Hmmm... backlighting...
how about... pair the backlighting with those touch sensor buttons which don't actually have tactile response (sorta like the G4 Cube power button but with much faster response time, saw a row of them on a Samsung LCD display at Circuit City. with blue backlights)? Though it'll be hard to navigate blind, it'll make for a sweet-looking iPod. Imagine: perfectly flat face (move the screen forward too, or add a protective shield to it.) Tiny backlit touch sensors, a touchwheel with a glowing center (pulsating, even?) Ja, that'd be sweet. (Seriously, how many times have you done anything other than volume control and have not been looking at the iPod?)
Another idea: you know the new displays that RCA is making into its high-end Scenium DVD players? Yeah. The ones which are chrome when unlit, but you cansee what's underneath when the text below is lit. That'd be nice, too, provided it's not too bulky. That way, the whole iPod can be pseudo-chrome (I prefer brushed metal, myself, but still).
EDIT: Though now that I think about it, the touchwheel wouldn't be chrome, which would take away from the elegance of the design...
Whatever happens, a lot of people will just be flat out wrong-there have so many conflicting reports, someone needs to be wrong.
