Engadget is
running a story about Apple filing to trademark the term "iPodcast". You can read the filings at the US Patent and Trademark Office
here and
here.
Is this, as some people have suggested, a bold attempt by Apple to assimilate the very popular term "podcasting" as well as associated technologies, or rather an indication that a next-gen iPod device or iTunes phone with audio recording capabilities is on the way, as well as an iTunes update to make the creation and syndication of podcasts a much more simple and streamlined process?
My bet is on something along the lines of the latter, maybe with some
iChat AV and
GarageBand integration thrown in on the desktop.