iPhone 3GS
Saving the best 'till last, Apple closed the show by unveiling its new-and-improved iPhone, the iPhone 3GS. Dubbed as "the fastest, most powerful iPhone yet", the iPhone 3GS promises performance up to two times quicker than the erstwhile iPhone 3G, whilst managing to squeeze out improved battery life.
The iPhone 3GS will sport the iPhone OS 3.0 announced in March 2009, and bring with it long-awaited functionality such as cut, copy and paste. Bringing the handset up to speed, Apple also added that MMS messaging will be supported - although AT&T customers will be left waiting until "late summer" and Apple warns that "MMS may not be available in all areas".
Delving deeper into iPhone OS 3.0, Apple also revealed its Find My iPhone functionality - a software tool that via the MobileMe website can track the location of a user's iPhone. Should a handset be lost, users will be able to remotely wipe their handset of important data if need be.
On top of the new software, the iPhone 3GS also introduces a number of new hardware enhancements. The handset will feature a new 3 megapixel camera that's equipped with auto focus, tap to focus, and the ability to capture video - a first on iPhone handsets.
Elsewhere, Apple's added voice control to allow for vocal access to popular applications including iTunes, and a built-in digital compass is used to integrated with mapping applications to automatically orients any map to the direction you are facing.
After a lengthy showing of upcoming applications - including a turn-by-turn TomTom app, and a number of demos which failed to work - Apple finally turned to pricing. Here's the good bit: the iPhone 3GS will be introduced in larger 16GB and 32GB capacities, priced at $199 and $299 US, respectively. They'll be available with a choice of black or white finishes, but the real news, we reckon, is that the standard black 8GB iPhone 3G is now being offered at a lower-than-ever cost of just $99.
