But in addition to being about iPhone hacks, it’s all about two JP Morgan pieces of analysis, one from Kevin Chang in Taiwan suggesting an iPhone Nano’s on the way, by the end of the year, and could easily sell 30 to 40 million units, and then a follow-up piece by JP Morgan analysts Bill Shope, Elizabeth Borbolla, and Vlad Rom in New York downplaying many of the original report’s suggestions and conclusions.

Patent filings made last November for an iPhone Nano-like device are responsible for Chang’s prognostications, with the typically bland hand drawn pictures showing us Nano-esque images of an iPhone with a rotary dial operated through the traditional click-wheel.

Of course, before the iPhone was announced, iPhone hoaxers had already dreamed up similar-ish devices, based on the simple fact that the click wheel was Apple’s preferred inpuet method at the time, although plenty had figured Apple would use buttons.

While at least one hoaxer had correctly guessed that Apple would ultimately go for an almost completely button-free, all-screen design, plenty of others thought that a regular numeric keypad was part of Apple’s game plan.

As I’ve looked at and used the iPod Nano hung around my neck thanks to the iPod Nano lanyard, visions of an iPhone Nano have danced in my head for months, and no doubt the minds of many other people.

An imaginary sliding mechanism that slides upwards to reveal an actual numeric keypad underneath the click wheel is another natural no-brainer, preserving both the clean Nano lines while giving me two dialing mechanisms – the rotary click wheel or the traditional phone keypad.

Of course, what Apple and more importantly Steve Jobs actually ends up deciding to do is known only by Steve Jobs himself and his trusted inner circle, and whether we get to meet a so-called iPhone Nano this year, or whether we’ll be saying hello to the iPhone Nano at next year’s Macworld is all in the lap of the Jobs.

But if an iPhone Nano, with the same dimensions as the existing Nano (or only the tiniest bit larger) came onto the market, I’d be very, very tempted to buy, especially if it replicated or bettered the 8GB storage space I’ve selected on both my black and red 2nd-gen Nanos.

That’s especially so because I’ve already transformed my Nano into an iPhone Nano, thanks to Gear4’s BluEye, a product that is Macworld Magazine’s “iPod Accessory of the Year”, awarded only last week.

So come on, Apple. The world wants an iPhone that’s the size and shape of an iPod Nano.

Are you going to make us wait until early 2008 – or much later in 2008 – before we can buy one?