iPhone 3G is finally official, starts at $199, available July 11th
By Paul Miller 
posted Jun 9th 2008 3:48PM
posted Jun 9th 2008 3:48PM
Battery life isn't getting put out to pasture though, with 300 hours of standby, 8-10 hours of 2G talk, 5 hours of 3G talk, 7 hours of video and 24 hours of audio. GPS is also a go. Apple is using A-GPS, which supplements regular satellite GPS data with info from cellular towers for faster location. (WiFi data is also worked into the mix, which should give users a pretty solid lock on where the heck they are on this planet.) Unfortunately, as expected there's no front-facing cam, and while its edges are thinner than before it's still about a millimeter thicker at the center (12.3mm over 11.6mm before). Apple hopes to launch in 70 countries this year, with the black 8GB going for $199 and 16GB for $299 in black or white. (Both price points require a contract, of course.) Apple will be hitting the 22 biggest markets, including the US, on July 11th. More info after the break.
Update: Just bought an iPhone? Listen up: "Customers who purchased a 2.5G iPhone on or after May 27 and want to swap it out for a new iPhone will be able to do so without incurring an additional handset charge for the new device. They will of course need to turn in their 2.5G iPhone." And for the rest of you, AT&T says there's no way to buy it without agreeing to a contract. So sorry. More details here.
We've got our hands-on impressions right here.
Get the full roundup of iPhone 3G coverage here!
Our full iPhone 3G review can be found here!
Other tidbits:
- It's a teensy bit thicker. 4.5 by 2.4 by 0.48 inches (115.5 by 62.1 by 12.3 mm), and weighs 4.7 ounces (133 grams).
- Radios galore: Wi-Fi (802.11b/g), UMTS / HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100MHz), GSM / EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900MHz), Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
- A SIM ejector comes in the box, at last. That would be a paper clip.
- There's no dock included, just a USB power adapter and dock connector.
- On AT&T unlimited iPhone 3G data plans for consumers will be available for $30 a month, on top of voice plans starting at $39.99 a month. Unlimited 3G data for business users will be $45 a month, on top of voice. There's a minimum two-year agreement, but we're not positive what that'll look like for those currently enslaved to an AT&T contract -- you could be looking at a solid four years of time if you just took the plunge.
- Apple's new MobileMe service will be coming with the iPhone 2.0 software, bringing push email and contacts for all.
- Apple's official page is here, and you can watch the new ad here.
- Available on July 11th in: Australia, Austria, Belgium (French), Belgium (Dutch), Canada (English), Canada (French), Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland (French), Switzerland (German), UK, USA
- The rest of these are slated to get the phone this year: Argentina, Botswana, Brazil, Cameroon, C. African Republic, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, India, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Macau, Madagascar, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Nicaragua, Niger, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Senegal, Singapore, Qatar, Slovakia, South Africa, Turkey, Uruguay.
- On the chatting front, developers will be able to ping a centralized push server with their apps, to keep down battery usage and app overload on phones.
- No mention has been made of MMS, video recording or built-in iChat. What gives, Apple?
- Yes, it's in the FCC.
whoooooooooooooooooo
There is a front facing camera just wait they will show it in a few min.
Wooooo and hooooo
So when's it out in the UK?
GPS, HSPDA, nice looking. WAAAUWW, where can I sign??
$199!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry this is unlike me, but I can't contain myself...
Is this with a contract?
No comparison to the Blackberry 8800 series? Come on, does it beat page load speeds or not?
jobs, you need a faster network and better devices to compare the iphone too.
Using my pre-launch HTC Diamond on Sprint, I just loaded the national geographic site in 9 secs!
Wow! So freaking awesome
holy hell that's NOT with a contract. this is going to sell like crazy. They better have a TON of them made and ready to be bought, because everyone and their dog is going to want one.
Uhm, what about the iPod touch, $199 for a 8gb iPhone but the iPod touch is still $299, shouldn't the touch now be less than the iPhone as it always has been?
...and Apple's stock continues to plummet. Why?
All I want to know is if there's 3.5G, A2DP and copy and paste. If it's a yes for all of these, my N95 8GB will have a new friend to play with.
Can I pre-order mine now Apple?
And I thought I had any chance of having a new iPhone today. How stupid I was.
JUST IN FROM THE DEV TEAM iPhone 3G has been unlocked already
No 32GB?! Don't tell me that they couldn't cram it in.
@ Gary
I was wondering the same thing. Makes the "Back-to-School" deal seem a little whack as well, though you can't apply that to an iPhone. If Apple wanted market saturation, /that/ would've been the way to go.
If the 3G iphone is already unlocked then I am going to sell my current iphone to someone who doesn't know about the new iphones on craigslist or ebay:)
CRAP! Same 2megapixel camera?
$199? AWESOME! That'll only cost £999999999 in the UK then!
The $199 is with a contract, go to http://www.apple.com/iphone/ and look at the * next to the $199 price. Its with a 2 year contract, I wonder what it would cost without contract or if you alrady have an Iphone from last year.
HTC Touch Pro FTW!
Isn't the 3G iPhone meant to be $199 maximum global price??
So therefore we in the UK will get it for a MAXIMUM £100?? :D...
Still not getting one... F*** you, Apple! The world hates you!!!
All the first iPhone version owners probably weeping right now.
The only thing thats keeping me from drooling is the lack of 32GB capacity. Do you guys think they will improve that in a month or two?
That "iPhone black" AT&T listing was so real!
does anybody know if existing iphone users will have to activate with a new contract? if there isn't, is there a way to activate through jailbreak? i would really hate to sell my iPhone and have to start a new contract with the 3G...
If the contract system works for the new iPhone like it did for the old one, all it does is reset your contract to two years. It does NOT add another 2 years on top of that, that would be nuts.
i am not a iphone fan but for $200 it is a great deal. i will be getting one. unless blackberry has a really good answer for this. i was going to wait on the android phone but I can not go wrong for $200 and it is 3G. great job apple. i can't believe i just said that.
@ManoloDF
What I meant, I know I wasn't clear, was if you already have a contract and you buy the phone, is it still the same price? Even if you already have a contract? And the answer is yes, you'll have to restart your two year agreement like with the last iPhone, but you won't get charged more(or "full price" as is the case with other phones) if you already have a contract, like they do with other phones. I hope this is clear.
So the full price of the phone is $199, that's not the incentive price to get you to sign a contract, that's the full price.
Where the heck is the A2DP?
It is amazing, all of the other smartphones don't stand a chance. The iPhone can't be beat. There will never be a better phone (until the new one of course).
Sparticus: Just checked these out on o2's site.
The 8GB is £99 on the £35 and the new £30 tariffs, free on £45 or £55.
16GB's £159 on £30 and £35, £59 on £45 - still free on £55.
(The £30 tariff is rubbish though! A quarter of the minutes and an eighth of the texts compared to £35. No point.)
It's even coming to pay-and-go - though, seeing as you have to have to pay full price for the phone anyway, it'll probably cost more.
So, turns out he wasn't joking - it really is no more than $199.
With all the specs, No MMS??
Does anyone knows if it has stereo bluetooth??????
Seriously guys, it's not a price drop, no matter how you figure.
The handset costs $200 less, right?
The contract fee went up $10 but lost the bundled text messaging, which normally costs $5.
Therefore, the increase, if you want the same service, is $15.
$15 times 24 months = $360.
So, you add $360 to the price, but then subtract $200.
You're still $160 behind!
Why are people so excited that it's cheaper? It isn't.
Let's say that you don't want the texting:
$10 times 24 months = $240.
$240 added to the price, $200 subtracted. You are STILL $40 behind!!!
No way, no how is this a price drop. It's clever advertising and false marketing.
Don't get me wrong, I'm an Apple fan to the core, but ATT is making fools of you.
its only for at&t? or does it allow you to have whatever carrier?
@ Gary
the iPod touch will be updated in september after the education rebate ends and most of the old stock is depleted
iPods are always updated in september....
The price drop isn't really a drop at all, just a mix around like many others have pointed out. My problem lies where is the price cut for iPod Touch? Its bullshit.
Is there a front facing camera?
Finally.
Took the words right out of my mouth.
It looks amazing!!
It looks just like the old one.
Technically, it's just a single word.
I don't see a 32GB model.
Available in these countries 11th July:
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Canada
Scandinavia
-Denmark
-Finland
-Sweden
-Norway
France
Germany
Hong Kong
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Portugal
Spain
Switzerland
UK
USA
@iomatic
Shut up.
Not Finally, we have to wait until the middle of July!
O sh!t son!
stocks will go up in 3 2 1...
So true. +4 within one page refresh. Let's see where this goes...
Or they'll go down, as in $5 down so far.
Just went up =] I'm godly
Thanks.
LMAO..yep. If you can already afford Apple stock, shoulda bought it.
Im just glad they finally got it out so we can move on to the next big Apple announcement: the iGamingConsole (dreaming i know lol)
Actually, the stock is taking a dive. Down $7.50 as of 3:00 PM (Eastern)
Yea, it just sink. full of failure.
what are you talking about you dumbass? the stock has dropped ~7.30 today just check any stock site........
Daytrading has taught me several things about the weirdness that is the stock market... hindsight is 20/20, but even the most logical of predictions can fall flat. And never, I mean never, buy on news.
I'm not an AAPL shareholder anymore. I closed out my position last month (@184) and put it all in AMD. Seems I made a good decision.
Apple could introduce World Peace and the stock price would drop. It happens every single keynote.
Paul, if you look at the graph closely it went up and took a dive... Open your eyes... thanks for the dumbass comment, dumbass.
Yeah, it seems like you made a good choice switching to AMD, those anti-trust against intel = $$$
That's the problem with selling hype. Everyone gets so whipped up with what "could" be that there's no way you could ever meet that expectation.
Really, the iPhone2 in the US is exactly what people feared: You get locked into a carrier contract for 2 years (and you can't exit your current one if you've already got one), it's finally caught up speed-wise with the addition of HSDPA in the few places ATT has rolled it out, but completely lacks the "OMG I've never seen that in a phone before!" appeal.
Will it "revolutionize" the phone industry? Not the way the first iPhone did. This is, like most Apple products of late, a minor upgrade of things that should have been there in the first place. Not surprising that the stock is going to fall.
Kids, you have much to learn. AAPL goes up before a keynote and down after. It's tradition. And it's pretty independent of what was announced.
If the keynote was fantastic, it will go down only a little. If it was disappointing, it will go down a lot.
Yup. Well done on catching up with the rest of the industry. Looks like their goign to allow subsidies too.
Yeah, it took them long enough. But I'm pretty much enjoying my JailBroken/Unlock iPhone. The 3G doesn't benefit me (T-Mobile customer), but I might try to sell this thing quick!
wow maybe the end of engadgets incessant updates on the iphone 3g!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
thats sexy
woooooooooooot
If is does not have an accelerometerit aint worth buying.
Seriously who wants a phone that is missing the accelerometer.
PICS OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN :D
BOOOOYAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Trying to be "first" with this placeholder ? :P Give us the deets!!
yes finally its here!
Im listening to the live audio... and all i hear is some guy typing thru the whole presentation.... hahaha
but im getting a little info.... he didnt even get to say 3G before the applause started....
I'm pumped!
Although now Jobs is talking about how fast the 3G network is compared to Edge and all I can think about is yeah...Why didn't you release the FIRST iPhone on the 3G network?!?!?
No kidding. Edge is a joke. Horrible, horrible, horrible, horrible.
Because they know all the phan buoys would buy TWO iphones as soon as the 3G version came out.
Profit, Duh! Screw the early adopters.
you called?
Can it do my laundry?
No. And your mom won't for long either so sell your zune and buy yourself a washing machine.
fail
I don't really get why you would wanna go from aluminum to plastic
I think more than anything it's just like "OMG it looks different!" Though I can't be the person to trivialize this moment because I really want one.
I don't get that either...
i read somewhere else it helps with reception
plastic = cheaper
Cheaper = more sales
And besides, wifi is best recieved in plastic casings than in aluminiun, but I must agree with you that I also prefered the 1ºgen Iphone, at least in the visual
that's coz metal interferes with mobile signals. that's you'll notice all new phones regardless of manufacturer are made ofplastic...
It's cheaper, of course.
Maybe they wanted decent reception with this model.
Wifi/3G + metal = BAD
Wifi/3G + plastic = GOOD
It's though you can become a cheap bastard like Steve Jobs. But when you think about it it is $200 cheaper. So I'll submit on this one.
The aluminum dented easily when you dropped it - so if it dented around/near a button the button would get stuck and you'd need a whole new phone.
Cheaper to produce, better grip, and some minimal built-in shock protection.
could have been to save money so that they could get that price down. If that $200 price tag turns out to be without a contract, then I'd say it's a worthy trade-off.
Holy shot 'captainpease', I wish I could bottle your bullshit and sell it. Better grip with glossy plastic? Think for yourself God dammit!!
Better signal reception? I've read that Macbooks have better WiFi range due to the aluminum in the Macbook Pro's blocking the signal.
I am an electrical engineer, just so you know.
The plastic is so they can put the antennas throughout the body of the phone. They had to have the plastic on the bottom of the iPhone so the antennas could get though. Metal forms a Faraday cage that blocks RF signals, such as those used by Cellular and GPS. The GPS and 3G antennas must have had to have been larger, so they needed more plastic, and so decided to make it all plastic.
For the same reason the Macbook gets better WiFi reception than the Macbook Pro: it's the metal case.
Weight.
Technically, it's called RF shielding. A Faraday cage is an enclosure of conducting material which creates an area devoid of EM radiation, by opposing the effect of an electric charge within it. Since the iPhone is only half metal casing, it's not a Faraday cage, but it is an RF shield.