SmallBizResource Blog -- Mobility

Apple Unveils 3G iPhone

Posted by Gayle Kesten Tuesday, Jun 10, 2008, 07:58 AM ET

Fans of the "i" will be happy to know Apple's next-gen iPhone is just one month away from availability.

Introduced Monday at Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference by the man in black (turtleneck), CEO Steve Jobs, the new iPhone will be both:

• Cheaper: $199 for an 8-GB model ($200 less than its current price) and $299 for 16 GB, "a pleasing price for all but the poor souls who shelled out nearly $600 a year ago," writes Crave blogger Kent German.
• Faster: Support for high-speed 3G networks, whose bandwidth makes Internet browsing and application multitasking a faster, "amazingly zippy" experience. 3G is about three times faster than the EDGE network used by the current iPhone.

And what's an upgrade without some new bells and whistles? Among them, the iPhone boasts built-in GPS, longer battery life, a better interface for searching contacts and new support for third-party applications. That includes an app for eBay; "Pretty much everything you'd need to do from a desktop browser can be done through eBay's iPhone app: bidding, searching for items, My eBay (so you can see how the sale of your old iPhone's going), watching items, and the like," Engadget reports.

Of note, "the new iPhone 3G is still AT&T-only, at least here in the United States," says bMighty blogger Alan Zeichick. "No breakthrough there." (The proverbial silver lining? Samsung on Monday intro'ed its own 3G smartphone, Ominia, which gives you a better choice of wireless carriers. Plus, don't forget about the Nokia N95 and the Treo 750 3G smartphones.)

Keep in mind, AT&T's 3G iPhone data plan will run consumers $30 per month and businesses $45 per month, BUT you have to go to a real retail store to activate your phone. For the gotta-have-it-now types (in the iPhone's case, that would be July 11), "Expect hellish lines and long wait times if picking up a 3G iPhone on opening day," blogs Wired's Jose Fermoso. "Conservative guesses peg the activation times for phones at 10-15 minutes. Yeah sure, in fantasy land maybe. We're betting that the average activation will be double or even triple those estimates."

Also among Monday's announcements, Apple revealed plans to replace its .Mac online service with "MobileMe," which offers "two-way, real-time synchronization between Macs, Windows-powered PCs and iPhones for such information as e-mail, contacts and schedules," Computerworld reports. "MobileMe, which retains .Mac's $99 annual fee, also boasts new Web-based mail, address and calendar applications."

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