I am trying to contain my ‘guarded’ excitement upon reading the building rumors about Apple’s event next week. While the concept of an Apple Tablet does intrigue me, my own selfish interests are looking upon an iPhone OS update with devilish eyes. I desperately want to see what Apple will do to the iPhone OS in what I hope will be an answer to the ever-increasing interest (and market share) of the world’s Droids, Pres and the like. Along those lines, BGR has just posted their own ‘exclusive details‘ with regards to the potential iPhone OS update.

Here’s their list:

There will be multi-touch gestures OS-wide. (Would make sense for that as the rumored OS for the iTablet is close if not the same as the iPhone)

“A few new ways” to run applications in the background — multitasking.

Many graphical and UI changes to make navigating through the OS easier and more efficient. We haven’t had this broken down, but we can only hope for improved notifications, a refreshed homescreen, etc.

The update will supposedly be available for only the iPhone 3G and 3GS, but will “put them ahead in the smartphone market because it will make them more like full-fledged computers” more than any other phone to date. Everyone is “really excited.”

The last piece of information is the most vague, but apparently there will be some brand new syncing ability for the contacts and calendar applications.

Wow. I really want to see what they’ve come up with! Of course, there is no knowing when this rumored update might actually be available for consumers but I am hoping sooner rather than later.

With all the Droid news coming out of Verizon lately, it’s nice to see that they haven’t forgotten about Windows Mobile, though without the glitzy marketing campaign, of course. Pocketnow has just released a video review of the Samsung Omnia II and it actually looks like a pretty sharp device. Niceties that jumped out at me include the 3.7 inch AMOLED screen (though it is resistive and not capacitive), the 5-megapixel camera WITH flash and autofocus as well as the Samsung TouchWiz skinning of Windows Mobile 6.5. The Omnia II is now available from Verizon for $200 after a $100 rebate with the standard 2-year agreement.

I came across this mention of a new iPhone app this morning while reveling in my post Turkey Day haze… It’s an app called iGizmoz that has some on-screen gadgets such as a clock and calendar but that can only be displayed once you open the parent application.

For those of us who are non-jailbroken it may be the closest thing we get to having on-screen gadgets until Apple finally realizes (or starts to care) that at least some of us users want this type of functionality to customize our home screens ala Windows Mobile or Android.

I’d like to think that Apple is going to unveil a spectacular implementation of this sort of thing in the (hopefully) near future. Then again, I am new to the iPhone platform and still perhaps a bit overly optimistic…

Although I no longer use Windows Mobile on a regular basis, I’m still a big fan of SBSH and their great line of software products for that platform. I have previously used GoNews Touch and would expect that this upgrade would be a worthy (and, of course, FREE!) download  for current users. The full press release is available here and below is a list of the major highlights of this new version. Enjoy!

Full Screen Reading – Full screen articles display for maximum reading view

Improved Touch Tray Bar – Now providing visual feedback when pressing one of the tray buttons

Online Feed Searching – Search and add new feeds directly within GoNews

Faster than Ever – Re-designed engine for faster performances

Popup Touch Menus – Special touch menus for easier finger-friendly navigation

Multi Language Support – English, German, French, Portuguese, Italian, Russian and Spanish

Updating Improvements – Read articles while updating content

Most of you have probably seen the latest “There’s a Map for that” commercial where Verizon touts their superior 3G network over AT&T’s while at the same time makes a passing shot at the iPhone. Having just recently switched from Verizon to AT&T specifically for said device, I’ll admit that the lack of color on the AT&T map in the picture above send a shiver down my spine.

Well, it seems that AT&T’s spine is shivering too. Engadget is reporting today that AT&T has filed a lawsuit claiming that Verizon is providing false advertising by confusing consumers into thinking that all that white space in their map from the commercial means no service, instead of no 3G service.

Whether or not they have a case, this whole thing has certainly driven home the fact to me that AT&T has a lot of work to do to expand their 3G network and now that I am beholden to it, I wish them the best of luck!