WWDC 2011: What to expect from Steve Jobs's WWDC 2011 keynote

While gaming titans like Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo will be strutting their stuff at Los Angeles's E3 Expo this week, don't forget that Apple has its own conference going on tonight.

Sandwiched between Microsoft and Sony's keynote speakers, ailing Apple CEO Steve Jobs will take to the stage exactly 382 miles away (or 404 if you take the southbound California State Route 99) from E3 to talk iOS 5.

Here are some juicy rumours, confirmed announcements, and industry speculation on what Apple will have to say about the new iPhone operating system, its mysterious cloud service, and more.

In an email to the press last week, Apple confirmed that the firm would show off its forthcoming "cloud services offering" at the WWDC keynote kickoff.

Officially named iCloud, this is probably a "digital locker"-style service that will let you store your music collection on Apple's servers. That way you can access your entire archives of tunes from your mobile, wherever you are, without filling up your iPhone's storage.

It follows the trend of digital music lockers from both Google and Amazon, who now let users save their music collection to the cloud for seamless access on any computer or device. They both have complementary Android apps.

In recent weeks, Apple has reportedly inked new contracts with massive music labels like Warner Music Group, EMI Group, and Sony Music Entertainment, so that the iPhone maker can stream tracks over the web. Both Google and Amazon, in contrast, launched their services without securing new licences.

Apple pundit John Gruber asserts that the iCloud service might go beyond music. According to Mr Daring Fireball, movies, TV shows, iBooks, apps, contacts, and calendars could all be stored in the cloud for universal access.

Exactly how it will work, how much it will cost, and how much space users get are all questions that Apple should answer tonight.

No surprises here. Apple says in its press release that it will unveil "iOS 5, the next version of Apple’s advanced mobile operating system which powers the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch."

But what it will actually entail is entirely unknown, outside of rumours and speculation. Here are some of the juciest.

New notification system

CultofMac reckons that Apple will revamp its tired notification system for the new OS, and the firm has hired a mysterious app developer to help out.

Right now, your latest tweets, text messages, Words with Friends invites, and instant messages appear with intrusive, screen-filling pop-ups.

The most likely replacement would be a band underneath your iPhone's time and battery life bar, which would display your most recent notifications. You could then investigate further by tapping or dragging this Android-style notification bar.

Twitter integration

Elsewhere, TechCrunch writer MG Siegler believes that Twitter integration will be baked deep into iOS 5.

This means you would be able to log in to the social network from the iPhone's system settings and then a "Post to Twitter" button would appear in your photos app.

It seems like a smart move, but not the sort of thing Apple does. The tech giant tends to keep itself to itself, and doesn't often reach out to other companies unless it desperately needs its help - like using Google for maps or Bing for search.

Why would it jump on the Twitter bandwagon, and not Facebook? We'll wait and see on this one.

Better voice recognition

TechCrunch, once again, has another rumour up its sleeve. Apparently Apple will announce a partnership with voice recognition firm Nuance at WWDC, and unveil better voice commands for the iPhone.

Right now, you can bark a set number of commands at your iPhone to phone your girlfriend or play some Radiohead. Unfortunately, the wobbly tech means you'll often end up calling your mum and setting your all-Aqua playlist to shuffle.

Over on Android, the voice commands are baked into the system and are presented almost anywhere there's a text box. If Apple is feeling ('Droid) green with envy, this rumoured acquisition would give it a leg up in the voice recognition race.

More wishful thinking than rumour, but here's hoping Apple finally fixes its lacklustre social gaming service. As of now, the system lists your achievements, leaderboards, and online play in a perfectly acceptable way.

But the app itself is largely useless. It'd be great to see who's actually online now and what game they're currently playing - only what they've recently played is currently displayed - so you can jump in and whip their butt. Just being able to text or voice chat through the service would be nice.

Game Center could also be used to keep your save games safe. If you delete a game from your iPhone, the save file goes with it and can't be independently backed up in iTunes. How about using GC to sync your saves into the cloud?

Finally, a little customisation wouldn't hurt. Having a pithy status message is nice, but how about avatars and the ability to show off our favourite games or most impressive achievements?