Jobs touted the big success of the iPad. He said Apple sells one iPad every three seconds and has sold more than two million in ten countries. By July, Jobs said, iPad will be in 19 countries.
At 1:31 p.m., half an hour into the speech, Jobs said the new iPhone ($199 for 16 GB or $299 for 32 GB with two-year contract from AT&T beginning June 24) would be the biggest jump in technology since the original phone came out. The new model, he said, would come in black or white and have 100 new features (although there was a technical glitch trying to get the New York Times to load).
One of the new features is video conferencing.
The new iPhone shown was glass on the front and back with stainless steel running up the sides. It is 24 percent thinner than the current version. It has a front-facing camera and another camera with LED flash on the back. It will allow users to multi-task, or run more than one application at once. Jobs promises that multi-tasking won't run down the battery as it does on some other phones with the feature.
It is the same size as the current iPhone, 3.5 inches long, but has 960 by 640 resolution, near Hi-Def, and a contrast ratio four times better than the current model. Jobs said the new iPhone has 78 percent of the pixels of the iPad, "right in the palm of your head."
Jobs said a new technology, which he called "retina density" dramatically improves the screen quality, delivering up to four times as many pixels in the same space as the current iPhone. Jobs said the display delivers about double pixels per inch, or PPI, of the current phone (326 compared to 163).
"In person," Jobs said, "it is one of the most beautiful designs you've ever seen. Beyond a doubt one of the most beautiful and precise things we've ever made."
The new iPhone has a bigger battery that will allow 40 percent more talk time. Users will get seven hours of talk, six hours of 3G web browsing, 10 hours of WiFi browsing, 10 hours of video watching, 40 hours of listening to music and 300 hours of standby.
Other new items
-- AT&T customers will get up to six months of early eligibility for the phone. The current iPhone 3GS will drop to $99. Customers can begin pre-ordering June 15.
-- The new iPhone supports wireless N for faster WiFi. And it has a gyroscope built in, which will help with orientation on the device, especially while using gaming apps.
-- Videoconferencing can be done between any two new iPhones using WiFi networks. Apple is calling it "FaceTime" Jobs said "we need to work with cellular providers" (plural) and it would be WiFi only for 2010. You can videoconference with front or rear facing cameras and can switch on the fly to show your caller what you are looking at.
-- Jobs said the iPhone's camera is five megapixels with a backside illuminated sensor to help with taking photos in low light. It has 5x digital zoom with tap to focus and an LED flash. The camera also records HD video at 720p and the iPhone will edit the video on the device using Apple's popular iMovie technology. iMovie will be a $4.99 app.
The LED flash can stay on during video recording and there's a one touch share button. You can export video in 360p, 520p and 720p
-- The new operating system, so far known as iPhone OS4 will be called iOS4. It has the aforementioned multi-tasking, folders, much deeper enterprise integration for corporate email. Google is the default search engine, but Bing is available as well as Yahoo.
-- iBooks is coming to iPhone with iOS4. You can download a book and share it among iPod Touch, iPad and iPhone. iBooks will automatically and wirelessly sync your place, bookmarks, and all notes. There will be no charge.
-- Mail on iPhone will come in one unified screen, allowing you to view multiple email accounts in one view.
-- iBooks on iPad will allow users to open and read pdf files inside the application. Users will also be able to make notes inside the book app. The notes will look like Post-Its. A new bookmark feature is also coming.
-- The popular iPad Netflix app is coming to iPhone, allowing users who subscribe to the video rental service to access movies on the fly. Expect the app this summer. Users will be able to start a film on the home computer, Xbox 360, iPad or iPhone and pick it up on another device. The iPhone app will have full functionality, including "search" and "recommendations." It wasn't made clear if the iPhone version would only work via WiFi or also over 3G.
-- iOS4 free upgrades will be available for iPod Touch, 3GS iPhone and 3G iPhone June 21, though the 3G and some Touches will not support all the new features.
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