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While far from being official or endorsed by Apple, these designs by devotees of the iPod express what many users want in future versions

It is one thing to run around outside the better part of the day sporting those telltale white earphones. With its stylish design, ease of use, impressive capacity, and with ever more affordable prices lately, Apple's iPod is nothing short of a phenomenon. It has become part of its owners' lives; an extension and an expression of their personality. It is a statement. While some time ago it used to be a fancy accessory owned by a more exclusive crowd (you know who you are, Apple users, frequenting coffee houses, wearing black turtlenecks, sitting at your table fiddling with a PowerBook), it has found its place by now with people from virtually all walks of life. Some of the early adopters"may sneer at how much the exclusiveness of their pride and joy high-tech toy has been diluted, but the fact remains: there is an iPod for everyone, especially with the latest line of iPod Shuffles. Some "podheads" even go as far as replacing their white earphones with a different set, just to hide their "true colors". Mind-boggling to even think that we have actual closet "podheads" in our society these days. From being a tech phenomenon, the iPod will expand into a psychological condition. Can you say "Hello, my name is Joe, and I am an iPod addict..."?

But dreaming up and putting the design on paper (or in Gimp or PhotoShop) for future versions of the iPod can be judged as almost obsessed. However, before simply labeling such creativity as frivolous at best, the designers showcasing their work on iPodlounge convince the site visitors otherwise. It is evident on many of the concepts that the creators have invested a considerable amount of artistic and time resources into their work. Some designs are straight out rudimentary, but some are hard to distinguish from an actual full-page Wired or Rolling Stone ad spread. Some ideas are direct reflections of the dream list of thousands of iPod owners. Increased hard drive capacity will always be in demand, no matter how many thousands of albums one can fit on such a tiny device. The convergence of various technologies with the iPod is very much expectable, as the iPod Photo is already on the market. The "iPad", an iPod-style PDA concept, is something I am sure many Apple owners have thought of, and along those same lines, iPhones with cameras are not too much of a push either. Now the question is, is Apple looking and absorbing? Does the company believe there is enough demand for some of these features? Apple is known for playing market strategy really well with product announcements and releases. If the execs and designers keep their fingers on the iPod movement pulse, they will find that such a devotional following and input from the users will tremendously contribute to new iPod supplies being met by overwhelming demand.