The night before Apple releases a new iPhone is always so special. My family gathers beneath our Apple tree, exchanges protective cases, and sings ring tones. Lot of good memories being made. We all wear black mock turtlenecks.

Tomorrow is the big event at Apple HQ, the debut of some sort of new iPhone. The question bouncing around now is whether it will be the iPhone 5, the one we’ve been calling El Cinco, or some sort of boosted up version of the iPhone 4. In other words, will it be a huge leap forward or just an incremental nudge. All I’ve really heard consistently is that it will have a bigger screen and a smaller bezel around it. I guess the other thing everyone’s looking at is Tim Cook’s debut as the guy on the stage.

I don’t think Cook’s stagecraft probably matters all that much. The phone’s fate isn’t tied to that. I do wonder how many times people can really get amazed by an Apple product, though. Dating back to the first iPhone and then on through many new editions plus a couple of iPads, we’ve seen people go bonkers and stand in line for days. But will the magic persevere over semi-annual launches? And is the magic integral to the Apple mystique and, ergo, the success?

Wait, have I been saying all this out loud? Sorry. Thanks for reading.

It looks like iTunes leaked the name and design of the new phone over the weekend. According to 9 to 5 Mac, and according to this data, it’s the iPhone 4S, and it doesn’t look all that different from what’s on the market.

Could there be TWO phones introduced?