Apple iPhone 3G to Sell for $199/$299 From July 11

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 9, 2008 - 9:05am.

San Francisco - As expected, Apple (NASD: AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs on Monday unveiled the new iPhone 3G, which he says is "twice as fast" as the first-generation model and will sell in the U.S. for $199 (8GB) or $299 (16GB) beginning on July 11. Apple also introduced iPhone 2.0 software, also to release on July 11, which will include support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, over-the-air push e-mail, remote wipe and Cisco IPsec VPN for encrypted access to corporate networks.

The iPhone 3G will run on AT&T's 3G network in the U.S., but will also support Wi-Fi and EDGE networks, and switch to the fastest connection when appropriate.

Apple plans to offer the iPhone in more than 70 countries later this year, and will launch on July 11 in 21 countries besides the U.S. -- including the U.K., Canada, Australia, Finland, France, Germany, Japan and Sweden.

The iPhone 3G will also include Apple's new App Store, which will allow consumers to download free or purchase third-party applications that will run directly on the iPhone -- in categories such as games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel.

Downloads of the iPhone software development kit have topped more than 250,000 since March, the company said. TechCrunch provides an overview of some of the coming third-party iPhone applications at a link below.

Apple also announced MobileMe, a new Internet service that pushes e-mail, contacts, and calendars from an online "cloud" to native applications on the iPhone, iPod touch, Mac and PCs.

The MobileMe service will provide 20GB of storage for $99 per year for individuals, or $149 for a Family Pack.

"Just one year after launching the iPhone, we're launching the new iPhone 3G that is twice as fast at half the price," said Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

"iPhone 3G supports Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync right out of the box, runs the incredible third party apps created with the iPhone SDK, and will be available in more than 70 countries around the world this year."