Friday, July 11, 2008

IT'S HERE. THE NEW iPHONE 3G

As you may have heard, or seen, if you happened to stumble upon the massive lines outside AT&T wireless and Apple stores this morning on your way to work, Apple's new iPhone went on sale today to eager buyers worldwide.

At the flagship Apple store on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue, a line of hundreds encircled the block ahead of the 8 a.m. opening. Many of them were already owners of the first iPhone, suggesting that Apple is preaching to the choir with the new model, which updates the one launched a year ago by speeding up Internet access and adding a navigation chip.

But the big news is the newly launched iPhone App Store, a one-stop clearinghouse of more than 2,000 downloadable programs. Some are superb (SugarSync, which gives you remote access to your home computer), some practical (iCalc-Tip Calculator, which turns your phone into, well, a $300 tip calculator.

Thanks to subsidies by the carrier, the price has also been cut substantially to $199 for the cheapest model in the United States.