What HAS BEEN SEEN? OMG it's a thing that looks like an iWatch

Could this filing reveal fruity firm's plans for wrist domination?

Apple has been granted a patent for a new device, and because of the components listed and the sketch accompanying the filing, several sources have said it could be the near-mythical iWatch.

At first glance, it doesn't look like the most exciting of patents. But beneath a preamble about boring old housings for electronic devices comes the kicker.

This gizmo, which has been given the distinctly un-Appley name of electronic device 10, is an entirely new form factor, with new components.

The Jesus-phone maker used typically vague - and broad - patent-speak, saying it could be "a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a somewhat smaller device such as a wrist-watch device, pendant device, headphone device, earpiece device, or other wearable or miniature device, a cellular telephone, or a media player".

The device "could" contain wireless circuitry including transceiver circuits, optical parts such as light sensors and cameras, and "other devices". Other potential parts include "camera window trim" and a hole in the surface that's likely the aperture. The whole thing is stuck together using an ultraviolet-light-curing adhesive and a hot melt adhesive, among other sticky stuff.

The look of the "concept design" for the patent has given rise to rumours that this could indeed be a watch-type device - although, as Patently Apple points out, the iThing could look very different when it comes to market. ®