The iPod Touch might as well be a phone now. We've known for a while that the Touch is soon to receive a sexy new camera, and now we're hearing rumors that an honest-to-God microphone is planned for the little device. Now all Touch owners will have to do is download Skype in order to have a mobile that's almost as functional as most smartphones on the market.

This rumor comes from Wired.com, who claims that they heard it from a 'well-connected source', who told them that Apple's Chinese factories are already toiling to churn out the new iPods. Readers should keep in mind here the fact that Apple has a nearly legendary history of flooding the tech sites with misinformation and false rumors before a big release to draw out hype. Actual leaked information from Cupertino is extremely rare.

That said, this rumor sounds pretty reasonable. A microphone on the Touch will give the media player the ability to take voice commands, capture audio, and use pretty much all of the iPhone apps in the app store. Plus, it turns the device into a smartphone whenever there's WiFi around. Take this news with a grain of salt, but don't be surprised if it turns out to be accurate.