Apple has filed a patent nfor "electronic device Having Display and Surrounding Touch Sensitive Bezel for User Interface and Control". Like most software patents, this is not novel. I was designing displays for the Navy 20 years ago that used buttons on the outside of the screen to activate corresponding soft controls on the screen. In any case it's a nifty way to control a tiny screen like that on the iPod. Don't read too much into such filings though. They're filed just to stake out potential legal real estate. They do not represent any commitment to actual development.