The night before Christmas

If you’re anything like me – which, for your sake, I hope you’re not – you’re a little bit giddy right now.

It’s like being an eight year old the night before Christmas: you’re fairly sure there’s going to be a shiny new bike under the tree but you don’t know the precise details. The bike’s enough to get you excited but you’re still going to get giddy when you discover the bike’s colour, number of gears and wheel diameter.

Tomorrow at 6pm, those lovely people at Apple will announce… well, nobody’s quite sure.

It’s definitely an iPhone. Or two. Rumours suggest there will be at the very least an iPhone 4S (think of the current iPhone 4 after it’s undergone an episode of “Pimp my mobile”) and possibly even an iPhone 5 too. But it’s all just guesswork and supposition at the moment.

In the past the iPhone being replaced has become the entry model but, for reasons which I’m sure will make sense in retrospect if it happens, there are very strong rumours that Apple will do away with this practice and introduce a new baseline model in the guise of the 4S.

One thing that is sure (or as sure as one can be when discussing a company as shrouded in secrecy as Apple), is that iOS 5 will be released tomorrow. Based on the preview information it looks like an evolution of iOS as opposed to a revolution. But, hey, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.

The two new features I’m most looking forward to? Location aware notifications and PC Free syncing.

I’m not known for having the world’s greatest memory, so carrying a phone that can say “hey, you’re near ASDA, you need to get washing up liquid… remember?” will be a lifesaver for me. Well, it’ll stop me getting into bother anyway.

As for PC Free syncing – yes, it’s called PC Free… I admit we live in a Windows-dominated world but Macs are, to some degree PCs too – it will mean I don’t have to plug my beloved iPhone into my Mac to get the latest information off it.

How does this magical behaviour happen I hear you ask? Well, let me tell you.

It’s all thanks to the final part of the triumvirate due to be announced tomorrow: iCloud. A hassle free solution to files spread across your iPhone, iPod, iPad and PC or Mac.

The cloud is the truth. If it’s on there, it’s available through all your other devices. Take a photo on your iPhone: within a minute or two it’ll be on your Mac. And vice versa. The same is true for Apps. songs, videos and – is that trumpets I hear? – your documents too.

Did some last minute tweaks to that word processor document on your iPad? Bingo bango, it’s on your laptop too.

Nice. Very nice. And very Apple.

I just hope it works… I remember MobileMe…