- New iPhone Features: Apple has introduced the new iPhone 3GS with better speed (2 to 3.6x faster), built-in camera (3 megapixel, not 3.2 as expected) with auto-focus and video capture, digital compass, voice control, and cut/copy/paste function.
- New iPhone Pricing/Launch Dates: New iPhones will be available June 19 @ $199 for 16 GB and $299 for 32GB. Starting today, existing iPhone 3G will have lower price: $99 for 8 GB.
- New Competition: The iPhone faces new competition from the Palm Pre, a smartphone that debuted on Friday and claims to combine Apple's popular touch screen with a more functional keyboard, like the one found on a popular business-class smartphone, the BlackBerry.
- Macbook Updates: Apple also introduced a new 15-inch Macbook laptop computer with better battery life and a faster processor. Start price: $1,700. The Macbook with the 13-inch screen starts at $1,200. The company also lowered the price on its ultra-thin MacBook Air to $1,500. All three of these models are now $300 less than existing similar models.
- Rumor Control: Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who has been ill, did not appear at the conference.
Note:
Squarespace -- a software publisher -- is giving away 30 iPhones in 30 days via a Twitter contest (details here). Keep in mind, the rules state that winners will actually be sent $199 Apple certificates. So you can use that to buy a new iPhone, TWO older model iPhones, an iPod -- or put it towards the purchase of a new Macbook or other Apple accessories! How would you spend it? Take the poll at the upper left portion of this page.
