Steve Jobs knows his audience. And the audience at the MacWorld 2007 conference keynote (speaker, as always, the mock-turtlenecked Steve Jobs, but in brown -- a jab at the Zune perhaps?) had been camping out 'since nine the night before.

So it was to no small applause when he took the stage around 9 a.m. here on the West Coast. And everyone was on the edges of his and her seat waiting for the Big News.

Naturally, in our opinion here, the Big News is the iPhone. We've been wondering about it for months, giving it optimistic release dates (hey, still could happen, right?) and wondering whether Apple Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) could even call it that, given that the trademark to the name is owned by Linksys. And, basically, loving it from afar. Well, it's true, and it is called the iPhone, and Engadget reports Jobs saying that it will be a "leapfrog product," it will include an iPod (duh), a widescreen with touch controls, and it will be a "breakthrough internet communications device," whatever that is.

Also big news from Steve was that the Apple TV will be shipped in February; lots of details over at Engadget, photos of the interface and lots of details on how it will work. There is also ridiculous eye candy coming up every minute on the iPhone. I can't wait to do a montage!

Today, Apple (NAS: AAPL) throws some hype fuel on the fire with the new teaser appearing on their website...

...and the hype machine moves forward. Marketers and business folks take note: This isn't a case of over-promise and under-deliver as is so common in the consumer electronics industry, it's genuine excitement about a company that has a track record of rolling out products that consumers buy and apparently enjoy.

Much could be said of Apple, and the tenure of notoriously low-key CEO, Steve Jobs. Look at the massive success of the iPod, the transition to Intel-based computers, not to mention the original and subsequent iMacs. Oh yeah, and there's that little black mark dotting the headlines as of late, you know, the whole improper options granting thing.

Among all the headlines, two things are certain with the house that Jobs built: Secrecy and hype. Virtually every product launch since the iPod has a massive amount of hype surrounding every event, with Appleheads spreading rumor after rumor, and Photoshopped picture after picture, and with next week's Macworld, this event is no different.