As the new Palm Pre sells out in the USA, Apple has launched a new video iPhone that also incorporates video recording, improved data speeds, voice controls, and boosted storage.
Tipped by SmartHouse and ChannelNews last week the new iPhone was revealed at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference.
Apple executives said that the design of the device won’t change much from the current model iPhone 3G, but it’s what’s on the inside that matter, said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior VP of worldwide marketing.
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“The ‘S’ stands for speed,” said Schiller. “It’s the fastest, most powerful iPhone yet.”
He also said the new iPhone had up to twice the average speed and performance of the iPhone 3G. It will have hardware support for the OpenGL ES 2.0 standard, and this should make graphics-intensive applications run smoother. The new iPhone will also be able to access 3G data connections of up to 7.2 Mbps. This will be ideal for the Telstra NextG network who is currently expand their NextG network to accommodate faster smartphones like the iPhone 3GS.
The camera in the new iPhone 3GS will be expanded to a 3-megapixel camera with autofocus and white balancing. While this is not a very high megapixel count compared to devices like Sony Ericsson’s Satio, the iPhone 3G has shown that consumers are looking for camera phones that have a good implementation and make sharing photos easy. For example, the iPhone 3G’s camera is only 2-megapixels, but it is used more than three times any other cell phone for the photo-sharing site Flickr, Apple said.
According to the Apple press release the 3GS iPhone will also have the ability to record and edit videos on the handset. It can record videos at 30-frames per second, and users will be able to share these videos through MMS messages, Apple’s MobileMe online storage site, e-mail, or with a native YouTube uploader. Third-party developers will also get access to the new camera functions to create programs for the App Store.
As well as a claimed two-times advance in performance, the iPhone GS will have extended battery life (nine hours Web browsing via Wi-Fi, 30 hours of audio), a 3-megapixel auto-focus camera able to shoot video as well as stills, a built-in digital compass and voice control.
Users will be able to make calls by saying something like “Ring Alan Jones”; command iPhone to play a certain song from their iTunes list; or ask “What’s playing now” the iPhone will name the artist and song title.
iPhone 3G S will be available in Australia on 26 June with pricing available at launch. iPhone OS 3.0 software will be available on 26 June as a free software update via iTunes 8.2 or later for all iPhone customers.
Schiller was especially scornful of the new Palm Pre when detailing how many applications are available for various smartphones: a claimed 50,000-plus for iPhone, 5000 for Android, 1088 for Nokia and just 18 for Palm.
The iPhone 3.0 software will be available worldwide on June 17. Among its new features are: turn-by-turn GPS navigation, cut-and-paste technology, MMS messaging and a “Find My iPhone” feature for locating lost handsets and erasing all data if deemed necessary.
Apple’s MacBook Pro line includes 13-inch, 15-inch and 17-inch models, said to have up to seven hours battery life. Australian pricing, ranging from
A$1899 to $3999, is said to be up to A$500 less than previous models.
