All WWDC events draw attention, but this seems like one of the more anticipated ones recently.  Of course everyone is excited to hear about the latest iPhone, but what else will be released and what else will surprise us.

iPhone

We all know a new one is coming.  I’ve seen every angle of this phone inside and out, thanks to Gizmodo and a Vietnamese person. Since we know it is coming out, here is what I would like it to have.  Anything less than this, and it would be a disappointment in my eyes.

• Two words: A4.
• OLED Screen with higher resolution.  AMOLED would be a plus.
• 8MP camera with a flash.  This is not to be confused with Adobe’s Flash.
• 720P video recording.  1080i or 1080p would be a plus.
• Upgraded GPS sensor.

Bonus want:

• 4G

The iPhone used to be a marvel each time it came out.  There was nothing that was close to it.  Those times have changed.  The stats above are for the most part the stats of the HTC EVO 4G.  This is a phone that was just released, but is currently and arguably the fastest and most advanced phone on the market today.  Will Steve allow the EVO 4G to stay the current beast, or will Apple surprise us and build a phone that will even trump those stats?

Multitouch Trackpad

This has been a late breaking story from Engadget.  It will be interesting to see what all this can be used for.  This could have been the one last thing that has been missing for a few years.  It probably won’t be, but I want to see what all this is capable of.

iTunes/ iTunes Subscription

This seems likely given the recent lala.com purchase and shutdown, but this would be a great bonus for everyone.  I am also hoping that iTunes will be rewritten in Cocoa to make it faster.  It seems like iTunes has transformed into a beast of a software and could use a 64-bit code refresh.

AppleTV

If the rumors are true, this would be a wonderful gift to myself at the LL Cool C casa (that is Spanish for “house”).  If it is only $99, does 1080p, and you can store things elsewhere, this sounds like it would be an immediate winner.  There is another small box called the Roku that does tons of video things like that, so it doesn’t seem out of the realm of possibility.

There are so many things that can be speculated about today’s WWDC and I’m sure there will be many write ups about what was good and bad about it, but one thing is for sure, I will be glued to my computer come 12pm CST.

Looks

For all of the mock-ups, purposed new iPhone frames, and finish rumors, the exterior looks in the most part unchanged.  Is this good or bad? The iPhone 3G seemed to have a good look and feel in a persons hand and about 5 minutes after one is purchased a case was slapped on it, so for the most part this is a good thing.  Others might disagree because they favor the first generation iPhone with the brushed aluminum back and hate the fingerprint friendly plastic case of the 3G.  The biggest update to the exterior might be the new “oil-resistant coating that keeps the iPhone screen clean.”

S is for speed and that’s good enough for me

The S does not stand for super as some might think.  The S stands for speed and that is what Apple is trying to get across.  Apple is showing off that certain things you do on the iPhone is up to 2x faster than the iPhone 3G.  There are several things that go into making this happen.  The first is a new processor and 3D graphics chipset.  Apple has always been tight lipped about the exact specifications of the hardware, but this combined with the support of the 7.2 Mbps 3G standard should allow you to see a boost in performance.

Battery

The battery has been improved, or software written to improve the life of it.  This will be good for business folks and others that currently have issues with the battery life.  The one thing that stood out for me is the 3 hour jump in usage for surfing on wi-fi and watching a video.

Updated camera

One thing that the iPhone has been lacking and nearly every other phone had was video recording capabilities. Though this is not a deal breaker for most, it would be nice

and handy to take video of family and friends at any time. Our friends in the jail breaking community have been recording videos on their iPhones for over a year now.

Apple took things a step further and rewarded everyones patience. Not only does the updated 3 megapixel camera record videos, it also allows for some rough videoediting by allowing you to choose the start and stop points for your video. When you are done editing it, you can post it to MobileMe, YouTube, Email it, or send it via MMS (Late summer for AT&T users).

The auto-focus based on you tapping on the object to focus on is a great idea and looks to be well executed. The white balance and macro ability round out the top improvements in the camera.

Whats missing or not right

There are many other “little” improvements that the iPhone 3G S has that we are skipping over because the bulk of what everyone wants to know about was covered above. There are a few things that are missing and/or delayed and it is odd that this would happen because it would seem like the 1 year product cycles that the iPhone has would put it behind the competition again.

- OLED screen – This would have been icing on the cake. OLED screens are becoming more popular on iPhone competitiors and by not putting it in this round of updates it will be one more year before me might see it.
- MMS – Really AT&T? You need the rest of the summer for MMS capabilities to be released here in the US? Really? Is MMS something new? Isn’t it something we have been doing since 2004? Is this something that you just found out about at the same time we did? Did Steve Jobs do a “Oh, one more thing At&T, we’re going to have MMS” trick on you?
- Internet tethering – This should not have even been released as a new feature. AT&T has not even put support behind this. If anyone knows about the NetShare app issue from around a year ago you know that either this is not a feature that is going to be released, or it is something that you will be paying more for if it comes out.
- Upgrading options – AT&T, why must we be gouged by such high pricing to upgrade and then the $18 upgrade fee is just a slap in the face.

Should you get it?

The iPhone 3G S, offers many upgrades to the iPhone line that look to be very convincing if you have the first generation iPhone and are looking to upgrade. You’ll get the better price and you will have all of the latest features to enjoy. If you have an iPhone 3G you might be a little more hesitant to upgrade for the speed and the camera because of the hefty price you will have to pay. If you love Apple. was there ever a thought in your mind that you wouldn’t get this iPhone 3GS? I didn’t think so.

Recording video on the camera would have been nice.  Cut and paste would have been a much needed and expected feature.  More storage would have helped with the increasing media needs, but the one feature that would have been worthy of the “one more thing” Jobism would be Video conferencing.  Just think over a newly minted 3G iPhone talking to your peeps like they were there in front of you, well if your friends were 3.5 inches tall.  This would have been a killer app for the iPhone.

Am I expecting too much?  Possibly so, but with so many information leaks about the features that it already had, the video conferencing would have truly made my day.  What other features were you expecting or wanting?

1. The 3G iPhone will be announced with GPS and other goodies.  It would almost be more surprising if it is not announced.
2. A smaller version of the iPhone will be announced.  I still think it will have a touch screen and many other goodies, but I don’t think it will have all of the goodies of the 3G iPhone.

I also think that other things will be announced, but I think the smaller iPhone version is what everyone will be excited about because it will compete head on with Nokia, Sony and Motorola.  I don’t have the iPhone yet, but I am looking forward to this new version.  I used to be a lot cooler before the iPhone came out.  When I didn’t get it, I lost major cool points.  Anyone else taking off time to follow the coverage?