New things in next-gen iPhone

Rumour mills are abuzz with Apple set to launch the next version of its iconic iPhone. Media reports suggest that Apple is in process to update its current iPhone model --iPhone 3GS.
New plastic casing
Speculations are rife that the next-generation iPhone will feature a touch-sensitive plastic back casing similar to the company's Magic Mouse released in October 2009. Apple Magic Mouse lacks any physical buttons on its solid acrylic surface. It allows multi-touch controls that are closer to that of a MacBook trackpad
OLED screen
iPhone 4 is said to sport an OLED touchscreen display. With major cellphone makers shifting to AMOLED displays in their latest devices, this seems to be a must from iPhone 4.0

iPhone 4G will have an OLED screen and support video chat, wrote Korea Times quoting a high-ranking official of KT, Apple's exclusive local partner in South Korea.

Google's Nexus One also sports an AMOLED touchscreen display. Apple's current iPhone 3G S features a 3.5 inches LCD display
Camera
Reports say that the next iPhone will have a higher megapixel camera vis-a-vis the current model. The upcoming model is likely to have a 5 megapixel camera which will bring it on par with its newest rival Google Nexus One. Gossip mill also says that Apple will introduce an LED flash in the new model.

Apple's current model iPhone 3G S ships with a 3 megapixel camera with video capturing, auto-focus mechanism and editing capabilities. In fact, Apple was widely criticised for retaining the same 2 megapixel in its 3G model released in June 2009.
New OS
Rumour mill is also abuzz with the news that the iPhone 4.0 will port the updated version of iPhone Operating System. Apple had announced version 3.0 of the iPhone OS for the iPhone 3G S released in June 2009.

A Korea Times report speculates that the fourth-generation iPhone would carry dual-core microprocessors and more powerful graphics.
Removable battery
Rumour mill also suggests that iPhone 4.0 will have removable batteries. However, this seems highly speculative considering that Apple 's all latest laptops also sport non-removable batteries. However, reports say that Apple plans to include a user-replaceable battery in its upcoming model.

Apple had earlier refused to use removable batteries in all three generations of iPhones reportedly saying that this will add bulk and weight to the device. However, almost all iPhone rivals come with user-replaceable batteries.




Video chat
Video chat feature too may finally debut in the new iPhone.

Currently iPhone 3G S does not have a front-facing camera for video conferencing. This means the device is not capable of sending videos across a Wi-Fi or cellular network in real-time
RFID reader
iPhone 4.0 may also carry a radio-frequency identification (RFID) reader. An RFID reader would scan RFID tags, which consist of a computer chip coupled with an antenna. Data stored on the chip transmits wirelessly through the antenna to an RFID reader operating on the same frequency as the antenna. Many retailers use RFID tags to track products in transit.

Source: indiatimes