Apple iPhone to Be Released on June 29

The tech world is filled with the news about the upcoming release of the Apple iPhone. The buzz started after TV commercials broadcasted last Sunday night announced that the Apple iPhone will be available on June 29.

Last week, there was a an email purportedly from Apple saying that the release of the Apple iPhone will be delayed. Apple was quick to state that the email was a hoax.

The all-in-one cell phone, media player and internet surfing device will sell for $499 to $599, depending on whether the memory will be 4GB or 8GB, and will be exclusively distributed under AT&T wireless' division.

AT&T will have exclusive rights to sell the iPhone for two years. The TV ads showed off the phone's features like its large touchscreen display, its ability to play videos and music, and display photos.

The Apple iPhone has a multi-touch technology which can differentiate and react to two fingers touching it at the same time. This technology isn't available to most PDA phones in the market. Typically, touchscreen displays cannot handle more than one input at the same time. The iPhone will have a 3.5 inch display, a 2 megapixel camera, an iPod dock, as well as a headset and audio jacks, and will weigh around 5 ounces.

The Apple iPhone will function on a quad-band GSM network and will support Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Edge for its data transmission.

Even before its release, the Apple iPhone is already drawing some critics, stating that the iPhone's high price will probably discourage some buyers. They also noted the iPhone's use of GSM technology which is currently being phased out by 3G networks that can deliver data much faster.

The iPhone will be running Apple Mac's OSX operating system and Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO, previously announced that they are currently working on a way to allow developers access to the phone, which means that consumers will have to wait for applications to be developed that will be compatible for the iPhone's operating system. Most mobile phones today are running the Symbian operating system.

The Apple iPhone was first unveiled last January 10 at the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco when Steve Jobs delivered his keynote speech. This announcement finally ended speculations about the iPhone's release date. Apple also plans to sell the iPhone in Europe and Japan although no specific release date has yet been announced.

You can view Apple's TV commercials at their website: http://www.apple.com/iphone/ads/.

SOURCES:
Martyn Williams, "Apple's iPhone coming on June 29." InfoWorld. URL: (http://news.yahoo.com/s/infoworld/20070604/tc_infoworld/89053;_ylt=AjD5mllosVermNr.zbcevl4jtBAF)

Scott Hillis, "Apple says iPhone to go on sale June 29" Reuters. URL: (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070604/tc_nm/apple_iphone_dc;_ylt=Ajs3KqID3sMWsju3ZmcJImUjtBAF)