Apple has always been known for awesome design and, given the inspired combination of form and function, it is no wonder that the iPod, in five short years, has become the dominant electronic music device.  

And with the advent of the Nano and the Video, one has to wonder, how could Apple possibly make the iPod any cooler?

A very recent patent application provides a clue of at least one improvement that could be in the works. Imagine the device programmed to allow you to navigate selections by voice prompting. The proposed audio user interface would utilize text to speech conversion in order to allow users to make music or video choices without having to ever look at the device. 

So you could be jogging or driving down the highway and choose the Pixies or the Arctic Monkeys without ever having to take your eyes off the road.  

I will be keeping my own eyes open for a patent application that allows users to make selections by voice prompts using recognition technology as this would seem like a natural complement to the proposed audio user interface technology. In the meantime, the prospects sound tres cool.