Apple Goes for the Trifecta with iPhone
AT MACWORLD In his keynote address at Macworld in San Francisco Tuesday, Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the oft-rumored and much-anticipated iPhone, although the device is somewhat different than what had been expected.
Instead of launching a separate widescreen ipod and iPhone, Apple has combined three different devices into a single one. The iPhone is a widescreen iPod, cellular phone, and Internet communicator in one device, and would be a true smartphone according to Jobs.
The phone only features one button, a "home" button, and a 3.5-inch screen capable of a 160 pixel-per-inch resolution. The entire device measures 11/16 inches thick. It is also compatible with the GSM standard. It will be available on the Cingular network.
The iPhone attempts to change the entire concept of the smartphone. Its interface would switch based on the application needed. Also, the input is simpler. "Nobody wants a stylus," Jobs chided. Instead, it would use multifinger gestures to control, a concept Apple has patented.
Other novel features: the capability to auto-detect whether it is held in portrait or landcape mode; a proximity sensor to turn off the display when held to the ear; an ambient light sensor to conserve power, and an accelerometer to turn on the device and the display.
The phone will run Mac OS X. "This phone is revolutionary," he added. "This is five years ahead of anything else." By running Mac OS X, desktop applications could easily be ported to the phone, Jobs said.
The phone features go on: quad-band GSM+EDGE, visual voicemail which allows you to see all voicemails at once and click those you want to hear, simplified navigation to allow for advanced features like conference calls with a touch of a button, and the capability to text message with several people in an iChat-like environment.
On the Internet side, Apple has tapped Google to provide mapping functionality. In addition, it would be able to support both IMAP and POP3 e-mail account, and Yahoo has been selected to provide free push IMAP e-mail for the device.
A full Internet browser based on Safari would be included, along with support for Dashboard widgets, Jobs said. Unlike other mobile browsers, the whole page would be shown, with gestures used to zoom in on the page as necessary. In addition, the viewing of multiple pages is possible through a coverflow-like interface, an innovation Jobs called "a revolution of the first order."
In a self-congratulatory moment, Jobs showed the Mac stock widget, showing Apple's stock soaring in light of the iPhone news.
Pricing is set at $499 USD for the 4 GB model and $599 USD for the 8 GB model, with a 2-year contract from Cingular, which is the exclusive provider in the United States thanks to a multiyear partnership. Europe will receive the phone in the fourth quarter of 2007, with arrival in Asia coming next year.