Yes - the WWDC started 17 hours and a lot has happened. We're sure you've read many many stories about it, and have been excited by what is to come. iPhone in Australia has reached thousands of pageviews in the last 24 hours, and we're very aware (thanks to those who have e-mailed us) that the site has a lot to cover. So let's get into it.
The 2008 WWDC Keynote
Watch Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveil iPhone 3G, the App Store, MobileMe, and more in his Worldwide Developers Conference keynote address from San Francisco's Moscone West here.
The 3G iPhone
The phone features a black plastic back, solid metal buttons, the same 3.5-inch LCD display, and a headphone jack mounted flush with the enclosure (which should make third-party headphone vendors happy).
With GPS, the iPhone can be tracked across a Google map as a pulsating blue dot. The iPhone can still derive location data from cell phone towers and WiFi networks.
In terms of battery life, the iPhone 3G offers five hours of 3G talk time, 5 - 6 hours of browsing time, seven hours of video time, or 300 hours of standby time.
- 3G-capable. 2.8 times faster than EDGE.
- Simultaneous voice and data conections
- Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync
- GPS built-in [ TomTom already in business. ]
- Better battery life - 300 hours of standby, Talk-time 10 hours (as opposed to 5) on 2G networks, 5 hours of 3G talk-time (competition is 3 hour 3G talk time), 5 to 6 hours of high-speed browsing, 7 hours of video, 24 hours of audio
- Flush headphone jack
Where to buy?
Read about where to buy an iPhone in Australia here. Also, there will be no in-home activation for iPhone 3G - it will have to be activated in store (at Optus/Vodafone or Apple Store), which takes 10-12 minutes, meaning that first day line is going to be very very long. And you will have to camp out, since there won't be any online ordering at launch.
Cost?
The iPhone 3G will start USD$199 for an 8GB model. The 16GB model will sell for USD$299, and is available also in white backing. It will be available in all countries starting July 11. We've received from an anonymous source that Vodafone will be selling the iPhone outright for $699AUD.
MobileMe
As rumored, Apple has announced MobileMe, described by Apple Vice President for product marketing Phil Schiller as "Exchange for the rest of us."
Features
- Push Email, calendar, and contacts
- Synchronization between iPhone, Mac and PC (Outlook for Windows integration)
- "Desktop-like" Web Applications for Mail, Contacts, Calendar, photo gallery, and iDisk online storage available via me.com.
MobileMe replaces .Mac and will be available in early July for AUD$119/year, with a 60 day free trial available.
Apple Australia insiders have confirmed that the new Apple 3G iPhone will be sold on plan by carriers in Australia with Optus and Vodaphone confirming with Apple that the plans will range between $39 and $95 per month.
We have also been able to confirm that the new Apple store which is set to opened on the 19th of June 2008 by Apple CEO Steve Jobs will sell the new Apple 3G iPhone however they will not be offering a communications plan, instead consumers will have to pay in full for a new iPhone which will be configured to deliver one of three new 3G services from Telstra, Optus or Vodafone. Consumers not on these networks will have to switch to one of these carriers to get the full 3G benefits the networks are delivering.
On Monday, Tuesday morning in Australia, Apple CEO Steve Jobs is expected to reveal the new iPhone with shipments already supplied to phone carriers in the USA it is also expected that the iPhone will go on sale in the US on the same day and on the 19th if not earlier in Australia.
APPLE has completed the construction of its big Sydney retail store, with the doors to open to the public in just over a fortnight.
Located on the corner of George and King streets, the store would be handed over to Apple by the construction company at the end of the week, an on-site source confirmed.
Apple will spend the next couple of weeks cleaning out, fitting and stocking the space in preparation for the launch, which is understood to be on Thursday, June 19, which should roughly coincide with the advent of the 3G network capable iPhone.
It will be Apple's first retail presence in the southern hemisphere and last week it began to bait tech shoppers walking by the Sydney CBD store with a three-storey high "coming soon" sign. According to designs filed with the Sydney City Council last year, the store will be spread across three levels, each with a floor space of about 445sqm.
The plans also show that Apple will suspend a large white Apple logo inside a transparent glass facade at the store's George Street entrance.
A spokeswoman for the notoriously secretive company refused to confirm the handover was taking place or when the store would open.
The launch will provide Apple with a local presence to capitalise on any announcements that emerge from its Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco, which runs from June 9-13.
We know - Waiting is the hardest part. You want facts, not rumours.
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Look closely underneath the red veil - something familiar?
Gizmodo US says a source ‘very, very close to’ Apple confirms what we’re all already expecting. What’s that? The 3G iPhone, available to buy, worldwide, bang on June 9 – right after the launch.
With just over two weeks to go before Steve Jobs strides upon the stage at the Moscone Convention Center for his WWDC keynote speech where he is expected to unveil the iPhone 2, aka the 3G iPhone, the big question has been: when will the 3G iPhone actually go on sale?
Although some have predicted it might not arrive until later in the year, the unavailability of the iPhone from the US Apple store truly signals only one thing: the 3G iPhone will go on sale from June 9 in the US, or so says Gizmodo US, which for countries like Australia means June 10 thanks to time zone differences.
One reason for sales to happen immediately, aside from the fact everyone’s busting to see what it looks like and either upgrade to the 3G goodness or finally buy one because it has reached version 2.0 at last is so that Apple can book massive day one sales in the second quarter to make up for the fact first-generation iPhones have been ‘unavailable’.
