Apple's love-affair with multitouch technology comes to a head this week as AppleInsider has uncovered a recent Apple patent for a multitouch capable click-wheel. This patent had several illustrations of the new click-wheel as well as a detailed list of its capabilities. The new click-wheels are expected to make their debut with the fifth-generation iPod Nano.

The new Nanos are already getting digital cameras and a smaller click-wheel as part of their redesign, and a multitouch wheel is a substantial upgrade from what was there before. Multitouch will make it easier to flip through pictures and browse your music library, as well as bringing an awesome zoom function to the Nanos.

Apple hasn't confirmed any of this yet, of course, but the patent, filed in September, speaks for them. If not the Nano, what else could this new technology be for?