My Favorite Fantasy iPod

Apple's iPod is cool enough -- especially the new one. Detractors belittle the device, saying that it's nothing more than a hard disk with a play button.

The iPod lovers and the iPod haters will disagree, but there's no denying the design influence Apple's music player has had over other music players, over other consumer electronics and over a large variety of random products.The player's design has also motivated closet designers, Photoshop enthusiasts and product prognosticators to speculate in vivid, computer-generated detail about just what future iPods might look like.

The most recent vision of a future iPod is this quarter-size player published today in a UK-based publication called T3. I want one (althoough I'm afraid I'd lose it -- or accidentally swallow it or something).

Here's a really cool one done some time ago: iPod sunglasses.

The glasses are from a fan site called iPodLounge. (WIRED News did a piece on the site some time ago.)

What's YOUR favorite fake iPod of the future? Seen any recent ones? Let me know at [email protected]