We're not one to pull the Apple fan's leg here, so we're just going to go out on a limb and say that we're kind of skeptical about this leakage. While the document itself actually highlights very interesting features of a possible phone, the name Apple Computer, Inc. hasn't been used for quite a while. Apple goes by Apple, Inc. now, as registered in NASDAQ (NASDAQ key: AAPL).

But in credibility of the document, there are a lot of interesting things that can be derived. First and foremost is the name Aloha OS X, which this document illustrates the architecture of. "Aloha" is a trademark by Apple in Hong Kong that has links to the iPhone that is under development. Let's get the other details from what we could derive from this so-called "confidential document" from "Apple Computer, Inc.":

• WebKit Module, Apple80211: surf, chat, e-mail features seems to be covered here
• Sync Services, Core Audio: music playing capabilities and music file syncing
• Core Video, Codecs: video playing capabilities, probable video recording capabilities
• GamesEmulator.app, OpenGL, GPU: if it's OpenGL 1.2, then games played on this puppy phone are "hawt"
• Onyx: "OMG" doesn't even begin to cover this part; next-gen mobile and VoIP services soon to come

The most interesting points are the GPU and the integration of Synaptics' next-generation mobile phone concept, called Onyx (not OnyX, although we could be mistaken and "Onyx" is a typo). These both highlight that the "device" is being ambitiously developed for the new age of telecommunications and mobile lifestyles.

But whether these features will actually make it to the iPhone by June 11 remains a mystery until the next official announcement. You could say that the document could be representing the Apple's iPhone after all. Imagine if Sony gets their hands on this document...

Apple's vision of a buttonless world featured a touchscreen mounted on an actuator that served as display, button and touchpad, all in one integrated package. Designer Pilotfish and sensor maker Synaptics have another vision of that buttonless world, a prototype for a cellular phone that maximizes display by deleting the traditional keypad interface (and luckily, none of our writers have to agonize over patent documents to translate into, well, English).

Onyx is really just a display with a sensitive transparent touch screen from Synaptics called "ClearPad" covering its display surface. Just like current touchscreen smartphones, except that the ClearPad is more transparent and will react properly to inputs using the tip of your thumb or finger - current-day touchscreens are not as transparent, and not as sensitive, even to a hard-tipped stylus. Just like touchscreen mobiles, users dial numbers and open and close applications on the Onyx by signs and gestures swiped onto the touchscreen. And a neat feature advertised by Pilotfish and Synaptics is that the Onyx will recognize body parts: answer your phone just by pressing the Onyx against your cheek...as though you were answering the phone.

Come to think of it, we did feature one article before where the future of the mobile phone/PDA/smartphone might be single-handed use, but that was with traditional touchscreen-based mobile OS being retooled for button/d-pad operated smartphones. Could Onyx and its ClearPad be the bridge to the best of both worlds, a one-hand-operated touchscreen mobile? We'd love to get our hands on one when the prototype makes its debut August 21, but that's just a prototype. We'd love to see a commercial model in the market soon [As a sidenote, the ClearPad will be released commercially later this year, so we'll probably see this input tech on more than Onyx soon].