative applied for the Zen Patent on January 5, 2001 and it was awarded on August 9, 2005."

Under the terms of the settlement, Apple paid Creative a handsome sum of $100 million for "a paid-up license to use Creative's recently awarded patent in all Apple products." At the time, I wondered why Creative accepted a rather small fee — after all, Research in Motion ended up writing $612.5 million check over its Blackberry wireless e-mail patent dispute — and didn't demand a licensing fee for the use of its interface.

Maybe it's because it won’t be around much longer.

When the iPod was introduced, its menu was a marvel of simplicity. Once it was loaded with music, everything was naturally sorted by artist, album, genre or song, controlled by a single button and scroll wheel and a minimal amount of options. And as the iPod has evolved, the menu has remained virtually unchanged, picking up customization along the way, but never straying from its original design.

But I think that's all about to change.

During the introduction of the latest round of iPods last month, Steve Jobs took the opportunity to demo iTV, a video streaming set-top box which will be released in the first quarter of 2007. Calling it "probably the most gorgeous graphics you've ever seen on a TV set," Steve said iTV completed the iPod's story "gives you a little bit of an idea where we’re going."

Think about it: With a widescreen, touch-enabled screen, the iPod's current menu is going to seem awfully low-tech; but what if a scaled-down version of Front Row were to find its way onto the iPod? Imagine moving icons around with the wave of a finger; it would certainly bring new life to the popular media player, give users a reason to upgrade, and turn the page on a new chapter in the iPod story." Via SpyMac .

This article makes a lot of sense, and I think the author is on to something..