Apple Announces iPhone 3G: Twice As Fast, Starts At $200

As expected, Apple announced iPhone 3G earlier today. It’ll be available on July 11 and will come with 3G and built-in GPS. Prices: $199 for the 8GB model, $299 for the 16GB. Thing is, unlike last year’s model, you need to sign a two-year contract with AT&T to buy iPhone 3G. So it both is and isn’t a price cut, if that makes any sense.

You can’t really call the announcement a disappointment since 3G is what “everyone” wanted the new iPhone to have. But that’s it. The GPS addition is welcome, but the phone itself looks to be exactly like the one you have now. (Apple hasn’t released the internal specs yet, so this is mere speculation.) Anyone expecting “one more thing” or some sort of surprise will be a little let down.
Current iPhone owners also got some love today. Apple has released software version 2.0 for the current iPhone. It’s free for iPhone owners, while iPod touch owners will have to pay $10. It lets users browse and buy applications right from the iPhone. Games, eBay, mobile social networking, etc. Long term, that’s probably the most interesting development coming out of today’s news.
One more thing: AT&T raised the per-month price of an iPhone contract. An unlimited data plan now costs $30 per month; last year’s iPhone cost $20 a month. That extra $10 could be to cover the cost of AT&T having to roll out its 3G network. (It had to upgrade its service to accommodate the new 3G network.)
So yeah, that’s it. New iPhone that’s about three times as fast as the old one, and with GPS. And if July 11 is as hot as today is, there’s no chance in hell you’ll find us on line waiting to buy. We’ll let the UPS guy bring it to our doorstep.
Apple Unveils a Faster, Cheaper iPhone [New York Times]
iPhone info [Apple]