This coming Monday, June 9th, at approximately 10 am PDT, Apple CEO Steve Jobs will hit the stage at the Moscone West Building in downtown San Francisco and deliver a keynote speech for the Worldwide Developers Conference, an annual gathering held for software creators who specialize in Apple products. It will be approximately one year to the month since the Apple iPhone went on sale in the United States and its expected Mr. Jobs will use this occasion to reveal a new version of the handset, one that will replace the older model with a host of new features and updates. It should also be the first occasion for Canadians to receive solid information as to the iPhone’s presence within Canada.

True to form, Apple has yet to confirm anything as to what they may or may not announce on Monday, refusing to even acknowledge the very idea of a new iPhone announcement at all. As far as they will have us believe, Steve is merely going to give a little pep talk to all of his fellow software developers, but unofficially the hints and movements behind the scenes have overwhelmingly pointed towards a new iPhone launch.

For Canadians who have been following Apple’s shows and conferences since the iPhone was first announced over a year and a half ago, there has been only disappointment, with merely a scrap of iPhone news coming from Rogers early this summer in the form of a confirmation that they have signed a deal, something that was considered a given already.

What makes me think that this coming Monday will be any different? Two things. First, Apple Canada launched their movie store within iTunes Canada this week. That they didn’t wait until Monday suggests that they either won’t have time for it amongst the other news being announced or more likely that it’s in preparation of something else. The iPhone can play videos and certainly will stimulate movie sales through iTunes.

Second, Apple is making space for the Canadian press at the keynote. I myself have a chair reserved for me in the keynote theatre and will be there Monday watching the events unfold live. Apple events have always had limited seating and in the past Canadian journalists have had to fight alongside Americans for entry. This time, however, there are seats reserved.

Although Apple doesn't stream their event live over the internet, they usually offer the complete broadcast online through their Apple.com website three to four hours after. I recommend checking their website for the video stream around 3pm (PDT)/6pm (EST).

In addition to the already announced release of iPhone firmware 2.0 features and the soon-to-be launched Apps Store, here is a preview of what I think might be among the iPhone news coming from Apple on Monday:

Current iPhone to be replaced by a newer model. Rather than add a second handset choice to their current iPhone design, Apple will out and out replace the current model with a newer version. In the past weeks leading up to Monday’s keynote, stores across the United States have been reporting shortages as iPhone shipments have ground to a halt. It would appear that Apple is trying to exhaust their current iPhone supply in preparation for replacements.

New iPhone model coming to Canada. The great irony will be that the original iPhone will never get a release here as the delays behind its launch have postponed it long enough for the launch to switch to the newer model instead. The bad news is, the newer model might be more expensive.

New iPhone to go on sale by end of June in the USAlthough there are rumours floating around that suggest that the new iPhone will be in stores on Monday right after the keynote speech or at least the day after, I expect Apple will choose a later date, simply to give fans the advance notice needed to camp out in front of stores, switch over their current phone plans, etc. They will want the anticipation to reach a boil before it appears on store shelves. Last year the original iPhone went on sale on June 29th, so about the same time would be good (and Pixar’s Wall-E will be in theatres on the 27th, so a good week for Jobs).

New iPhone To Launch In Canada Later, Not SoonerPart of the delay for Rogers has been their desire to integrate their own innovations into the iPhone business. They’ve launched a number of North American firsts including their Vision video calling and Home Calling Zone services. They will need these along with their video and music stores to try to monetize the iPhone’s need for high speed data access. As they have done with other cellphone manufacturers (LG, Nokia, Motorola, etc.) they will want to have a version of the iPhone equipped with the ability to use these services. That means having their own line of handsets made (the LG Shine had to have a second camera installed for video calling), which will translate into a delay. I’m guessing it will arrive here between one to three months after it hits stores in the US.

3G for higher data speeds.AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson already spilled the beans on this one last year when he confirmed the rumour at a meeting in California last year. With support for 3G data connections, the new iPhone will offer a faster web browsing experience and better support for internet-based applications. This will be key in positioning the iPhone for the Enterprise market.

Built-In GPSGPS-based applications are the one area where there still is a lot of creativity and innovation left to be discovered. It’s the kind of unexplored terrain that Apple tends to drool over and pull surprises from. Allowing you to add geo-based tags to your photos taken with the iPhone’s camera, integrating online services like Google Maps, there’s just too much potential for them to avoid it. GPS applications would be a fantastic way to offer value to new updates in Mac OSX. Allowing you to synchronize your GPS-generated data from your phone to your Mac could have great potential and Monday will be as much about new updates for Mac OSX as for the iPhone itself. The only exception will be battery life which might not support GPS in much the same way that the original iPhone couldn’t handle 3G for the same reason.

Tactile feedback for the touchscreenWhen LG first added tactile feedback to their touch phone it seemed like a gimmick. You touch the screen, it gives a little vibration to confirm your choice. The gimmick turned out to hold value to users though as it cleared up the confusion of using a touch screen, especially in low-lighting areas and gave users something they were used to – the click of a button. Don’t be surprised if Apple adds it as an option you can turn on or off.

Accelerometer-based featuresWhen Apple first announced the iPhone 2.0 firmware, one of the demonstrations their own developers did involved shaking the iPhone like an etch-a-sketch and showing how that movement could be used to manipulate data and information on the screen. Clearly they have been playing with the idea of using the accelerometer for motion-based controls, perhaps the new iPhone will yield a specific application for it.

A strong focus on AppsWith the launch of the Apps store, Apple will no doubt focus on expanding the iPhone’s use through the addition of new software, rather than by adding any revolutionary hardware features. The 3G and GPS will only help to support new features written by software developers and offered through the Apps store. This is a chance to strengthen their current hardware design and use software to expand its functionality.

Wall-E will make an appearance.With Steve Jobs on the board of directors at Walt Disney and Pixar set to launch their new movie “Wall-E” into theatres at the end of this month, it’s hard not to see the cute little robot making an appearance of some kind at Monday’s launch, especially as Disney already has life-sized robot models of Wall-E touring their theme parks, it wouldn’t be difficult to have one of them appear on stage to interact with Mr. Jobs.