If Applie's recent patent filings are any indication, iPhones as well as wireless recording for the iPod may be only months away.

Apple has filed a patent for a "portable media device" that could record, say, a broadcast song sample, transmit that sample to a server network to identify what the song is, and provide the user of the device with numerous media types related to the sample, such as music and video - all available for purchase, RedHerring reports. The filing suggests to analysts that Apple may be near debuting an iPhone and wireless recording by iPods.

"Whenever you a see a patent like this with Apple it means that they're working on something," Enderle Group analyst Rob Enderle told Red Herring. "They're getting a bit more aggressive about getting the patent in just before the product. They don't want it to get out."

The patent filing also includes language involving a wireless carrier and references a document concerning AT&T - possibly a sign that Apple has iPhones in the works as well as a partnership with the international communications giant.