Finally, Apple answers call for iPhoneIn one of the most anticipated gadget announcements in recent years, Apple Computer at Macworld on Tuesday introduced the "iPhone," a mobile device that CEO Steve Jobs promised will reinvent the phone.
The iPhone also comes loaded with Apple's Safari Web browser and fully incorporates Google's search and mapping services. Users can make phone calls directly from Google Maps. Phone service in the U.S. will be provided exclusively by Cingular Wireless. True to form, the company did not fail to consider consumers' habits with the product's design. A proximity sensor senses when the phone is brought to a user's face and automatically turns off what music might be playing and turns on the phone. An "accelerometer" switches the screen from a portrait to landscape format, allowing for easy toggling between the device's various functions. The iPhone even reconsiders how consumers listen to voice mail. "Wouldn't it be great if you had six voice mails, and you didn't have to listen to five first before listening to the sixth?" Jobs said in his keynote. Now users can skip right to the message they want. The iPhone allows people to see all unheard voice mails and select which one to listen to using a technology Jobs called visual voice mail, which Apple developed with Cingular. Sticking points But Apple's iPhone isn't cheap, and some people who aren't on Cingular's network might be unable to switch without hefty penalties, said Samir Bhavnani, an analyst with Current Analysis. However, "it's a great first step" toward getting Apple established as a mobile-phone company, he said. While the price tag might be out of range for many teenagers and their parents, Apple loyalists will probably be interested in the new iPhone, even though Apple has no phone expertise, said Chris Crotty, a consumer electronics analyst at iSuppli. "Apple has strong brands, and there is a perception that they are an innovator and that they make products that are easy to use," he said. | ||||
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