$200 3G iPhone with GPS Released by Apple

Apple has unveiled a new version of the iPhone, featuring 3G
connectivity, GPS, push e-mail and updated software. The phone will
hit the market on 11 July, selling for USD 199 (£100) for a 8 GB model
and USD 299 for a 16 GB model. Apple will continue its exclusive
iPhone distribution deal with AT&T in the US, and has also confirmed
the 3G iPhone will be available from the same date in 22 other
countries and in over 70 countries later this year.
From 11 July, the phone will go on sale in Australia, Italy, New
Zealand and Portugal with Vodafone; in Austria, Germany and the
Netherlands with T-Mobile; in Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Norway with
TeliaSonera; in Austria, France, Switzerland and Portugal with Orange;
in Switzerland with Swisscom; in Italy with Telecom Italia; in
Singapore with Singtel; in Hong Kong with Hutchison Telecom; in Spain
with Telefonica; in the UK and Ireland with O2; in Canada with Rogers
Wireless; and in the Philippines with Globe Telecom.
Mr Jobs said that the new device would be available in 22 countries -
including the UK - in a month, and 70 countries later in the year.
"The No 1 reason people didn't buy iPhones is because they just
couldn't afford it," he told an audience of software developers in San
Francisco.
Aside from being cheaper, the most significant improvement in 'iPhone
mark II', is that it works on the high-speed 3G network, which will
mean it can download content such as videos from the internet much
more quickly.
Many gadget-lovers held off buying the previous version because its
most innovative feature – a web browser which enables owners to zoom
in and out on web pages by making pinching gestures on the screen -
was impaired by slow networks.
The new phone also has GPS, which means it will be able to locate
itself more accurately via satellite, and will offer more services
tailored to the owner's location, such as the ability to find nearby
restaurants and businesses.
The device has a more curved look, with thinner edges, and replaces
the existing brushed metal back with black plastic. It also has better
tools for synchronising work an owner's work e-mail and calendar,
which has been the staple of its more entrenched rival, the
BlackBerry.
The new touch-screen handset features quad-band GSM and tri-band HSDPA
support, as well as Wi-Fi and Edge access. The phone includes the new
iPhone 2.0 software, also available for download, with both the iPhone
SDK for supporting third-party applications and enterprise features
such as support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync to provide
over-the-air push email, contact and calendar syncing as well as
remote wipe and Cisco IPsec VPN for encrypted access to corporate
networks. Apple also added the new App Store to the phone, providing
iPhone users access to free and paid third-party applications for the
phone in categories including games, business, news, sports, health,
reference and travel.
The App Store will be available in 62 countries at launch. Additional
features available with the iPhone 2.0 software include real-time
mapping and tracking with GPS, mass move and delete multiple e-mail
messages, search for contacts, a scientific calculator, parental
control restrictions for specified content, save images directly from
a web page or e-mail to the iPhone and transfer them back to a Mac or
PC. Apple claims the iPhone offers 10 hours of talk time on 2G
networks and 5 hours using 3G, with up to 5-6 hours of web browsing,
up to 7 hours for video playback and up to 24 hours for audio
playback. The 3G phone also include MobileMe, Apple's new internet
service that pushes e-mail, contacts, and calendars from an online
"cloud" to native applications on iPhones, iPod touch, Macs and PCs.