News, Articles & Reviews

The new devices were launched by Apple boss Steve Jobs who said the phone would be "more affordable" for consumers, starting at $199 (£100).

The new iPhone also comes with GPS satellite navigation built in for location-based services.

Apple has sold more than six million iPhones since the device debuted in the US in June last year and the firm says it is on course to sell 10m iPhones by the end of 2008.

Mr Jobs said the cost of the original iPhone was the "number one reason" that people had not bought one of the devices.

Mr Jobs said "The iPhone started at $599. It now sells at $399; We want to make it even more affordable."

The cheapest 8GB iPhone 3G will sell for $199, while a second model with 16GB of storage will sell for $299.

Mr Jobs pledged that the $199 price would be the same across many countries. The new iPhones will be launched on 11 July in 22 countries, including the UK.

Reaction to the new 3G iPhone from developers and media at the conference in San Francisco was broadly positive, said BBC technology reporter Maggie Shiels.

Henry Kannapek told BBC News that the $199 price tag would be hard to resist when the phone hit the shops.

"It's tremendous. It's an incredible price. It's the best mobile device I have ever seen. I've got some cheap cell phones and I want to buy one of these."

Source