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Think Secret dishes on Zune, future iPods

Apple rumor site Think Secret has been busy chatting it up with all those company insiders whom Misters Jobs and Gates would love to get their rich and powerful hands on, and turned those leaks into an article which dispels some of the recently-circulating iPod rumors, along with providing a few more tantalizing deets about Microsoft's upcoming "iPod killer." For starters, it looks like we shouldn't be expecting the "true" video iPod until at least the annual MacWorld Expo in January -- though larger capacity 5G 'Pods may arrive in the interim -- and apparently the long-rumored iPhone also won't be coming anytime soon, as that project has reportedly been put on hold for the foreseeable future. Furthermore, when the 6G iPod is finally released, it will likely lack both the wirelesscapabilities and talking interface that some people have been anticipating; Apple is said to believe that the former feature would have too much of an impact on battery life, while the latter would only feed what's seen as a marginal consumer demand. Finally, Microsoft's so-called Zune -- which is rumored to sport WiFi for communicating with MTV's Urge service -- may also come equipped with a powerful 400MHz processor suitable for gaming, as well as a built in tuner for receiving satellite radio broadcasts. Obviously all this info is just speculation from unnamed sources for now, but if the Zune does end up duping your iTunes tracks, playing high-quality games, and giving you access to Sirius or XM on the go, then Apple may be facing its first real marketplace battle in the iPod's brief but influential existence.