In a way, Apple may have underdelivered today and simply announced what everyone has known for several weeks already. A new iPhone. It was up to Jobs to turn a new phone into a great new phone, even if we had very little knowledge of the new features inside that pretty shell. We had a few hours to digest the news and are pretty convinced that not only is Apple to correct to say that this new phone represents a great leap. It will also be the most capable phone ever sold and it will be tough for anyone else to match it in the foreseeable time. Extra: Slideshow.

As ridiculous as it sounds, it is easy to predict long lines for this new iPhone when it hits store shelves on June 21, if there are many left after all those pre-orders are placed next week. It’s not because Apple has managed, despite our information of much higher manufacturing cost, to keep the price at $199/$299 for the 16 GB/32 GB models. Or because AT&T agreed to let you out of your existing contract 6 months early, if you’d like to upgrade (and subscribe to a substantially less attractive data plan.) It is because Apple is finding ways to keep the iPhone’s appeal of being unique and different with features that provide the owner with a sense of being special.

(16 Images)

This new iPhone 4 comes with a new, thinner design that uses its structure for its features (and integrates part of the antenna into the case), a much stronger battery that provides up to 7 hours of 3G talk or 10 hours of video playback, a truly stunning 3.5” 960×640 pixel (“retina”) display with a 800:1 contrast ratio and a 326 pixel per inch resolution, a 5 megapixel camera with low-light capability, 720p, 30 fps video recording, available iMovie software for the iPhone, and a 3-axis gyroscope that will enhance the iPhone’s appeal as a gaming console and now provides, in combination with the accelerometer, 6-axis motion sensing. The case features glass for scratch resistance (Apple has learned this one the hard way) and stainless steel that makes the device feel much more durable. And yes, inside the phone is Apple’s A4 processor.

There were countless other improvements in the software that are enabled through the new operating system, which is now called iOS4, the addition of Microsoft’s Bing search engine, iBooks for the iPhone.

If the iPhone’s most critical new hardware feature is its 326 ppi display, it is video calling on the software side. Apple seems to have finally found the horsepower and capability to add video calling to the device. But, at this time, it is not much more than a demo than a real feature. Video calling (called FaceTime) is only supported through WiFi, as Apple still has to work with the carriers to 3G. That might be a lot of work, actually.

Once gain, and at first look, Apple has delivered a stunning package of hardware and software that will be the benchmark for the smartphone industry and most certainly is a challenge for Google and its Android Armada. For 2010, it seems, this is may be the most attractive phone you can buy. There will be lines for this new phone on June 24 and many of us will not quite understand why you really would wait in line for a new cell phone that, realistically, will cost more than $2000 over a period of two years. But this phone may, in fact be the best gadget Apple has ever built and slight reality distortion on June 21 may be justified.

I wonder how Microsoft feels about its Kin phones, which admittedly target a different audience, but just feel like products from a different time.

Even if there was just the iPhone in this keynote, Apple showed off its capability to innovate in an impressive way today.

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.