Lately, the supposed flash-based iPod has been in the spotlight, and most certainly its possible connections to the “anonymous parties” being sued over leaking information about an unreleased product. My theory is that the depicted remote-like apparatus is NOT a flash-based iPod but rather a remote, either to some sort of iPod or to AirTunes (the solution where you stream music from an application such as iTunes to a stereo via an AirPort Express). It makes more sense to not include a display if it’s not a remote, although I’d agree a display would still be good for controlling AirTunes.
Update: For clarity, the leak was not of the item discussed here. (This was never the point of the article any way. The point was that I think the item looks a lot more like an AirTunes remote than a flash iPod.)