STEVE JOBS IS

all but certain to unveil the latest iPhone on Monday, and already the public and the media are pulling the usual trained-seal act. In our defense, how can we not? After all, probably the only thing

Apple

There's always a great deal of excitement going into the Caliph of Cupertino's semi-annual ritual of bestowing Apple goodies upon his subjects. But Monday's Worldwide Developers Conference is the most anticipated Apple event since, well, last year's conference, when the company disclosed the date that the iPhone would be available.

To be fair, it is a big deal. The iPhone is a revolutionary device and it's been a great success. And yet naturally it has room for improvement. Moreover, it needs to evolve if Apple's going to hit its goal of 10 million units sold in 2008, a figure it seems destined to eclipse.

The rumors are flying as they always do going into an Apple showcase but one certainty is that we will indeed get a 3G iPhone. That means the phone will work on AT&T Wireless's faster third-generation network. The current iPhone runs on the pokey EDGE network, a so-called 2.5G technology.

For consumers it'll be a welcome upgrade. They'll see that tasks like email and web browsing are noticeably faster. Only later will it sink in that 3G, even at its best, is still like slow DSL and that mobile Internet still has a long, long way to go. As for Apple, 3G will help goose sales, especially in Europe where there's much greater 3G coverage than here in the U.S.

As for the other features on the geek wish-list, they're all over the place. The 3G iPhone will be 22% thinner unless, of course, it's actually thicker. It'll have better battery life, which it will need since 3G chips consume more power. It will have a front-facing camera with more megapixels. It'll sport GPS, more memory, an improved touchscreen with vibrating feedback, not to mention a fork, knife, spoon and can opener.

* Source: Company reports

No doubt the new iPhone will surprise and impress. Perhaps more important will be the latest developments on the third-party software side. The iPhone is cool enough. Imagine what a slew of games, utilities and social-networking applications could do to turbocharge sales.

Palm

Finally, as we bark and clap waiting for Jobs to throw us our herring, let's not forget that it is the Mac, not the iPhone, that drives Apple's profitability, at least for now. We might not get them Monday and they would be overshadowed by the 3G iPhone anyway but some new MacBooks and MacBook Pros would be nice, and more profitable, too.

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