As many of the rumors suggested, today Steve Jobs took the wraps off a brand new 3G iPhone with built-in GPS and Microsoft Exchange support. And the price? Just $199 for the 8GB model and $299 for the 16GB model. Launch date is July 11th. Very, very cool. Explains TechCrunch, “Jobs claims that the 3G network approaches the speed of WiFi. What is really going to be a game-changer, though, is the higher speed in combination with the GPS chip, which will open up a whole slew of location-aware apps.” Make sure you watch the iPhone mapping demo linked on this page.
The third-party applications range from Slingplayer (watch TV on your phone) to MLB.com (stats and video highlights) to the Associated Press. The AP app is an update of its AP Mobile News Network launched in May. With the new location-awareness functionality, it will filter news based on your location and encourage users to upload tips and photos directly to the AP. (It’s unclear how the AP’s affiliated members play into this).
Apple has blown the roof off mobile, folks. More later…
Adds Michael Goetz in comments: “I wonder how the local AP affiliates that have WAP sites will feel about a localized mobile AP that supports UGC. It would be nice if this new app linked back to the original mobile sites (similiar to the CNN affiliate links), but somehow I doubt that.”
