According to Taiwanese website Digitimes, an Apple vendor called OmniVision, which makes the CMOS image sensors in iPhones, is not only ramping up to supply 40–45 million iPhone cameras for 2010, but some of those will be 5 MP. This has lead some gossip hounds to speculate that the new version of iPhone, which is expected to be announced in June, will indeed be sporting a major camera upgrade from the current 3 MP version.

This scoop on a beefier camera joins previous rumors that the new version will come loaded with an RFID reader. If it’s true, then that could be very cool. Imagine being able to sync an iPhone to iTunes by simply placing the handset near a Mac. [For a peek at what RFID (or Near Field Communications) could do for a feature like iPhone’s media player, click here.]

Are these just the tip of the iceberg? I hope so. Apple needs to unleash something big next year, and if these features pan out, they might suggest that some real awesomeness could be on the horizon — not just for iPhone fans, but the industry at large.

The iPhone’s break-out popularity spurred on the mass adoption of touchscreen phones all across the industry. Is it too much to think that, if the 4th-gen iPhone has an RFID reader, other similarly “chipped” mobile phones could become the next big thing across different brands and platforms?

It’s all still rooted in gossip territory now, but half the fun is guessing what else this new Apple handset could be packing. If these stories are any indication, my guess is that theres going to be a lot to look forward to.

Via: IntoMobile, Digitimes, Near Field Communications World