Published by Italian iPhone fan site iSpazio, the picture available to the left shows an iPhone with an all-black frame, and a front-facing camera – two features that may just see the light of day, Softpedia believes.

The folks at CultOfMac chime in, posting the mockup of an iPhone video iChat by Graham Bower of MacPredictions, and also pointing out to Scott Forstall showing off the new voice memo app included with iPhone OS 3.0 at the company's last Macworld keynote address. The site adds further credibility to the leaked photo, signaling that the activity light (the green LED typical to iSight-equipped Macs) is offset. The picture, depicting what looks like Apple-specific promo material for the next-gen device, doesn't seem fake.

Maybe the last piece of the puzzle, as far as this rumor is concerned, can be found in Apple's patent application for a Variable Device Graphical User Interface. According to the (abstract) summary of the invention, the patent describes “methods, systems, devices, and apparatus, including computer program products, for adjusting a graphical user interface.” Other elements include the detection of the motion of a device, and a graphical user interface of the device being adjusted in response to the detected motion.

The bigger summary reveals that, “one aspect of the subject matter described in this specification can be embodied in methods that include the actions of detecting a pattern of motion of a device; and adjusting a graphical user interface of the device in response to the detected pattern of motion. Other embodiments of this aspect include corresponding systems, apparatus, devices, computer program products, and computer readable media,” Apple explains.

“... another aspect of the subject matter described in this specification can be embodied in methods that include the actions of detecting a motion of a device,” Apple further stresses in the patent filing. “...comparing the detected motion to a predetermined signature of motion; and adjusting a graphical user interface of the device based on the comparing. Other embodiments of this aspect include corresponding systems, apparatus, devices, computer program products, and computer readable media,” the company states.

Countless patent applications never make it into actual devices, so we can't rely on this document alone. However, we'd say it's high time Apple slapped a front camera on what would be referred to as a “next-generation device,” given that numerous 3G-capable phones already have one.