Steve Jobs has unveiled the new iPhone 4, a thinner version of the company's popular smartphone. The new device features a sharper exterior made of glass and stainless steel and features a front-facing camera that allows for video calls when connected to a Wi-Fi network. The device is 24% thinner than its predecessor, the 3GS, and has a stronger battery.
The iPhone 4 will come in two models. A version with 16 gigabytes of storage will cost $199 and a version with 32 gigabytes of storage will cost $299. The device will be released in the U.S. and four other countries on June 24, and be available in 18 more countries in July.
"When you hold this in your hands, it's unbelievable," said Mr. Jobs, wearing his trademark black mock turtleneck and jeans. The introduction of the device was marred by a glitch with Mr. Jobs initially having difficulty getting web pages to load and causing the largely enthusiastic crowd to go silent. Apple CEO Steve Jobs used the new iPhone during his presentation Monday in San Francisco. "I'm afraid we have a problem and I'm not going to be able to show you much today," said Mr. Jobs, who tried switching devices and also asked the audience to disconnect from the Wi-Fi network, before managing to connect. Mr. Jobs showed the device at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference held in San Francisco.
The iPhone has become the primary driver of Apple's profit growth since its launch in June 2007. The CEO said Apple is adding Microsoft Corp.'s Bing search engine to the iPhone, although Google Inc. will remain the default option.
The newest generation of the iPhone has been the subject of intense speculation, particularly since technology blog Gizmodo purchased a prototype that was apparently lost by an Apple employee. Apple has pursued the case tirelessly, calling in authorities and demanding—and getting—the phone back.
Mr. Jobs joked about the incident, telling the audience "some of you may have already seen this" when he displayed the iPhone 4 for the first time. Mr. Jobs also said the App Store, which sells downloadable programs that run on the machine, now features 225,000 apps. He added that 15,000 apps are submitted each week and that 95% of them are approved in seven days, responding to criticism that the app approval process can be cumbersome. He said developers had made more than $1 billion selling Apple apps.
As for the iPad, Mr. Jobs said the company has sold more than 2 million iPad tablets world-wide since its launch, making it the company's fastest-selling new product and a potential leg of new growth for the consumer electronics giant. Mr. Jobs said more than 5 million books have been downloaded in the device's first 65 days. "We've seen tremendous interest from publishers," Mr. Jobs said.
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