A wonderful post by Crave's John P. Falcone today imagines an ipod Max, a hypothetical iPod Touch with WiMax connectivity. "Unlike the current Wi-Fi-only iPod Touch, the user [could] also use the Max to connect to the Sprint Xohm WiMax network, when and where it's available," Falcone writes. "That would provide access to any and all Internet-connected apps, even when outside the range of a Wi-Fi hotspot."

Add Skype to the equation, and you get all the functionality of a cell phone without the contract or the per-minute billing. "Granted, you'd be paying two bills - the WiMax service fee plus the Skype charges - but I'd be willing to bet that even that combined rate would be less than what some people are currently paying for a cellphone bill that includes a good data plan," Falcone suggests.

Of course, this is all completely hypothetical - though AppleInsider's Katie Marsal did note last week that Apple may be looking at WiMax-enabled Intel chips for the iPhone...