iPhone 3 patent drawings and screenhots

Early images of what the next iPhone will look like have surfaced online.

A series of screenshots, said to be images of what Apple Inc.'s much awaited update to its popular smartphone, have surfaced on several popular fan websites in recent weeks. Also found on fansites and tech blogs are a series of technical drawings.

These drawings were part of a patent application submitted by Apple to the United States Patent and Trademark Office on April 16.

Although the patent was for a "variable devica graphical interface", drawings submitted in the patent document included other details on the new iPhone, generating much speculation as to what new features the device - commonly called the iPhone 3 - might have.