Apple iPocket: The Second Coming (Part 2)

What about a phone?

The British are obsessed with frying their brain cells with mobile phones, and Apple fans demanded some nifty way of combining a mobile's capability into the iPocket. Surprisingly, cost didn't seem to put people off...

"This should include a GSM phone with a cordless hands-free solution. It would beat everything in the market," says one reader.

Another reader was even more distraught at the thought of there being no mobile phone included. He says:

"It must have a usable cell phone, i.e., speaker at the top and mic at the bottom."

Jay Arcos, editor of Macdirectory.com, agrees a phone would be a surefire hit with Apple's loyal customers. "Handwriting/voice and phone are becoming essential features, and since everyone has a mobile phone right now, this would be a big hit."

Realistically, of course, a mobile solution would be a nightmare for Apple to execute because of the different connectivity standards in the US and Europe.

Cute, but it needs a case...

So, we agree a phone would be a good idea, but where would it live? The solution came from another bright idea, compliments of a ZDNet reader.

"It has to have padding and protection as well as style and statement. Perhaps even a choice of leathers, or canvas and aluminium."

Leather indeed!

Eye eye... we're watching you.

So, readers want a phone embedded into the casing with some soft suede ear muffs to protect those delicate lobes. But what about video conferencing? The case could be designed to house a conferencing unit and, not surprisingly, the readers requested, quite vigorously, that we include it in our next design.

"Since Steve Jobs wants Apple to be the Sony of consumer computing, the inclusion of a small scale video must be a possibility," says one hopeful reader. "The price of eyeball cameras is an indication that this could be very simple and economical."

What's in a name?

We reckon iPocket was a fairly nifty name for an Apple PDA, but there a number of budding Steve Jobses with suggestions for renaming our little device. Some of the suggestions we can print include: "The iPad", "The Apple Pi" and even the "iNewton".

We stick by our guns and reckon iPocket is best...

Awright, wassa damage gov?

As for the question of cost, money didn't seem to be a concern for our readers, who are undeniably desperate to get their paws on an Apple PDA.

"Great, I suppose I'd pay around $350 (£217), okay maybe $450 tops," says one enthusiastic contributor. Another reader even offers to top that with a bid with a cool $700.

We'd like to sincerely thank all of you who took the time to criticise our initial design, cheers folks. MkII, hopefully, is a bit closer to what you've really all been waiting for: Check out the Apple iPocket MkII here.