Not only is the next generation of iPhone rumored to have a 5MP camera chip in it, it supposedly will record video at 720p. That qualifies as HD video, which also gives more umph to the rumor that the next iPhone will be called “iPhone HD.” Someone decided to take a peak inside of the iPhone OS 4.0 beta 3, and they found that there are some pretty telling bits of code concerning video.

Soon, many of us will be running iPhone OS 4.0 on our iDevices. Until then, we’ll have to just salivate over new features. As such, Apple has made some changes to iPhone OS 4.0 beta 3 for your drooling pleasure. They’ve moved the iPod playback controls to the multitasking dock, along with a rotation lock button.

Developers have been trying out the beta release of iPhone OS 4.0 for a few days now, and many hidden features and changes are being discovered. One such find is the apparent removal of the “rate on delete” prompts that a user sees upon deleting an application from their device. This feature was first introduced alongside iPhone OS 2.2 and since then, developers have longed for its removal.

Last Thursday, Steve Jobs gave a developer preview of iPhone OS 4.0. The updated mobile operating system has over 100 new features, but only 7 were given the limelight in Jobs’ presentation. That leaves the possibility of iChat being one of those 100 features quite high, and with the recent findings made within the iPhone OS 4.0 SDK, rumors are certainly pointing to the Apple instant messaging application coming to the iPhone platform in the near future.

Innovation is the process of solving a problem in a better way than what has come before, and Apple’s approach to multitasking can only be described as innovative. Looking at the multitasking functionality reveals a rather stark truth, and one which iPhone haters will likely be quick to take up as a rallying cry: this is not true multitasking, where an app can do whatever it wants in the background. Apps can only make use of standardized background processes provided by Apple. In effect, the iPhone is still a walled garden—Apple has just added some new window.

As part of the iPhone OS 4.0, Apple has revealed folders, a new way to organize apps on your device. Now, if users drag an app on top of another, it will create a folder that takes on the name of that general category of apps. The folder can also be renamed, though, and can be placed in the Dock if you want. The best part about this new feature is that users will now be able to have 2,160 apps on their iPhone or iPod Touch instead of just 180. Why one would need that much is unknown to me, but you can now if you want to.

As one of the seven tent poles in Steve’s keynote today, Apple announced a new VOIP API. For VOIP applications, users will now be able to receive calls even if the application using the VOIP isn’t in the foreground. This means that applications like Skype will be able to use the double high status bar when on a call much like the actual phone. Furthermore, calls can also come through via a pop-up when you’re not in the application, allowing you to answer or ignore them.

As part of the iPhone OS 4.0 announcement today, Apple revealed Game Center. With 50,000 games and entertainment apps available on the store, Apple wanted to help make the experience using these games better. In a sentence, Game Center brings social networking to iPhone/iPod Touch games. Much as XBox Live does, Game Center will support the ability to invite friends to play against you as well as make matches for you using these games. It’s all done through Apple’s application, too.

The most anticipated feature missing from previous incarnations of the iPhone OS, multitasking, has now been announced as part of iPhone OS 4.0. As usual, Apple’s implementation of this is seamless and promises to make multitasking on the iPhone painless. How does it work? When you are in an application, you can simply double tap the home button to bring up a dock along the bottom of the interface that shows the other application currently running. Tapping on that app’s icon launches the app in the exact state it was in when you left it.

Somehow, these Apple media events aren’t as much fun when you don’t have two to four weeks of rumor and speculation leading up to it. Apple just announced the iPhone OS 4.0 event on Monday. So, why the rush? What can we expect? Multi-tasking? Mail 2.0? Mobile advertising? We’ll find out today at 1:00 p.m. EDT, so join us here at Appletell for our live blog of the iPhone OS 4.0 event.