Boston (dbTechno) - Apple is less than two months away from launching iPhone firmware update 2.0, which will include plenty of applications, games, etc. Apple has also filed a patent application for a universal interface for real-time text chat services. This has led many to believe Apple is hard at work on instant messaging for the iPhone.

The new patent application is for a universal interface for real-time text chat services. It is titled Portable Electronic Device for Instant Messaging.

The patent was published back in March, with it talking in detail about a system for instant messaging on the iPhone, as well as other touchscreen devices.

The system is similar to a text messaging system, but has many differences as well.

The belief is that the patent could be used for SMS messaging as well as MMS (Multimedia Message Service) picture and video messages.

This comes just weeks before Apple will launch the final version of the SDK.

This shows that Apple clearly has IM on its mind.