Apple unveil new iPhone S; lower price of iPhone 3G

Well the rumours were almost correct – Apple have indeed unveiled a new range of iPhones – called the iPhone ‘S’ (for speed, apparently). Plus the existing iPhone 3G is down to $99 with immediate effect. However, there were a few more surprises..

The new version 3.0 of the firmware will also bring internet tethering and MMS to all iPhone users. But what about the new models?

As mentioned earlier on, the ‘S’ stands for speed – Apple claim overall speed improvements will be around 2-3x the current model. Whilst they declined to discuss exact processor specifications, the new iPhones will feature OpenGL ES, and the radio modules are ready for 7.2Mbit/s HSDPA – which is obviously operator dependent.

Aside from speed improvements, the S sports a 3 megapixel camera, video support at 30 frames per second, and a new rather nifty voice control feature. Let’s hope it works better than RIM’s BlackBerry voice control – which seems to be very easily accessible in your pocket or handbag (how many times have you heard ‘Say a command’ in a robotic American accent come sauntering out of random places?).

As predicted, the Iphone S (as we now know it) will come in 16GB and 32GB models, and in a choice of colours – as long as it’s either black or white. In addition, battery life is dramatically improved – figures quoted by Apple are ten hours of video playback, 30 hours of audio playback, nine hours of Wi-Fi usage, and a standby of up to 300 hours. Talk time is a rather respectable up to five hours on 3G or up to 12 hours on 2G.

So when can you get yours hands on an iPhone 3G S – and more importantly, how much will it set you back? June 19th is the date you need to mark in your diary if you’re in the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK. US prices are $199 for the 16GB version and $299 for the 32GB version. Not in any of those countries? Expect the new son-of-jesus-phone range by 9th August.

UPDATE: O2 UK prices are here.