Apple may be on the verge of launching a new iPhone and iTouch radio application that will allow users to listen to FM radio, according to rumors that have leaked online.

9to5Mac, a popular Apple blog, reported information they received regarding the prospective unveiling of a radio app which will be allowed to operate in the background like iPod.app and will offer the same functionality as the FM radio in the new Apple iPod nano (5th Gen).

The iPhone 3G/3GS and the latest iPod Touch are able to receive FM radio signals, but Apple uses this functionality only to implement the Nike+ feature on these devices.

If the rumor prove to be true, the iPhone will be on par with the camera-totting iPod Nano which also has a FM radio.

Although Apple has not confirmed these reports, this rumor does have some substance as the Cupertino company has previously enabled sleeping hardware functionality. This previously happened with the iPhone when Bluetooth wasn't enabled in the second-gen iPod touch until the 3.0 software update, and the same applies for the iPhone with A2DP stereo Bluetooth.

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