When it comes to the iPhone, I’ll admit that I’m impatient, greedy, and also somewhat naive: I was hoping, for example, that Steve Jobs would announce today that (a) he’s shipping the full Software Development Kit (SDK), but also (b) at least one commercial-grade 3rd-party product, developed with that SDK, was shipping today. Even if it was just a game program like Klondike solitaire, it would have meant there was some steak to go with the sizzle.

But if I understood the hoopla correctly, it’s the beta/developer’s version of the SDK that’s being shipped today (apparently in such volume that Apple’s servers were overloaded much of the day). The full release won’t occur until sometime in June, which apparently coincides with Apple’s planned release of “iPhone Software 2.0,” whatever that is. And if past history — i.e., the introduction of the iPhone itself — is any guide, then “sometime in June” means Friday, June 27th … or maybe Monday, June 30th.

Okay, okay, I am greedy — and I know that there are a whole bunch of people within Fortress Apple, working their tails off to turn the announcement into reality; and as of today, there are a whole bunch of people in hundreds of 3rd-party software product firms, also working their collective tails off. And good things will eventually come from all of this … but not for another four months. In the meantime, non-techie consumers, and gazillions of people like me who want to use software-equipped iPhones as a tool to do other things … well, we can set our alarm clocks for late June, and shift our attention back to the things that are available now.

I can’t help being a little suspicious, though, about (a) the coincidence that the June release date will coincide with the first anniversary of the original iPhone, and (b) the fact that the underlying iPhone software will have a version number of “2.0″, rather than “1.5″ or “1.6″. Call me crazy, or cynical, or maybe hopeful … but I wouldn’t be surprised if we see new, enhanced iPhone hardware to go along with all this new software.

We’ve already heard lots of semi-official/weakly-denied rumors that Apple (and AT&T) will introduce a version of the iPhone that supports the faster EDGE network this summer. For me, that would be almost as important as all the new software: whenever I’m outside my office, it’s relatively uncommon for me to find an “open” WiFi network that I can use for reasonably high-speed Internet/email access — so I’m stuck using my iPhone with AT&T’s piggishly slow non-EDGE network.

And while we’re on the subject of hardware, here are two other things I would give my right hand for (it helps to be left-handed when you make flamboyant statements like this): first, a fold-up, collapsible, portable keyboard like the Palm Wireless Keyboard, which has been around for years. And second, a USB port, so I could insert a flash-disk, and move files back and forth between my iPhone and my desktop/laptop Mac. (Yes, I realize that last request implies that I would have some way of “seeing” those files, and an underlying file structure, on an iPhone “desktop” … but I’m just saying what I’d like to see.)

The keyboard request is serious, though; I don’t mind using the iPhone “soft” keyboard for short email messages, but there’s no way I could use it to write a 3-page memo while riding on a plane, train, or bus. Steve Jobs probably thinks I should buy a MacBook Air for such tasks — but the Air machine, thin and sexy as it may be, doesn’t fit in my pocket. The iPhone does fit in my pocket; and especially with all of the new software that we can expect to start seeing this summer and fall, it becomes more and more practical to think of the iPhone as a truly mobile “replacement” for the computer I use in my office. And that means I need a keyboard occasionally, for some serious typing.

Of course, I would need some text-editing, or word-processing, software in order to use a mobile keyboard. Apple could start by simply providing a “synch” mechanism to allow me to move “notes” back and forth between the iPhone and my desktop/laptop Mac. I thought this was going to be available when the iPhone first started shipping in June 2007 and it drives me nuts that we still don’t have that ability.

Beyond synching of “stickies”-style notes, the next thing I’d like is a simple text-editor. It doesn’t have to Microsoft Word, for goodness sakes; it doesn’t have to be as full-featured as Apple’s “Pages” product. I’d be happy with the iPhone equivalent of the Mac’s TextEdit program. If you give me that, I promise I won’t start asking for “mini” versions of Word, Excel, and Powerpoint (or Pages, Numbers, and Keynote) for at least another year …

And beyond that … well, everyone has his own “wish list” of applications that would make life easier to manage with an iPhone. In my case, I’d like something equivalent to SplashWallet on the Palm Pilot, which I use to manage (and protect) the dozens of frequent-flyer numbers, credit-card numbers, and other ID numbers that I have to have at my disposal. And the other program I’d like to see is something equivalent to WorldMate on the Palm Pilot, which I use to keep track of all the details of flights, hotels, weather, currency rates, and other details associated with my business travel.

Other people, I’m sure, would prefer to see a dozen different game programs on their iPhone; or maybe some educational programs. For what it’s worth, here’s a list of the 25 iPhone apps that MacWorld thinks someone should be developing. Indeed, who knows what kind of 3rd-party program could, or might, become the “killer app” on the iPhone? That’s why one of the most intriguing part of today’s SDK extravaganza was the announcement of a $100 million iPhone development fund, set up by the venture capital fund Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB). I would imagine that within moments after the announcement, the KPCB folks started receiving unsolicited proposals and business plans from innovative entrepreneurs all over the country … and indeed, all over the world.

Probably 99% of the proposals will turn out to be mundane, ho-hum, been-there-done-that ideas (do we really need another calculator program for the iPhone? Maybe … but yawn … who really cares?). But there are bound to be some good ones, and maybe one or two that turn the whole mobile-computer world upside down.

It’s something to look forward to, and it could be exciting indeed. But in the meantime, I’ve got work to do, and I’ve still got the same frustrating iPhone that I had yesterday — which, by the way, is why I still carry my Palm Pilot with me almost anytime I leave the office. Let me know when there’s something “real” to look at on the iPhone.