Jobs unveils iPhone 3G

10-06-2008

by Bryan Collins

Apple revealed the new 3G iPhone in San Francisco on Monday and the device will go on sale in Ireland for as little as EUR49 on O2 from 11 July.

As was widely expected, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs announced the 3G version of the iPhone at the company's annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. The handset is going to be made available in 22 countries within a month and a further 70 by the end of the year.

"We're excited to continue working with O2 to offer the revolutionary iPhone 3G to UK and Irish customers," said Tim Cook, Apple's chief operating office. "iPhone 3G is an amazing product and we think customers in the UK and Ireland will love it as much as we do."

In Ireland customers will be able to buy an 8GB or 16GB version of the device from O2 on three different tariffs. The 8GB 3G iPhone 3G will cost EUR49 on the EUR100 monthly iPhone tariff, EUR99 on the EUR65 tariff and EUR169 on the EUR45 tariff. The 16GB iPhone 3G will cost EUR129 on the EUR100 monthly tariff option, EUR169 on the EUR65 tariff and EUR229 on the EUR45 tariff. These tariffs also include anytime minutes, texts and a 1GB data bundle.

Existing iPhone customers will be able to upgrade to the new device and O2's iPhone prices are also being made available to non-iPhone O2 customers eligible for an upgrade.

The iPhone has a range of new features including 3G connection speeds, the much-rumoured GPS location tracking and support for enterprise features like Microsoft Exchange. The new iPhone, which doesn't look a whole lot different to the current model, also works on a new operating system -- iPhone OS 2 -- is thinner than its predecessor and, Apple claims, has a better battery life.

"The iPhone has already proved to be an extremely popular device with O2 Ireland customers since its launch in March and we anticipate a similar response to iPhone 3G. iPhone is changing the way people use their mobiles forever," said Danuta Gray, CEO of O2 Ireland.

Apple also stepped up its push of the iPhone on developers with the announcement of the App Store. This will feature downloadable applications from Apple and other developers in a range of categories including games, business, education, entertainment, finance and social networking. It follows on the March release of the iPhone Software Development Kit, which allows developers to create applications for the phone.

However, the new version of the iPhone still lacks several features that similar devices have. The 3G iPhone has no FM radio and does not support video recording, video calls or MMS. And those who use their phone to take pictures will be disappointed to hear the iPhone's 2 megapixel camera is not getting an upgrade.

The cheaper iPhone price point is perhaps an indication of the increasing competition in the smartphone market. Apple rivals RIM, HTC and Nokia are all in the middle of releasing new versions of their devices.

In a separate announcement, Wi-Fi service provider Bitbuzz has agreed to provide O2's iPhone customers with free access to Bitbuzz Wi-Fi hotspots throughout the country. The two-year deal covers the provision of Wi-Fi internet access at 155 Bitbuzz locations in the Republic and Northern Ireland.