WWDC 2009 Keynote LIVE: iPhone 3Gs
by John Paczkowski
Posted on June 8, 2009 at 12:13 PM PT
Schiller announces iPhone 3Gs. S is for speed. “This is a really fast iPhone.” Loads apps and Web sites very, very quickly. NYTimes.com loads more than 3x as fast. Schiller says its about 2x faster than the iPhone 3G. As expected, the device features a brand new 3 megapixel autofocus camera. Auto-focus. Auto-white balance. Auto-exposure. Tap-to-focus. Improved low-light sensitivity. Auto-macro. “The best thing about this camera is it also captures video.” 30 FPS VGA with audio. Auto-focus, etc. Quick demo of video shows that quality is impressive. Videos are stored alongside pix in the picture application. Edit and share videos with the tap of a finger. “And if my carrier supports it, I can even send these things via MMS,” Schiller quips in a poke at AT&T.
Also new in the 3Gs: Voice Control. Features a brand new UI that displays the commands you can use. Some examples: “Call John.” “Call 414.555.5555.” “Play Songs by The Who.” “Play more songs like this” (using Genius feature). Also on-board in the new device, a built-in digital compass that’s capable of orienting to the direction a user is heading.
Schiller rattling off new features. Improved security. Improved accessibility features. Improved battery life. 5 hours 3G talk time. 30 hours audio. “This is the fastest, most powerful iPhone yet,” says Schiller. Price? $199 for 16GB. $299 for 32GB. Both available in black and white. Apple (AAPL) will keep the current 8GB 3G on the market at $99. Lots of applause. That $99 3G is available TODAY. When will the 3Gs arrive at market? June 19 for initial launch and then a fast and massive roll-out to 80 countries.
Lights dim to view a new iPhone ad. Big selling point is clearly video. Schiller returns to the stage for the warp-up. Will there be a “one more thing?” Doesn’t look like it. Now thanking all the Apple teams involved in these new products. And … that’s all she wrote.
Check out our WWDC 2009 Full-Coverage special feature for more WWDC news.
