Two Sure Things About Apple's WWDC: June 8, No Jobs

Amid all the rumors circulating about Apple's iPhone and the features it may or may not have, two things are certain: The World Wide Developers Conference will kick off June 8. And Steve Jobs won't be giving the keynote.

Instead of the familiar man in the black turtleneck, Apple has confirmed today that the keynote remarks will be given by a "team of Apple executives." Leading the Apple team will be Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, who is slated to deliver remarks at 10 a.m.

The company plans to offer sessions on the gamut of Apple products, including ones on the iPhone 3.0 operating system and Mac Snow Leopard OS X.

Absent from the session announcements, however, was any mention of iPhone 3.0 hardware being released. But that's not surprising—after all, while the next generation of the hardware is widely expected to come out of the WWDC, Apple seems to be hoping to maintain some shroud of secrecy.

The time leading up to the WWDC is always rife with rumors, and this year hasn't been any different. The keynote is an opportunity for Schiller and the rest of the Apple team to address any or all of the speculation.

Revelations surround the iPhone are widely anticipated. It's likely that questions of whether or not Apple will give the iPhone video capabilities will be answered. Another intriguing story line may include Verizon Wireless and if the company is actually planning to offer an iPhone Lite to the communications giant, despite its contract with AT&T.

Independent developers of apps for the App Store would probably like their questions about the company's draconian approval policy answered. Memories of the Baby Shaker App flap are still fresh. More recently, Apple turned away Jesus—specifically the "Me So Holy" app being denied entry into the App Store.

While Apple's mobile devices may grab headlines, the company still produces quite a few desktops and notebooks. In April, the company reportedly made a move into the chip market. What, if anything, will the company say about that?

Apple's notebook market is also intriguing. Earlier this month Apple listed a job for an individual with expertise in wireless communications. That listing incited a round of speculation that Apple may be embedding 3G capabilities in its notebooks.

And, of course, netbooks can't be ignored. The ultramobile, lightweight subnotebook market is still red hot. Most of Apple's competitors have moved into the netbook market and are seeing prodigious sales. Apple seems to remain staunchly opposed to developing an inexpensive system.

But from time to time the company indicates in small ways that it may, in fact, be developing an Apple netbook. While the iPhone hardware refresh seems to be a given at this point, if Schiller and the team of Apple executives were to unveil a netbook, that proclamation would undoubtedly be the blockbuster event of the WWDC.