Apple today introduced the long-awaited second-generation iPhone, dubbed the iPhone 3G. The new phone features a glossy, full-plastic rear casing, which is thinner on the sides than the current version, metal buttons, and a flush headphone jack.
As expected, the iPhone 3G retains the 3.5-inch touch screen of the original, and adds support for 3G wireless networking (tri-band HSDPA), as well as assisted GPS. According to Apple, the iPhone 3G offers 300 hours of standby time, 10 hours of 2G talk time, 5 hours of 3G talk time “versus 3-3.5 on competing products,” 5-6 hours of high-speed web browsing, 7 hours of video playback, and 24 hours of audio playback.
The new iPhone 3G will be available in 70 countries later this year, beginning with customer availability in 22 countries—Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and the US—on July 11. It will sell for $199 for the 8GB model (black only) and $299 for the 16GB model (available in black or white).
