In one of the most anticipated gadget announcements in recent years, Apple Computer at Macworld on Tuesday introduced the "iPhone," a mobile device that CEO Steve Jobs promised will reinvent the phone.
The Mac OS X-based iPhone is most akin to an iPod in design, but allows users to listen to music, make phone calls, send text messages and e-mail, surf the Web, and take and upload photos, all using a wide touchscreen and a single button. Apple plans to make the device available in the United States in June, with a 4GB model going for US$499 with a two-year service contract, and an 8GB model with the same contract for US$599.
The iPhone was announced during a two-hour keynote in which Jobs also announced the expected Apple TV, previously known by its code name "iTV," as well as a name change for the company.
He surprised many by continuing to refer to the new mobile device as the iPhone, a trademark that is owned by Cisco Systems. Apple has apparently been in discussions with Cisco over use of the iPhone trademark for some time, but it is unclear what Apple's use of the name will mean for either company.
In a written response to an inquiry from CNET News.com made while Jobs' speech was still going on, a Cisco representative said, "It is our belief that with their announcement today, Apple intends to agree to the final document and public statements that were distributed to them last night." Cisco expects to receive a signed agreement Tuesday, according to the statement.
The device is 11.6 millimeters thick--thinner than the Motorola Q and Samsung's BlackJack--and has controls on its side. It incorporates a wide, 160-pixel-per-inch touchscreen, a single "home" button, 2-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi capability and cellular service. The phone automatically switches from a cellular network to Wi-Fi if it detects a signal.
The iPhone also comes loaded with Apple's Safari Web browser and fully incorporates Google's search and mapping services. Users can make phone calls directly from Google Maps. Phone service in the U.S. will be provided exclusively by Cingular Wireless.
True to form, the company did not fail to consider consumers' habits with the product's design. A proximity sensor senses when the phone is brought to a user's face and automatically turns off what music might be playing and turns on the phone. An "accelerometer" switches the screen from a portrait to landscape format, allowing for easy toggling between the device's various functions.
The iPhone even reconsiders how consumers listen to voice mail.
"Wouldn't it be great if you had six voice mails, and you didn't have to listen to five first before listening to the sixth?" Jobs said in his keynote.
Now users can skip right to the message they want. The iPhone allows people to see all unheard voice mails and select which one to listen to using a technology Jobs called visual voice mail, which Apple developed with Cingular.
Sticking points
But Apple's iPhone isn't cheap, and some people who aren't on Cingular's network might be unable to switch without hefty penalties, said Samir Bhavnani, an analyst with Current Analysis. However, "it's a great first step" getting Apple established as a mobile phone company, he said.
The last time Apple introduced a product with this kind of hype--that little box known as the iPod--it was also pretty expensive, said Tim Bajarin, an analyst with Creative Strategies. But that became cheaper over time as storage costs decreased and Apple became more efficient, and Bajarin expects to see something similar with the iPhone.
The most visible difference between the iPhone and its competitors in the smart phone market is the lack of an integrated keyboard. Apple chose to use its "multitouch" touch-screen technology in lieu of a keyboard, in part because once you put a keyboard on a mobile phone, it's there forever and hard to change the buttons to work with different applications, he said.
But with fingers all over the iPhone, that widescreen display could get smudged pretty quickly. Apple did not make executives or designers available to answer questions about the particular type of screen used on the iPhone, but Bajarin believes that the company thought about this problem in advance and is using a surface that is smudge and scratch resistant and easy to clean, he said.
Macworld attendees interviewed after watching a demonstration of the iPhone on the show floor didn't seem too worried about fingerprints or bank accounts. "When the function is so great, it doesn't matter. I'd rather just wipe fingerprints off (the iPhone)," rather than settle for a more conventional design, said Claire Fontana, ogling the iPhone in Apple's booth on the show floor.
Compared to other smart phones on the market, the iPhone isn't much more expensive, said Sam Ely, another Macworld attendee. "It's kind of steep, but it will come down."
Meanwhile, back in the living room...
Jobs also used his keynote to announce the Apple TV, a home networking device that he first mentioned at a product showcase in September 2006. The device lets users stream content from up to five computers, and "autosync" from one computer.
Jobs said that through using iTunes and the iPod, people are already familiar with syncing data, and the Apple TV will be updated in much the same way.
The US$299 Intel-based device will have 720p high-definition video and a 40GB hard drive to store up to 50 hours of video. It will use 802.11n, the new draft Wi-Fi standard. Apple will begin taking orders Tuesday and start shipping the product in February.
Finally, Jobs announced that the company is changing its name.
"Today," Jobs said, "we've added to the Mac and the iPod; we've added Apple TV, and now iPhone. And the Mac is the only one you think of as a computer." To combat that, Jobs said, "we are announcing today that we are dropping the 'Computer' from our name, and we will be known as Apple Inc."
Over the years, the company's name has stirred up legal trouble. Apple Corps, the record label launched by the Beatles, filed suit against the company in 2003 claiming it infringed on a years-long agreement that Apple Computer could keep its name so long as it didn't enter the music business.
The computer maker's iTunes music store infringed on that agreement, according to the record label. But in May of 2006, a U.K. judge ruled in favor of Apple Computer.
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