Faster device comes with video camera and price gets slashed
Sun
Scott Forstall, senior vice-president of iPhone software at Apple Inc., speaks during Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, California Monday.
Apple unveiled changes to its iPhone offerings at a trade show for the Mac-using world that kicked off Monday in San Francisco, premiering a speedier new model complete with a video camera and slashing the price of its predecessor to $99 US.
With some applications launching on the new iPhone at twice the speed they would launch on its predecessors, Apple says the new device will be its fastest-running smartphone. It’s called the “iPhone 3G S” — the “S” stands for “speed.”
Speaking from the stage at the company’s Worldwide Developer Conference, Apple vice-president of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller said that the new device will let users capture video on the device. The new iPhone’s more sophisticated camera will let users select what the lens should focus on, with the touch of a finger. With a new set of voice controls, users will be able to upload an iPhone video to YouTube with a spoken command.
The new device, priced at $199 and $299, will be available in a little over a week, the company said. The more expensive version comes with 32 gigabytes of storage space, a new capacity for the device.
Chief executive Steve Jobs, who is out on medical leave and expected back at the company later this month, was a no-show at the conference.
Apple had already introduced the third major version of the iPhone’s operating system in March. The new version of the device’s software offers 300 new features, the company said.
That includes some long-overlooked basic features that iPhone owners have been waiting for since the device first went on sale, such as “cut and paste,” allowing users to copy blocks of text from one application to another.
Apple also introduced a handy new feature called “ Find My iPhone,” designed to help iPhone owners who have misplaced their device. Lose the device under the sofa, and users will now be able to send the phone a message ordering it to make a sound.
If the device has been stolen, it will now be possible to send an iPhone a command to erase its memory, so that sensitive information is not compromised.
Apple said that more than 40 million devices have been sold that can access the company’s App Store — that figure includes the iPhone and the iPod Touch.
The company also unveiled new versions of its “MacBook Pro” laptops, which will feature longer lasting batteries.
