If there is, in fact, a new dock connector on the horizon, we hope Apple decides to provide a free (or very cheap) adapter for accessories that use the old connector. Otherwise, come September 12 there may be a whole lot of happy accessory-makersand grumpy consumers.

What we dont expect, however, is a non-proprietary dock connector, such as a mini- or micro-USB port. For one thing, those technologies dont offer the breadth of capabilities that the dock-connector does. From a financial perspective, Apple licenses hardware access to iOS and iPod devices, and the means for doing so is the dock connector. As long as it remains proprietary, Apple can continue to rake in those licensing fees, even for something as seemingly innocuous as a third-party charger. That said, the company has also moved increasingly to wireless forms of connectivity where possible, with improvements like AirPlay and streaming Bluetooth audio.

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: Pretty much every iteration of the iPhone has offered an improved camera over its predecessor, so itd be silly not to expect at least some changes in the next model. While much of the attention in the past has been focused on the back-facing camerawhich no doubt will see some changes, possibly including a megapixel increasewe wonder if its not time for Apple to improve its front-facing FaceTime camera. Most Macs now offer an FaceTime HD camera for video-conferencing, and with coming to iOS 6, its possible that the company will want to tout even higher-quality video chatting for users on Wi-Fi and LTE networks.

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