Got plans on clamping Google’s Project Glass headset to your glasses? You might not if it interferes with Apple’s future iPod. The Cupertino company has just had a patent application accepted for a Bluetooth headset with an MP3 player built-in. Are Siri powers bundled in too? Read on for the details.
The right half of the picture above is Apple’s plan for the future of the iPod Shuffle. The basic idea? Apple wants to get back in on the wireless Bluetooth headset game, but it wants to do a bit more than just launch a set of cans. The result is a design for a pair of cans with what appears to me a last-generation Shuffle slapped on top, which can be bought in two figurations.
According to the documentation, this can either be a sort of Bluetooth headset attached to a second in-ear phone, or a full on, Beats-style pair of over-head cans. Where things get really exciting is that, thanks to the inclusion of a microphone, Apple may be planning on implementing a Siri-powered voice navigation system.
The last generation Shuffle, which didn’t have button controls, employed a weird system of in-line microphone clicks to navigate songs and find out what was playing. Using a microphone, as is detailed in this design, means you may well be able to demand certain tracks without calling your hands into action.
As with all patents, you never know if Apple’s going to act on this or just file it away. That said, the ‘Wireless headset with integrated media player’ patent’s been granted so it at least means it’s a possibility. Would you want to wear an iPod on your head? Let us know your thoughts.
