After weeks of secrecy and speculation, Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs announced the release of the second generation of iPhone yesterday, with features including satellite navigation capabilities and quicker Internet through AT&T’s new 3G network. The announcement was made at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco.
At the newly opened Apple store on Boylston Street in Back Bay, several customers and employees checked blogs and the live audio feed from San Francisco for updates on Jobs’ speech.
“They don’t let us know anything early,” said one employee when asked if he’d heard what the company was going to announce.
Employees reported that customers were asking about the new iPhone throughout the day, though crowds were relatively light. Several customers stopped in as the San Francisco conference was going on to see if the new phone was in stock and about to go on sale.
“When it was done, I thought there might be a good chance they’d release it, because they do things like that,” said Erik Altman, who stopped into the store briefly. “My buddy and I were watching it at work, and I decided to come down and check it out, but no dice.”
The new phone will be available on July 11 and is being called the 3G iPhone. The new wireless technology is designed to significantly improve download time, up to 1.4 megabytes per second, according to a statement from AT&T. The phone will also feature increased storage for video and music.
“The proximity-based stuff is really cool, where you can see where other users are,” Altman said when talking about the features that excite him. “The social networking with proximity-based stuff is something that’s pretty new and cool and that not a lot of people are doing yet.”
Jobs admitted that cost was one reason why some buyers had shied away from the old model. The new iPhones will be significantly cheaper than the first generation. An 8 GB iPhone will sell for $199 and a 16 GB model will cost $299, each with two-year plans. AT&T will remain the exclusive service provider for the 3G iPhone.
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