Is PortalPlayer Showing Apple's Hand?

Ready for your wireless iPod?

Reading between the lines, such a product in the short-term pipeline seems to be the implication of a recent announcement from PortalPlayer (PLAY Quote) and from what executives of the chipmaker had to say at an investor conference on Wednesday.

PortalPlayer, which provides multimedia processors for Apple Computer's iPods, announced Tuesday that it had signed a deal with CSR, a maker of WiFi and Bluetooth wireless chips, to add wireless capabilities to digital media players. The companies said they expected to have an integrated chipset available by the second half of this year. ...