Apple’s new iPhone, which it claims is twice as fast as the 3G device released last year, was been unveiled in San Jose overnight and will land in Australia on 26 June. The announcement was made at Apple’s annual World Wide Developer’s Conference. The company also unveiled a release date for version 3.0 of the device’s operating system, new MacBooks and a preview of new, more powerful iPhone applications.
But in a first for the company, chief executive Steve Jobs was not present to deliver the conference’s keynote speech due to health complications.
Instead, senior vice president of worldwide marketing, Phil Schiller, finally confirmed the rumours of a new iPhone that have been spreading over the internet for months.
Apple will release a new, faster version of the iPhone – titled the iPhone 3GS – on 26 June, along with the third version of the device’s operating system.
The new iPhone features include:
• A new, faster processor.
• A 3 megapixel camera, with auto focus, exposure and white-balance.
• Photo and video geo-tagging, allowing the phone to determine a location by analysing photographs.
• Access to the camera through applications.
• Video recording capabilities.
• A compass, which works within Google Maps.
• Voice control.
• Tethering capabilities, allowing the device to act as a modem.
• Longer battery life.
• A new 32GB capacity version – currently, the largest iPhone model carries 16GB.
The device will be released in the US on 17 June and in Australia on 26 June, but so far no telcos have released pricing data for the new model, or confirmed whether the 3G iPhone will be discounted.
Apple also revealed that the iPhone 3.0 OS will be available in Australia on June 26, with current iPhone users able to download the software for free and iPod Touch users for around $15.
The new software allows Bluetooth connectivity, multimedia messaging, in-application commerce, copy-and-paste, spotlight searching, voice-recording, shake-to-shuffle and push notifications.
The software will also allow developers to create new, more powerful applications for the device, some of which were displayed during the conference’s keynote speech.
MobileMe users can now locate a lost phone through an application on a PC, and can even wipe the device of all data from that remote location. A new e-book store app, ‘ScrollMotion’s Iceberg’, allows users to purchase books within the application thanks to the new in-application commerce features of the new software.
Travel software company TomTom also unveiled plans for an iPhone application, as the new software allows the iPhone to carry programs that require turn-by-turn directions.
Meanwhile, the company announced the features of its new Snow Leopard OS, updates to its MacBook Pro line, (including SD memory card readers), and released the fourth version of its Safari internet browser.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
