Apple leaks nano phone plans

Yet more plans for an Apple mobile phone have escaped the company's Cupertino campus, along with weird and wacky designs for future iPods.

The plans, patented by Apple in January, show a range of 'Pods sporting different controls to its usual scroll wheel.

Some designs show the player with no control buttons at all, hinting further that Apple has a touch screen or voice controlled player in the works.

Then there's the elusive iPhone - Apple's long-rumoured challenge to the mobile phone, which according to the latest plans will look like a nano with number buttons.

The new designs look ropey at best, and none of the interfaces are a patch on the click wheel design.

Elsewhere, Reuters reports that Microsoft has its own music player in the pipeline, and will launch a music store to back the iPod-rival in time for Christmas.

We're well overdue for an iPod update. The last new model launched eight months ago, so we're expecting something new from Apple any day now. Lets hope the threat of a Microsoft challenge can chivvy the 'Podfathers at Apple along!