Apple has confirmed that it will release its long-awaited iPhone on June 29 in the US.

In a series of ads aired on 60 Minutes in the US last night, the California-based company revealed the launch date, ending months of speculation about when one of the most anticipated products would come to market.

The device, which combines the functions of phone, media player and PDA, will sell in two versions - costing $499 and $599 respectively - depending on the memory capacity, and be available only on one network, AT&T.

No advice was given about when iPhone would be released in Europe.

The ads show a user demonstrating the phone's most innovative features, in particular the touchscreen, which will used to turn the phone on in a sliding motion, and scroll through the owner's music collection and e-mail.

At one point the owner interrupts watching Pirates of the Caribbean because he fancies eating calamari, and uses Google Maps to track down a seafood restaurant in San Fransisco, which he then rings, all in a series of seamless gestures.

The three ads end with the Hollywood-esque lines: "Only on the new AT&T" and "Coming June 29".

Since Apple released details of the product at a conference in San Fransisco in January, the iPhone has been the subject of feverish hype, but some analysts remained sceptical, pointing out that it was not the only smartphone to use a touchscreen, and that it had the potential to cannibalise the iPod market

The network it used was not 3G, which would reduce the speed of certain functions, they said, and it remained to be seen to what extent Apple would open up the iPhone platform to developers wanting to write new applications.

"If you look at smartphones, one of the things that broadens their appeal the most is an open platform so that new features can be added," Paul O'Donovan, an analyst with Gartner said.

"By far the most important new feature in phones in the next little while will be location-based services using GPS, but I doubt Apple has the capacity to do that in-house."

When he introduced the iPhone in January, Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive, seemed reluctant to allow outside developers create software for the device, but at a conference last week he appeared to have changed his mind, saying that the company was looking for ways to work with outside parties.

Apple has said it wants to capture 1 per cent of the phone market with the device, and has set a goal of selling 10 million iPhones by the end of next year - a target many analysts think will be easily reached.

News reports from Asia suggest that the company has recently placed an order for 5 million more iPhones with Quanta, the Taiwanese laptop manufacturer, to begin shipping in September.

The initial contract to make the iPhone was reportedly won by Hon Hai, another Taipai-based manufacturer.

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