The Apple iPhone might be true

Slashdot It! Photo of the iPhone patents

Speculation over whether Apple is preparing to launch an iPod phone all but ended on Thursday after a patent application revealed that the computer group is working on a device that will combine a "media player" with a mobile phone. Apple fanatics and Wall Street analysts have long speculated that the company would move into the mobile handset market.

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Detailed drawings were submitted along with the patent application, but could not be recovered from the US Patent and Trademark Office's website.

The mobile handset market is seen as an important new growth area for Apple, which dominates the market in portable music players. It comes as Microsoft and other digital music rivals are stepping up efforts to grab market share from the Apple's iPod in the music player market. Zune, Microsoft's answer to the iPod, made its debut last month to mixed reviews.

Apple has sold more than 70m iPods since the device first launched in 2001. That number pales in comparison with the potential market for mobile phones, however. Analysts expect more than 1bn mobile handsets will be sold in 2007.