iPhone buzz builds ahead of Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference

Next week’s Apple Worldwide Developers Conference is one of the most anticipated events on the technology industry’s calendar, having previously been the launchpad of such products as the iPhone and hugely popular App Store.

This year’s conference is just as highly anticipated. Not only is the company expected to announce the official release date of its iPhone 3.0 operating system, but new iPhone models are rumoured to be a key focus.

Robert Murray, head of the Melbourne-based Firemint development studio, which has produced some of the highest-selling iPhone Apps in the US and Europe, says he is excited for what the conference has to offer.

“There are a lot of rumours flying around, but it’s the keynote everyone is waiting for. I’m very excited about whatever they’re going to announce. Maybe they’ll have something totally different to what everyone is expecting, but we’ll just have to wait and see.”

For the first time, chief executive Steve Jobs will not present the keynote speech at the conference next week, due to his ongoing health issues.

In his stead is product marketing senior vice president Phil Schiller, who will deliver what is set to be one of the most anticipated technology announcements of the year, and according to some tech analysts, could change the face of the industry altogether.

iPhone 3.0

While the company announced the details of the iPhone 3.0 operating system earlier this year, a solid release date has yet to be confirmed.

Apple said at the OS’s debut in March that it would be released for commercial download mid-year. This led many tech analysts to believe that the WWDC would finally give iPhone users a solid date, with many pointing to mid-July.

Tech sites such as Wired, Gizmodo, Macworld, Engadget and Cnet all hailed the new OS as a major upgrade, offering features that rival Smartphones offered in their own initial releases.

New abilities include:

• Copy and paste
• Multimedia messaging capabilities
• Voice recording
• Bluetooth capability, allowing wireless headphones and possibly connection to Bluetooth GPS devices.
• Turn-by-turn GPS directions
• Spotlight searching, allowing users to search the entire device for files of any type
• 3G tethering, allowing the phone to act as a modem
• Landscape keyboard
• Shake-to-shuffle music
• The ability to have your iPhone control peripheral devices, such as speakers
• Push notification, similar to functions seen on the Research In Motion BlackBerry devices

The software will be free for current iPhone users and US$10 for iPod Touch users.

Apps and software

The impact of the new 3.0 operating system should not be underestimated. While iPhone users rejoiced at the introduction of these new features, it may be application developers who will gain the most benefits.

Murray says the new upgrades could change the face of the rapidly growing application development industry.

“Last year the App Store changed everything, possibly iPhone 3.0 is going to do the same,” he says.

The new OS provides a suite of upgrades for applications, including the following abilities:

• Multiplayer capabilities in games via Bluetooth
• Background processing, allowing an App to run in the background of the device
• The ability to access a user’s music library within an App
• Google maps integration
• In-application commerce. Users can purchase new levels of games, issues of magazines and extra features for an extra price within existing applications, meaning applications can constantly be upgraded within an existing software framework.

Application developer Nick Dalton, who writes the popular iPhone Development Blog, said that “these changes are huge” and that it will open up new revenue streams for developers. Many of whom are cashing on the huge success of the App Store, earning thousands in profit from just a few applications.

“I have a dozen new Apps to write that just became possible. And a few new business models to explore. This is going to be just as much fun as last year when the software development kit was brand new,” Dalton wrote.

“These features will be popular with developers as it gives them more flexibility in how they charge for their applications,” Ovum analyst Tim Renowden said.

New iPhone hardware

While application developers are keeping themselves busy creating new program in preparation for the release of iPhone 3.0, Apple may still have some surprises in the wings.

Rumours of a smaller version of the iPhone have been floating around the internet for months, but just this week signs of a 4GB iPhone have appeared.

Tech site Boy Genius Report posted pictures of a product package appearing to contain a 4GB iPhone with video-calling capabilities. Currently only 8GB and 16GB versions of the phone exist, but a 32GB version is expected after the introduction of a 32GB iPod Touch last September.

But other sites, including Cnet, Computerworld and Wired, all posted rumours this month of a fully upgraded version of the iPhone, with new features including:

• Faster RAM
• A different processing chip
• An OLED screen that could help save battery life and provide up to 50% more power.
• A 3.2 megapixel camera, an upgrade from the current 2 megapixel model.
• An internal compass
• An FM transmitter
• Video editing capabilities

These sites also posted rumours that the upgraded model could include “geo-tagging”, a feature that allows the phone’s camera to identify landmarks, which helps identify the user’s location via GPS.

But Wired warned against too much speculation, saying that “overall, if these claims are true, this is a relatively minor upgrade”.

And what else?

Most of the WWDC’s announcements are leaked before the official keynote address, but Apple is still surprisingly successful at keeping secrets when it needs to.

So far the company has made no noise about developing a stripped down version of its popular Macbook laptop, but a Piper Jaffray analyst has made a prediction of a release date for an Apple Netbook.

Gene Munster wrote in a note to clients this month that the company will release a device similar to a tablet laptop, with pricing between US$500 and US$700 to bridge the gap between the iPod Touch and the Macbook.

“Apple will likely leverage its multi-touch patents to differentiate its product from the typical netbook,” Munster said in a statement, noting that Apple has often dismissed the traditional Netbook model.

“We are anticipating a new category of Apple products with an operating system more robust than the iPhone’s but optimised for multi-touch, unlike Mac OS X.”

Munster wrote that the device would include a touchscreen, similar to tablet devices from companies such as Hewlett-Packard, and should be released in early 2010.

It is unclear whether such a device will be revealed at the conference next week. Nevertheless, Apple has already captured the undivided attention of the technology community, with spectators unlikely to be disappointed by anything the conference has in store.