Blog: iPhone 3G S - the verdict

Apple has unveiled a speedier version of the iPhone, featuring a better camera and video capabilities and dropped its price for the current version.

In a bid to grab more market share and appeal to consumers in the recession, the company also showed off new MacBook Pro laptops with longer battery lives, faster processors and lower prices.

Thousands of customers and developers gathered for the annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco, which the company traditionally uses to launch a range of new products and software.

Apple has sold more than 21 million iPhones in more than 80 countries since it was launched in 2007. It had about 10 per cent share of the worldwide smartphone market in the first quarter of this year, according to the research company Gartner. Its App Store has seen more than 1 billion downloads since its launch nine months ago.

The new iPhone 3G S - the S stands for Speed - will be available in the UK from June 19, will have up to 32GB of memory and boasts voice control, a digital compass, and improved battery life. Prices in the US will be $199 for the 16GB version and $299 for the 32GB version. The UK prices are not yet available.

The iPhone 3G, launched last year, will be available immediately for $99 for the 8GB version only.

“iPhone 3G S is the fastest, most powerful iPhone yet and we think people will love the incredible new features including autofocus camera, video recording and the freedom of voice control,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of product marketing.

The updated handset is a smaller step up than previous releases and give the new iPhone 3G S the sort of camera and video features that many other smartphones already possess. The new 3 megapixel autofocus camera includes an automatic macro focus for extra close up shots and a “tap to focus” feature which tells the camera to automatically re-adjust focus and exposure on a new area of interest.

The video mode allows users to record clips which can be edited and then shared by email or MMS, if the carrier allows, or posted to YouTube.

The keynote speech given by Mr Schiller was greeted enthusiastically by the crowd of developers but there was no appearance by CEO Steve Jobs to whip the crowd into a frenzy. Mr Jobs, a pancreatic cancer survivor, announced a six-month leave of absence in January by saying his health problems were more complex than previously thought. He is on track to take up his post again at the end of this month, Apple has said.

Apple also previewed its new "Snow Leopard" Mac operating system software. Snow Leopard will be released in September and cost $29 for current Mac users. UK prices are not yet available. The launch will be a few weeks before Microsoft releases its new version of the Windows operating system, used on 90 per cent of the world’s personal computers. Windows 7 will go on sale on October 22, Microsoft said this week.

Snow Leopard parks its tanks on Microsoft's lawn by including support for Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, which is typically used by their work computer network, right into Mac OS X Mail, Address Book and iCal. Business users will be able to use these applications to send and receive work email, create and respond to meeting invitations, and search and manage contacts with global address lists.

Apple also previewed the iPhone 3.0 operating system for the handset. The new iPhone OS will also be available from June 17 and will be free for all iPhone owners. iPod Touch users will have to pay £5.99 to update.

As expected the iPhone OS 3.0 software includes cut, copy and paste, a new search function across all the phone's features and applications and expanded parental controls.

Probably the most popular new function for the crowd was a new "Find My iPhone" feature that allows users of Apple's MobileMe web service to locate a lost iPhone on a map, send a message that will appear on the screen or play a sound to help find it even if the phone is set to silent. If the user cannot find the handset, all data and content can be erased with a new remote wipe feature.

iPhone 3.0 also introduces a micropayment system, in the form of in-app purchasing, which will allow developers - and Apple to make even more money from the platform. For instance video game makers wil be able to sell players extra levels, weapons or characters from within the game.

The chief challenger to the IPhone in the US this summer will be the Palm Pre smartphone, which is expected to come to the UK later this year. The Pre, which has received glowing reviews this week, has a touchscreen and a keyboard.

Apple updated the aluminium unibody MacBook Pro line to include 13-inch, 15-inch and 17-inch models featuring up to 40 per cent longer battery life. The range now starts at £899, cutting prices by up to £100 per model.

Apple also released Safari 4, its new web browser for Mac and Windows PC users. It said it was the faster than rivals inlcuding Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8 and Google's Chrome.

Explore Personal Tech

• InGear