"Sometimes Apple seems to just patent things for the heck of it. But its latest invention -- a 'touchless' touchscreen for its iconic music player new iPod -- could be headed to market in short order. In its recent blockbuster earnings call, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer hinted at new iPod players coming soon. And last month, Terry Gou, the chairman of Hon Hai, a major contract manufacturer for Apple, blabbed about a 'none-touch' iPod on its way in the second half of the year," Owen Thomas blogs for Business 2.0 and Fortune.

"Apple's new iPod patent shows a tablet-style iPod with a virtual scrollwheel that's activated by the mere proximity of a finger -- so you can manipulate the iPod player without actually smudging the screen by touching it. If the patented device is the same as Gou's 'none-touch' iPod player, this idea could become reality in your pocket in a matter of months," Thomas writes.