Based on my Twitter feed, it looks like most of the tech industry isn’t doing much this morning besides hitting “refresh” on the Apple store, trying frantically to pre-order the iPhone 4. While we wait (and remember it’s only 8am in Cupertino folks), here are some thoughts about what’s important about the iPhone 4.

Given the fact that the iPhone 4 was famously deconstructed by Gizmodo a month ago, what was surprising about Steve Job’s WWDC keynote last week was how many surprises there were. Here are the three announcements that have the most potential impact on how we interact with technology and communications:

• Gyroscope – Previous versions of the iPhone have included an accelerometer, which is what allows the phone to recognize tilting and shaking the device as an interaction (used to great effect in many games). Now, Apple is replacing the accelerometer with a gyroscope, which will allow the phone to identify movement in three directions instead of two. I suspect that is one of those additions that is hard to fully appreciate without trying it hands on, but I think it shows how strongly Apple is gunning towards the games market. With rapidly improving processor speeds, screen quality (more on that below), and interactive capabilities, the iPhone is strong competition for the Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP.
• Retina display – One of the sexiest surprises is the Retina Display, which essentially quadruples the number of pixels on a screen of the same size, making the resolution equal to print quality. This enhacement supports the play Apple is making with its iBooks app. The Kindle’s screen has been one of the only advantages it has vs. the iPad/iPhone, and this hurts that. I’m fairly certain that all the hardware enhancements we’re seeing on the iPhone 4 will be rolled out onto the iPad in the next year or so.
• iOS – In what seemed like a minor development, Jobs announced that the iPhone OS (operating system) is being renamed to iOS. This makes sense – it was a little confusing that the iPad was running iPhone OS. However, I think that the name change signifies a lot more – it opens Apple to create a series of mobile-esque devices all running the same OS. I think that Apple TV will be reborn with iOS in the next few years.

Apple continues to be one of the smartest tech companies in terms of futuristic hardware and software, with keen insights into what the barriers are to product adoption among common users. iPhone 4 is another great step for them. In short – I’m frantically refreshing the Apple store with the rest of you.

And a side note: the fact that Gizmodo couldn’t predict the Gyroscope and Retina display based on their deconstructed iPhone 4 prototype doesn’t speak highly for their detective skills, does it? Steve Jobs must have been secretly pleased that the coolest stuff didn’t leak.