(Image source: Gopinath Prasana) 

BY MALLORY PERRYMAN

ANCHOR CHRISTINA HARTMAN

Is Apple secretly developing an iPod that wraps around your wrist-- and talks to your iPhone? The New York Times’ Nick Bilton says an inside source tells him...

“...a ‘very small group of Apple employees’ had been conceptualizing and even prototyping some wearable devices. One idea being discussed is a curved-glass iPod that would wrap around the wrist; people could communicate with the device using Siri, the company’s artificial intelligence software.”

Back in 2008-- one independent product designer even envisioned what such an iPod would look like, posting this mock-up online.

And Apple isn’t the only tech titan rumored to be fashioning wearable computers-- The New York Times says Google is also dreaming up automated apparel. A CNET blogger says-- it’s about time.

“The notion that Apple and Google might be getting into the wearable technology space could legitimize a market that, for quite some time, has been home to odd products that few people buy... The issue … has been to make the leap from gimmick to usability.”

But a 9 to 5 Mac blogger says-- just because Apple is tinkering with the technology...

“...this is no guarantee the company will market any such device as demand for those gadgets may not be big enough. Besides, the company often researches concepts that never see the light of the day...”

No word from Apple-- or Google-- to confirm what they’re cooking up.

But a blogger for TG Daily says--- whatever it is-- all signs point to a future where iPod bracelets are run-of-the-mill.

“...[some people envision a future where] contact lenses will have embedded computers, microchip surgeries will be able to alter the way our bodies work, and the Internet will literally be something you can bring up in your mind. So we're not there quite yet, but a flexible computer gadget that wraps around your wrist? That's a neat start.”