Could the case on the right be slated for the fabled iPhone Nano?
(Credit: iDealsChina)

With less than a month to go before Macworld, the rumours have started, and they sound familiar.

The possibility of an iPhone Nano has once again been served up for mass consumption by the Apple rumour mill, this time courtesy of a website called iDealsChina. The site claims that Apple accessory maker XSKN has been developing a case for a new version of the iPhone that is shorter and thicker than the iPhone 3G and that it will be announced at Macworld in January.

MacRumors.com, which attempts to handicap the Apple rumour industry, notes that iDealsChina "has a very mixed track record" when it comes to reading the Apple tea leaves. The site did publish photos of case designs for what became the iPhone 3G, but incorrectly predicted that the second-generation iPod Touch would have GPS.

iPhone Nano rumours date back to the launch of the original iPhone, when a financial analyst predicted that Apple would have a slimmed-down version of the iPhone out for the 2007 holiday season. That obviously didn't happen, and other reports this summer and more recent speculation about a US$99 4GB iPhone to be sold at Wal-Mart have kept the rumour alive.