Case maker XSKN has listed a case for an iPhone nano, an as-yet unreleased iPhone model, on its Web site. The slip (or purposeful) inclusion of this product on the company's Web site immediately renewed speculation on the Internet that Apple would release such a device after MacRumors first published the news.

The company lists the case on its product page (at the bottom of this article), and has a full Web page dedicated to it, under the name Xrap Snow for the case. While it includes an image for the product, there is no indication of size or detail, and it largely looks more like an image of an iPhone 3G (see below).

Xrap Snow, under the heading of iPhone nano on XSKN's Web site.

Apple shares unreleased product information with 3rd party vendors only very, very rarely, and even then only to a very exclusive and small number of trusted developers that can make something for the product's ecosystem that Apple deems important, but is not interested in producing itself.

As MacRumors noted, XSKN has garnered attention in the past for the exact same sort of pre-availability listing on its Web site for cases for the iPhone 3G and a 4th Generation iPod nano, both of which turned out to be real, but without foreknowledge of Apple's product plans, both could merely have been educated guesses, with the company hoping to get lucky a third time.

With such events in the company's past, it would be very difficult to make the argument that XSKN could count itself in the fold of those trusted vendors that can cozy up to Apple, but only time will tell.

In the meanwhile, whether purposeful or accidental, the listing of unreleased Apple products has definitely gained the company plenty of free links and publicity.

iPodObserver and The Mac Observer has a long standing bit of advice, however: A new Mac, iPod, or iPhone on your desk -- or under your tree, at this time of year -- is worth two on a rumor site. In this case, of course, the "rumor site" in question is a foreign-based case maker, but the advice is still solid.

A screen shot from XSKN's product listing page with the iPhone nano listed