Cut-price 3G iPhone in Australia by July 11

APPLE has launched its new 3G iPhone and slashed the cost to almost half the price of the existing model.

Chief executive officer Steve Jobs says the new phone is smaller and faster and will appeal to the 56 per cent of people - Apple says - who want an iPhone, but have not bought one because of the price.The new iPhone will cost from $US199 ($209.32) for the 8GB model to $US299 ($314.50) for 16GB. The pricing would apply internationally, Mr Jobs said.

Despite selling 6 million iPhones in one year, Apple said its research showed the cost of the previous model had put off would-be buyers.

The new version will be released in Australia on July 11th.

The new model has 3G speeds faster than the Nokia N95 and Treo 750, according to Apple, and is almost on par with WiFi speeds.
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It has better battery life, with almost 5 hours of 3G talk time, and sports a slimmer form. Some of the phone’s more innovative features stem from Apple’s software development program.

Apple is internationally launching a new App Store that will make applications available for download onto the iPhone. Games, office tools and even learning aids will be available for free, or around $US9.99 ($10.50), according to demonstrations.

Third-party developers will keep 70 per cent of revenue for applications sold through the App Store, which will add FairPlay digital rights management (DRM) to the files.

The company also announced MobileMe today, an online synchronisation tool that unifies data between computers and the iPhone using a web-based interface. This feature, which includes iDisk integration for online file storage and sending, will replace Apple’s existing .mac service.

The new iPhone will be released with version 2.0 software, which includes support for Office and iWork documents, live contact search, bulk message delete, image saving, scientific calculator, language support and parental controls.

Mr Jobs launched the iPhone at the Worldwide Developer’s Conference in San Francisco, but some rumours about the device were not addressed. His speech did not mention the camera, which was expected to be upgraded from the existing 2MP configuration, and video chat.

The next-generation model will be released in 22 countries on July 11th and will eventually reach 70 countries in total.

The iPhone will be released in Australia with local carriers Vodafone and Optus. Telstra and 3 have not yet made any announcements.

More information and deals from the apple store can be found here: Discount Electronics