Peter Burrows at Business Week speculated earlier this week in his “Byte of the Apple” column that the next iteration of the iPhone will feature an easy-to-use video suite.

A new, updated version of the iPhone is rumored to be unveiled next month at the Apple Worldwide Developers’ Conference. Burrows says his “gut” – and also an unnamed source “familiar with Apple’s plans for the next iPhone” – that “Apple will make the iPhone a one-stop studio for recording, editing, viewing and sharing your own videos.”

He suggests that users will be able to shoot video, “Flip”-style, edit the best chunks with an iMovie iPhone app, and MMS support for sharing your user-generated movie with others. The iPhone already has a decent little screen for watching your creations.

Does it make sense for Apple to jump into cell-phone video so late in the game? Absolutely. The have a potent combination:

• a large (and growing) user base,
• a track record of applications that are straightforward and simple to operate,
• and a global interest in user-generated video (both from a creator’s and a viewer’s standpoint).

Other companies were quicker to enter the mobile video fray, but Apple has had a charmed experience with coming later to the game (with digital music downloads, with multifunction smart phones, with launching an App Store) and somehow capitalizing on a hot but maturing market. On top of this lucky track record, Apple has had a good run of introducing products (the iPod and the iPhone, the Mac, and so on) that make even the non-geek capable of creating and consuming all manner of digital content.

Of course, the promise of an iPhone video is still rumor, the business press version of “my cousin’s boss’ stepsister gave me the inside scoop.” But this rumor is tantalizing enough that we are willing to suspend our skepticism for a month, and eagerly await the (rumored) announcement of a new version of the iPhone next month.