New iPhone to be revealed tonight

Though next week’s E3 is likely to bring with it a whole host of headline-grabbing announcements, few will be able to match the global news meltdown that will accompany Steve Jobs’ keynote tonight at the Apple World Wide Developers Conference.

With iPad fever very much still in full effect, the global tech giant is expected to use the San Francisco gathering to finally make official details of the latest iteration of the iPhone.

Likely names include either iPhone HD or possibly iPhone 4. As for the machine itself, it’s impossible to be certain exactly what features it will and will not bring to the table, though if early peeks at the device are true here are likeliest additions:

A NEW DESIGN – Gone is the curved rear, replaced by a flat back surrounded by a metal spine surrounding the edge. Also gone is the rocker-style volume control with two separate buttons taking its place.

CAMERA – The iPhone is long overdue a camera upgrade, but expect at the very least a new 5MP lens with HD video capabilities a near certainty. A front-facing camera to allow video calling is also probable.

SCREEN – Expect a decent resolution bump, probably to something in the region of 960×640 pixels.

INNARDS – Apple is expected to use its own processor in the device, offering a notable performance upgrade. Also expect a Micro-Sim to replace the current Sim. A larger battery will deliver a performance boost over even the recent iPhone 3GS.

OS 4.0 – Already previewed earlier in the year, the new operating system will for the first time allow multi-tasking, unified mail boxes and support for the Xbox Live-style Game Centre.