Has the iPod run out of new tricks?

After years of cranking out hit iPod models, has Apple hit a wall?

The company hasn't had a significant update to its product line this year, with the only change being the addition of a smaller-capacity 1GB iPod nano in February.

"It's possible that we're at a point where the path to taking the next step is less clear and less straightforward, even for a company with the technology expertise and creativity of Apple," said IDC analyst Susan Kevorkian.

Other reasons could explain the radio silence, Kevorkian said, including the fact that Apple has decided to phase out the PortalPlayer processor from its next-generation nano and reports that the company has faced design challenges with the successor to its video iPod.

Whatever the reasons, the competition is moving forward. Microsoft has said it will have its first Zune-branded device -- a hard drive-based player with built-in Wi-Fi -- in time for Christmas. SanDisk this week announced an 8GB version of its Sansa player, offering a device with more storage than the nano or any of its major flash memory-based rivals. And the mobile phone industry, which has struggled to find a music-playing hit, may have finally produced a bona fide contender with LG's Chocolate phone.

But few expect Apple is resting on its laurels.

"I'm convinced they aren't just sitting there," said Gartner analyst Michael McGuire. Apple declined to comment on where it is heading, as is its custom.

While it's hard to predict with certainty what will show up in Apple's next digital music players, any number of features could be added, analysts say. One possibility, Kevorkian said, is digital radio. So-called HD Radio offers digital content but, unlike satellite radio, is freely available without a subscription. Plus, one of the things that has prevented the technology from becoming widespread is the lack of support from hardware devices. "HD Radio is a technology that could make a lot of sense in the context of iPod," she said.

Apple has also given some indications that it may be trying to find new ways of melding the iPod with the mobile phone.

During the company's most recent conference call, chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer said that today's mobile phones don't make the best music players. "But over time, that is likely to change," he said. "And we're not sitting around doing nothing."

'Imagination is the limit'
The mobile phone market is important, analysts say, noting that some consumers may opt to carry only one device, while others will make use of their mobile phone for listening to music, even while carrying an iPod or other player on other occasions.

"You have a class of device that has a very powerful media processor with a lot of memory, it's almost like having a PC in your hand," Francis Lee, president and chief executive of touchpad maker Synaptics, said in a recent interview with CNET.co.uk's sister site, News.com. "What kinds of things can you do with those devices? Your imagination is the limit," he said.