Apple launches iPhone, drops "Computer" from its name

Apple Computer Inc. has finally made long-awaited entry into the cellphone world Tuesday with the launch of its much-anticipated mobile phone, called iPhone, at the annual Macworld conference and Expo in San Francisco.

After revolutionizing the personal computing with its Macintosh line of desktop and notebook computers, and digital media market with its most popular iPod, the Cupertino, California based Apple is coming up with a multifunctional device that has such potent qualities which make it potential for revolutionizing the mobile market.

Apple's CEO and chief showman, Steve Jobs showed iPhone, combining a revolutionary mobile phone, a widescreen iPod with touch controls, and a breakthrough Internet communications device with desktop-class email, web browsing, maps, and searching into one device, during his keynote speech at the Macworld conference, yesterday.

Unlike the tiny multiple keys found on existing smart phones, Apple's iPhone has a single button and a 3.5-inch (9-cm) touch screen, and is larger than the iPod Nano. With a black front and silver back, the iPhone according to Jobs is the thinnest smart phone in the market having thickness of 11.6 millimeters (0.5-inches).

Apple’s revolutionary iPhone, which has a built-in camera and five hours of continuous talk time and 15 hours for playing music, runs the Safari Web browser and Apple's Macintosh operating system software. It has Bluetooth, a short-range wireless technology that supports wireless headsets or links to devices like printers, and can connect to the Internet wirelessly via Wi-Fi.

Cingular, the Atlanta-based leading wireless carrier and a unit of AT&T Inc. will be Apple’s exclusive U.S. carrier partner for iPhone.

Priced at $499 for 4-gigabyte model and $599 for an 8-gigabyte model, the iPhone will hit the European market in the fourth quarter and in Asia it will go on sale in 2008. Jobs said the computer company intends to capture 1 percent of the cell-phone market, meaning that the company would sell 10 million iPhones in 2008.

Besides iPhone, Jobs on Tuesday also introduced Apple TV, a $299 set-top box that enables users to send video and other media files from computers to television. It can store up to 50 hours of videos, 9,000 songs or 25,000 photos in its internal 40-gigabyte hard drive. Jobs said Apple TV would ship in February.

Jobs also announced that Apple is dropping "computer" from its name and would henceforth be known as Apple Inc. instead of Apple Computer Inc., indicating its transition to a full-scale consumer electronics manufacturer and retailer.

Apple shares jumped $7.10 to close at a record $92.57 on the NASDAQ Stock Market Tuesday.