Yet again, Apple’s fourth iPhone is said not only to be in the scope, but in production already. Eldar Murtazin writing for Mobile Review and touted as the "ultimate insider" for news in the mobile phone world used his Twitter account on Thursday to make a concise, yet intriguing announcement: "Foxconn received order for next generation iphone."

Pretty much everyone agrees that the timing makes sense, while multiple rumors seem to corroborate the existence of Apple’s next-gen iPhone. Whether or not it will pack chip-sensing RFID tech, or a multi-core ARM chip remains to be seen. The same goes for the design. How many more next-gen iPhones can Apple sell without changing the design?

Believed to arrive in mid-2010, the new device should also employ some of the technologies and ideas supposedly emerged from Apple’s recent acquisitions, AppleInsider suggests. "The company's purchase of worldwide mapping company Placebase over the summer would likely play a part in any new features," the site notes.

As for the new-architecture chips, by all means, Apple could and downright should do something with chip designer expert PA Semi, which the Mac maker bought last year for a whopping $278 million – makes the Lala acquisition sound like buying the newspaper from the corner on a sunny Monday morning. Lastly, a dual-mode CDMA and GSM world phone is also rumored, but opinions are quite divided on this front.

But let’s not forget about Apple’s tablet device. If we’re to believe what analysts are saying, the product should arrive well before the new iPhone model. Not wanting to burst anyone’s bubble, there may be a good chance Apple has combined these two ideas into one. Apple has historically touted the iPod touch as something very close to a netbook, refusing to delve in the low-end market with its own such product.