Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, which kicks off on June 8 in San Francisco, has traditionally been the site of some of the Mac maker's biggest announcements. This year will be no different, with the event expected to host the debut of a new iPhone running a powerful new operating system. On the computer side, WWDC attendees will hear details of Apple's next-generation operating system, Snow Leopard.

Apple will almost definitely unveil its new iPhone at WWDC, although likely it won't go on sale for a couple of weeks after that. The first iPhone went on sale in late June 2007 and the second in early July 2008. The new model will be named the iPhone Video, according to The Unofficial Apple Weblog. (See also Apple Planning Video-Call iPhone.)

iPhone 3.0

The biggest change for the iPhone will be its software. iPhone 3.0 will support copy, cut and paste (finally!), and push notification for applications. Push notification will be a workaround for the iPhone's lack of support of background apps, to allow tools such as instant-messaging apps to send alerts to the user when an update is available.

The new built-in Spotlight app will allow users to search applications and their data.

Another sign of progress: Using iPhone 3.0, developers will be able to write applications that provide turn-by-turn directions for driving and walking -- previously a no-no under the Apple terms of service.

Bluetooth On Board

The software will support peer-to-peer connectivity over Bluetooth, allowing developers to write multiplayer games that users can play on two or more iPhones without needing an Internet connection.

Peer-to-peer connections will also allow iPhone users to exchange data, such as electronic business cards. And If you're sick of untangling your earbud headphones, take heart: The new iPhone software will support stereo Bluetooth audio.

The iPhone 3.0 software will include a couple of additional goodies for developers: They'll be able to write software applications that tie into particular hardware devices; for example, when Apple demoed the software in March, it showed a glucose reader for diabetics with its own application for recording data and calculating recommended insulin doses.