With the next-gen iPhone expected to be launched by the middle of this year, rumors citing "plugged-in sources in the mobile industry" have started making rounds about its projected upgrades!

According to Silicon Alley Insider reports, the forthcoming iPhone hardware release will bring about "a significantly faster Internet connection," in accord with the earlier reports of network upgrade arrangements by AT&T, announced last year by CEO Ralph de la Vega at the Morgan Stanley Communications Conference.

Another apparently more substantiated buzz by AppleInsider relates to Apple's plans to launch video recording capability on its upcoming iPhone version, complying with numerous requests from iPhone users over the past two-year period.

In case faster networking connections actually are made accessible, it would enable iPhone users to easily upload video shots from the phone to social-networking sites and e-mail it to friends. The rumor is somewhat corroborated by the fact that earlier this week, the Engadget assessment of the iPhone 3.0 beta revealed the presence of a "Publish Video" screen in the MobileMe application.

With the talks about Apple having at least one future iPhone model in the works, the supposed addition of video recording features and faster networking would provide the older iPhone owners with the option to go in for an upgrade.