According to the CNET.com news article (link below), a recently published Apple patent application may have shed some light as to the next generation iPhone. The original iPhone, set to hit the market next month using AT&T/Cingular service, is a handheld device with a relatively large screen and no keyboard. Apple’s U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US2007/0103454, entitled “Back-Side Interface for Hand-Held Devices,” was published last Thursday and includes 32 claims on a hand-held electronic device and methods for operating the same. The application discloses a hand-held device with two surfaces, having “a force-sensitive touch-surface is provided on a first or back-side surface of the device through which a user provides input (e.g., cursor manipulation and control element selection/activation)” and on “a second or front-side surface, a display element is used to present one or more control elements and a cursor that is controlled through manipulation of the back-side touch-surface.” The drawings show several embodiments of the device, including those having a click-wheel (as on the iPod), a number pad, and a keyboard (with the keys in alphabetical order). The figures can be seen in the application itself, with some being reproduced in the Unwired View article (link below).

CNET.com News Article: LINK
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US2007/0103454: LINK
Unwired View Article: LINK
CNET Apple iPhone Review: LINK