Judging from the success of the iPhone and its legion of wannabes, touch screens are the new hotness of the consumer electronic industry.

The responsive capacitive screen coupled with Apple’s easy-and-fun-to-use expertise gave birth to the iPhone, and so it should surprise no one that the computer company from Cupertino is cooking up something in the same vein.

According to a rumor that MacDailyNews believes to be credible, Apple is secretly working on a touch screen version of its notebooks, currently figured to be called the MacBook Touch.

The information reads, “Think MacBook screen, possibly a bit smaller, in glass with iPhone-like, but fuller-featured Multi-Touch. Gesture library. Full Mac OS X. This is why they bought P.A. Semi. Possibly with Immersion’s haptic tech. Slot-loading SuperDrive. Accelerometer. GPS.”

In other words, it’ll be a giant iPhone or iPod Touch that’ll run the full OS X. Like all other Apple products, it’s expected to be pricey, though the bill of materials won’t be cheap either.

The source believes, “Pretty expensive to produce initially, but sold at "low" price that will reduce margins. Apple wants to move these babies. And move they will…App Store-compatible, able to run Mac apps, too. By October at the latest.”

Apple transferring its touch-sensitive know-how to mainstream computing could once again change the face of the segment, much like how it did with the iPhone. Rumor it may be, but it’s certainly one that’s plausible and exciting.