Apple on Monday unveiled a new version of its popular iPhone built for high-speed wireless networks with faster Internet access and more features for business users.
“It’s incredibly zippy,” chief executive Steve Jobs said as he demonstrated the new mobile device at the opening of Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco.
“We’ve learned so much with the first iPhone. We’ve taken what we’ve learned and more and created the iPhone 3G; and it’s beautiful,” he said.
The iPhone 3G — for third-generation mobile networks — is designed for faster Internet downloads and longer talk times, and takes advantage of the high-speed network to provide GPS mapping built in, Jobs said.
Apple will begin rolling out new versions of the sleek smartphone devices on July 11 and make it available in 70 countries. The first-generation iPhone is available in six countries.
“The next time you are in Malta and need an iPhone, you will be able to get it,” Jobs aid.
IPhone’s software update features “many new languages,” including two forms of Japanese and two forms of Chinese, one that lets users draw characters on the device’s touch-screen.
“You can switch between languages on the fly,” Jobs said. “It’s one of the great advantages of not having a bunch of plastic keys for your keyboard.”
The crowd cheered when Jobs announced the iPhone 3G will sell for US$199 with 8 gigabytes of memory. Apple will charge US$299 for a model with 16GB of memory.
“It is a very aggressive price point and it is going to do some damage to the other players in the market,” Gartner analyst Van Baker said, listing BlackBerry and Nokia among competitors in iPhone’s crosshairs.
The 8GB iPhone 3G will be half the price of its predecessor and work twice as fast, Apple said.
Jobs said that iPhone’s second-generation software would let business users send and receive Microsoft Exchange e-mail, in a direct shot at rival BlackBerry.
The iPhone software update is aimed at a business market that is currently hooked on BlackBerry devices made by Canada-based Research In Motion.
BlackBerry handsets have long let people “push” work e-mail to the devices using the Microsoft e-mail system.
Apple worked with Cisco Systems to build virtual private network (VPN) services into iPhones so businesses can establish secure connections to protect data being transferred.
Thirty-five percent of US Fortune 500 companies and the US military have “beta” tested iPhone’s enterprise e-mail, Jobs said.
The iPhone 2.0 software update will be free to iPhone users and be available for iTouch iPods for US$9.99.
Apple also introduced a “Mobileme” service that lets people access e-mail accounts on iPhones, laptops or home computers via the Internet.
Investors may be frowning on Apple because most of the announcements were leaked prior to Monday and the improved iPhone won’t be available for more than a month, according to analysts.
“With the exception of Mobileme we knew everything else was coming,” Silicon Valley analyst Rob Enderle said.
“The only surprise is the thing is not ready yet. It came across like Jobs didn’t have it together,” he said.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from