Jobs announces the mighty iPhone

Steve Jobs kicked off the MacWorld expo with a bang, introducing the "iPhone" device.

The specs of the device, rumored to be on the horizon throughout 2006, exceeded even the wildest of speculations. The iPhones features widescreen video, a unique touchscreen-only interface, and full WiFi Internet capabilities.

"This is a day I have been looking forward to for two and a half years," the Apple co-founder and CEO said.

"We have re-invented the phone."

The iPhone will feature a 3.5 inch 320x480 pixel display that automatically switches to widescreen mode when the device is turned on its side, and quad band GSM and EDGE capabilities.

It also has a 2 megapixel camera, proximity and ambient light sensors, and a 30-pin iPod connector. The touch-screen reacts to multiple finger gestures, allowing for slash and scroll gestures.

However, Jobs said that the "killer app" in the iPhone was its software. The mobile device will feature a full version of MacOS X.

"It's not the crippled stuff you find on most phones, this is real desktop-class software," he said.

That software includes the same music and video-playing features of the iPod, a photo viewer, Google maps, Safari Web browser, IMAP and POP3 email access, as well as address book and Apple widget mini-apps such as calendar and weather reports.

Jobs showcased the abilities of the iPhone in a number of live demos that included pulling up a full-html version of the New York Times website, watching iTunes video files, and even using Google maps to look-up and prank call the nearest Starbucks (Jobs asked for 4,000 lattes.)

The device will retail in two models: a 4GB model for US$499, and an 8GB model for US$599.

The iPhone will ship to the US in June through service provider Cingular. The phone will be available at Apple and Cingular stores.

Availablity in Europe is set for the 4th quarter of 2007, said Jobs. He did not specify which company would provide service for the iPhone in Europe.

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