Is this Apple's effort at an iPhone nano?

Apple has submitted a patent detailing a new device that shows it is at least looking at the possibility of an iPhone nano.

Of course, Apple has submitted around 32 bazillion patents in the last few years, with many pertaining to its phone line up (well, one phone: the iPhone).

The new patent submitted shows a much smaller device, bizarrely with controls on the back of the device. This means a front screen with no touch sensitivity (as far as we can tell poring through the documents) and a touch sensitive rear face.

Etch and sketch

This means that you have to position your fingers in the rear surface to control the action on the front (which hopefully is easier than it sounds).

The rear face is bizarrely described as 'etched', so presumably it will be a single function (ie scroll wheel) or a number of different functions with interchangeable covers (surely not).

But the idea of a smaller touchscreen does raise problems of the finger obscuring the motion - if you could touch the screen without actually touching it, that would sort the whole thing out.

This is the kind of design that anyone else trying to make would be laughed out of the investor's office - but as we've seen before, Apple can make the public want things they never realised they needed.

Via MacNN