Is this the new iPhone 2?
The net has been swarming with iPhone 2 rumors lately, all leading up to the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), which kicks off at 10 a.m. Pacific time later this morning in San Francisco. Steve Jobs should be be announcing the new iPhone, but not a single official word has been said about what features it will have. This has left a ton of speculation, “leaked” photos and crazy anticipation. The Apple store has been sold out of all iPhone models for a month or two now, so it only makes sense that a new version will be announced tomorrow. Below is a list of what I would like to see on the new iPhone.
3G Support
I would bet the house that the new iPhone will have 3G network support. The current EDGE network is terribly slow… so much so that I rarely use the internet unless I have a WiFi connection near by. A fast internet connection alone would be enough to sell the new iPhone to many users. If 3G is not included in the launch tomorrow, chalk this up as the worst product launch ever, period.
GPS
Many people are speculating that the new iPhone will also have native GPS support. While it would be neat to have and play with, I don’t think I would get much use from this feature. The current cell tower triangulation method works just fine when I do find myself using Google maps. I suppose if I had no sense of direction, this could be more useful. I suspect there is a pretty high probability that this will indeed be a new feature of iPhone 2.
Video Conferencing
Something I just read about recently is a possible video conferencing feature. With this, there would be a front-facing camera on the iPhone, and you could have video conference calls with other iPhone users over the 3G network. This would be really cool, and a huge step for video calling… if only some of my friends also had iPhones. I do have my doubts on this feature, and will give it a 30% chance of being a reality.
Sideways Texting Keyboard
This has drove me absolutely bananas since first using my iPhone. When using the web browser, you can turn the phone sideways and use the keyboard in landscape mode. But, with email and texting, this is not possible. I still make a ton of errors when typing a text message simply because the letters are too close to each other / too small. A sideways keyboard in text mode would be a great addition, but… since I have not heard a single rumor about this, or even anyone else complain about it, I don’t see it happening 
Price Cuts
If you believe what you read online, then expect Apple to allow AT&T to subsidize the iPhone to as low as $199 with a 2-year service agreement. This would certainly help Apple reach their goal of selling 10 million units this year, and allow for many people to get an iPhone that otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford a $400+ device. I think there is a high probability that this rumor will hold true (or at least I hope so). Let’s keep our fingers crossed!
Video Recording / Better Camera
It is possible that Apple will include a higher MP camera with the new iPhone as well as adding video recording capability. Many people were disappointed when the original iPhone lacked video recording, but eh… big deal. Sure, video recording is nice for those spur-of-the-moment occurrences, but the quality of cell phone videos is so terrible… it’s just not even desirable. I do think video recording will be added, but look for the same camera to remain.
Increased Storage Space
I personally think the new iPhone will launch in 16 GB and 32 GB models tomorrow. 32 GB would be very nice - enough to hold my entire music collection, which is a heck of a lot of music, and then some. My 8 GB does fine for now, but then again, I don’t carry around any movies on it. Disk space could easily become an issue then.
Smaller Size
Most of the rumors I have seen indicate a smaller iPhone - something most people seem to willingly accept, but not me. It’s not like the iPhone is overly big or bulky as-is, but making it even smaller only cuts down on the overall screen size, which is a con in my book. If anything, make it bigger, more screen size! Do I think it will indeed be smaller? Yes. Thicker? Slightly. Fail in both categories.
Only time will tell what Jobs has in store for the new iPhone. I do give Apple credit for keeping things tight-lipped and seemingly not letting ANY official rumors slip out before the launch date. What features do you think the new iPhone will have and what would you like see? Will you be purchasing a new iPhone 2?
