The80 page patent application lodged by Apple with the US patents office is not dissimilar to the device that my sources in Asia say Apple is very close to going into full production mode with.
There is even speculation among Asian manufacturers that Apple could roll the new device out in the firest quarter of 2009 which coincides with MacWorld San Francisco.
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The application includes an outline for a full-size onscreen keyboard that can use modifier keys that simultaneously produce one or more controls such as signals shift-opt-ctrl-3, which can be used to capture a screen grab. The patent application also includes a virtual iPod scroll wheel that can be accessed on demand.
