Fact from fiction: The rumours surrounding the Apple iWatch

The functions of Apple's new smart watch are the subject of much conjecture, here are some of the more interesting design concepts from the web

Ever since the New York Times announced last weekend that Apple may have plans to make a super hi-tech watch, speculation has grown over what exactly it will do and what it might look like.

According to the NYT journalist, who spoke to anonymous sources at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California, the device will be made from curved glass and run on Apple's iOS platform. We can also safely assume the watch will tell time, but that's all the information we have so far, leaving the door wide open for a range of mad-cap suggestions from the web on the device's look and functionality. Here are some of the more interesting suggestions...

1) An iPod on your wrist

Serious market observers are suggesting the watch is not a watch at all, and it is in fact Apple's attempt at refining the iPod. It's not as fun as some of the other ideas, but it might well be bang on the money.

2) A hairdryer

Joyoftech.com has put forward a snazzy comic book-style page with a number of suggestions evocative of what someone in the 50s might think was futuristic, including a built-in Dyson hairdryer and "groundhog day mode" which takes you back 24 hours in time.

3) A very, very, smart watch

Designer Yrving Torrebeala's sleek concept design is proving popular among the tech community. The "iWrist" design is made from clear moulded glass it features WiFi and the iPhones's "slide to unlock" finger-sliding control.

4) Synching with your iPhone

In Macworld.com's article on the iWatch it suggests a number of " I-didn’t-notice-these-things-happening-on-my-iPhone-in-my-pocket-or-purse features" whereby the iWatch would synch with your iPhone to alert you to calls, texts and other messages and alert you to events scheduled in your calendar.

5) A spider-shaped cyborg watch

Designer Federico Ciccarese has come up with a watch that slots to your hand by attaching metal clasps between the fingers and across the wrist. The device looks a little bit like a metallic spider. The ergonomic design could be interacting directly with the body, judging by  Ciccarese's somewhat crypic description, which reads "Here most of the devices do not need to be kept in hand, interaction with the soul of the instrument is verbal, of course. These images are a little tip, you have yet to learn how to connect machines and human body."