iCandy, iHype

Holy cow, run for your lives -- the great American Apple hype machine has been turned on again! The only catch is: this gadget really is hott.


Apple rolls out thinner, more robust iPhone
Priced from $199, it will compete with BlackBerry

By Eric Benderoff, Chicago Tribune, June 9, 2008

As widely expected, Apple Inc. announced an upgraded software platform, and a slightly thinner iPhone and cut the price to as little as $199 for what Apple now calls the iPhone 3G.

The iPhone 3G will go on sale July 11 and the 8-gigabyte version will sell for $199. An iPhone 3G with 16-gigabytes will sell for $299. Currently, the 8-gb iPhone is priced at $399 and the 16-gb version is $499.

More significantly, the iPhone 2.0 software will be able to connect directly to Microsoft's Exchange software for enterprises. Existing iPhone owners will be able to upgrade to the 2.0 version for free while iPod Touch owners can upgrade for $9.95.

That means the slightly thinner iPhone 3G will now be more competitive with the robust operating systems from Research in Motion, which makes the BlackBerry devices, and Microsoft's own Windows Mobile devices.

Apple also introduced a sweeping array of new software for individual users, including a new feature called "Mobile Me." That program sends all information a user may want to access--from new e-mails to calendar appointments -- directly to the Internet where it is automatically distributed instantly to any device as changes occur, from an office computer to an iPhone. . . .

~ Complete story here