After the iPhone 4.0 prototype fell into the hands of keen bloggers, Apple fans have been salivating with anticipation and rubbing their hands with glee as new features were announced. Steve Jobs addressed both press and public alike yesterday at the WWDC (The Apple World Wide Developers Conference), revealing some of the new tricks iPhone 4.0 will have up its sleeve. The Apple site was updated at the same time, calling the new model ‘the biggest leap forward since the original iPhone’. Some of the new features we can come to expect are:

• A slimmer, sleeker handset
• Up to 40% more talk time, thanks to a larger battery
• Folders sorted by app type, to tidy up the previously cluttered home screen
• The highest resolution screen of any mobile phone to date
• A faster phone, thanks to the A4 processing chip (the same one that can be found in Apples latest gadget, the iPad)
• A front facing camera and flash
• Backgrounds for the home screen
• 1080p HD video recording and editing

Apple have also taken video calling to a whole new level in the same way that Apple does with existing technology. Video calling should have been as good as this years ago, but now Apple it would seem, are going to bring video calling to the masses with their latest feature: FaceTime. Working much in the same way a webcam conversation would, you can see the person you are talking with in crisp, clear detail on the brand new multi-touch screen (a resolution of 960-by-640, with a pixel density of 326 pixels per inch to be exact). Add to this the fact that you can also show the person on the other end of the line what you are seeing, thanks to the 5 mega pixel camera on the back, we will soon be sharing our experiences wherever we are, not just from our laptops or PCs. Not so much revolutionary as evolutionary, FaceTime will still be something much like the iPhone, that once we have it, we will not remember life before it.

Another key feature Steve Jobs talked about at The WWDC yesterday was iPhone 4.0’s ability to multi task. This is not the same multi tasking we are used to on a PC, but it is equally as useful. Rather than running five applications all at once, with a double click of the home button, you can swipe to another application you have open. The handset will then pause which ever app you previously had open while you deal with another app. As an iPhone 3Gs user, this will be a welcome change for me too, not just new iPhone 4.0 customers. Apple will be releasing the new iPhone 4.0 software to existing iPhone 3Gs customers, meaning they will get to enjoy dozens of the new features showcased at the WWDC. However, due to hardware limitations, exisiting iPhone owners will not be able to enjoy FaceTime or recording in 1080p HD, for example.

UK and US customers will be able to purchase the new iPhone as of July 24th, and select countries from Europe will be joining them on this date, with release for Asia and the rest of the world to follow. If previous Apple launch dates are anything to go by, Apple may yet by right in its prediction; ‘This is gonna change everything, all over again’.