The iphone

In June, 2007, Apple's chief executive, Steven P. Jobs, introduced the iPhone, which instantly became one of the most talked-about consumer products ever. Thousands of customers lined up to be the first to buy the phones, which featured computing and Wi-Fi capabilities, along with a crisp, computer-like display on an innovative touch screen. Rivals rushed phones with similar features onto the market.

Mr. Jobs set an ambitious goal -- to sell 10 million of the phones in 2008. By March, 5.5 million had been sold, but the pace had dropped to a less-than-spectacular 600,000 a month. Around the same time, the guessing game began as to when the company would introduce a new version and what new feaures it would have.

The new phone searches the Internet more quickly and comes with a host of new applications. But the biggest change was a sharp reduction in price. Mr. Jobs said the new iPhone 3G, to be available in the United States through AT&T beginning on July 11, will sell for $199 for the 8-gigabyte model and $299 for a 16-gigabyte model. He said the biggest barrier to people buying the phone had been is $399 pricetag.

As widely anticipated, the phone will run on so-called 3G wireless networks that allow much faster Internet connections than the original iPhone. The phone, sleeker than the original, will also have built-in Global Positioning System capability to allow location-based services. It will also have a longer battery life in some cases, five hours for talking on the 3G network and 24 hours for playing music on the phone.

Apple updated the phone again on June 17, 2009, with improved software, including the ability to shoot full-motion video. The new model, iPhone 3G S (for speed) went on sale June 19; the software update for iPhone 3G was offered by download a few days earlier. IPhone 3G S was available in a 16-gigabyte version for $200 and a 32-gigabyte version for $300. The price of the original 3G was dropped to $99.

iphone specification

GENERAL 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
Announced 2007, January. Released 2007, June
Status Discontinued
SIZE Dimensions 115 x 61 x 11.6 mm
Weight 135 g

DISPLAY Type TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors

Size 320 x 480 pixels, 3.5 inches

- Multi-touch input method
- Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate
- Proximity sensor for auto turn-off
- Scratch-resistant surface
SOUND Alert types Vibration; Downloadable polyphonic, MP3 ringtones
Speakerphone Yes
- 3.5 mm headset jack

MEMORY Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall
Call records 100 received, dialed and missed calls

Internal 4/8/16 GB

Card slot No

DATA GPRS Yes

EDGE Yes

3G No
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11b/g

Bluetooth Yes, v2.0, headset support only

Infrared port No

USB Yes, v2.0
CAMERA Primary 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels
Video No
Secondary No

FEATURES OS iPhone OS (based on Mac OS)

CPU ARM 11 412 MHz, PowerVR MBX-Lite graphics

Messaging SMS (threaded view), Email

Browser HTML (Safari)

Radio No
Games Downloadable, incl. motion-based
Colors Black
GPS No
Java No
- Google Maps
- Audio/video player
- TV-out

BATTERY Standard battery, Li-Ion
Stand-by Up to 250 h
Talk time Up to 8 h
Music play Up to 24 h