Ever-secretive Apple Computer Inc. may be gearing up for its long-awaited iPhone music-playing phone.

The company appears to have filed a patent application earlier this year at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office for a “multi-functional handheld device” that could function as a mobile phone and music player, among other capabilities. Illustrations accompanying the application describe a multilayered device with a limited number of buttons.

The application, which was filed in March, is currently pending and names Steven Hotelling as the inventor. Though the application doesn’t directly attribute the invention to Apple, Hotelling has previous patent filings that have been related to the company. The application also states that the new device is related to several other patents held by Apple.

Officials at Apple weren’t immediately available to comment. The company, based in Cupertino, Calif., has “iPhone” trademarks registered in Australia and Singapore. Apple currently doesn’t have a registered trademark in America for iPhone, and it’s unclear if the company has applied for one.

Apple, known for its secrecy, typically makes patent and trademark filings overseas in order to protect its confidentiality, an analyst at American Technology Research, Shaw Wu, said. However, with the Internet,”things don’t go unnoticed,” he commented.

Apple has long been expected to come out with a phone next year, but the timing remains unclear. Mr. Wu said Apple is struggling now with the business model it will adopt for the iPhone — such as what kind of partnership it should strike with a phone carrier.

Chatter about an iPhone has persisted for months on Internet blogs. Expectations were that Apple would provide details about the elusive iPhone back in September when the company hosted an event to introduce some new products and services, but Apple stayed mum on the topic. At the time, analysts speculated that Apple could sell about 10 million iPhones in the product’s first year, representing about 1% of the billion-unit market.

Last year, Apple teamed up with Motorola Inc. to roll out the “Rokr” phone. The device, which was criticized for its limited storage capacity and unattractive design, hasn’t been a breakout success.

Pressure for Apple to come out with a phone has continued building amid growing consumer appetite for converged devices. Phone carriers such as Verizon Communications Inc., for instance, have introduced music download services that let users listen to music on their cell phones.