Apple is going for lots and lots of different patents, and one of their latest applications is directly connected to a next generation iPod. I really like the idea – you control things on the front by touching the back:

When you touch the backside, however, transparent “ghost” controls appear on the front. You’d then use your finger on the backside of the device to navigate your way through the transparent controls up front. The key to the equation is force sensitivity. As you run your finger along the backside, the cursor hovers, but when you press harder, you can click on things.

I’ll hope we will see this functionality already this year when the iPod widescreens goes public.

Next Gen iPod Patent Has “Touch Surface” On Back [gizmodo.com]
via [digg]