iPhone 3G: All the Australian details

By Joseph Hanlon on 10 June 2008

Does this morning feel like Christmas morning to anybody else? Did anyone else have trouble falling asleep last night waiting for Jobs to announce the second coming of the Jesus phone?

The worst kept secret in technology — Apple's 3G iPhone — was announced this morning while we slept (well, most of us). The ever-slimming Apple CEO Steve Jobs made the announcement to open this year's Apple Worldwide Developers Conference and detailed some of the goodies we can expect to find gift-wrapped in the glossy plastic shell. He also announced that the new iPhone will be available in a bunch of countries including Australia on July 11.

3G data speeds and GPS location services are the stand-out improvements, and with the current trends in mobile devices, they are "no-brainers" according to Jobs. Everyone hoping for truly mind-bending changes like nifty new motion-sensitive navigation or holographic video-calling will have to wait until the new Star Trek movie to see that type of tech in action.

A few key specs remain the same, despite rumours of them having been adjusted. The iPhone still features a flash-less 2-megapixel camera, but in combination with the GPS chip the iPhone can now geo-tag your photos. The 3.5mm headphone jack now sits flush against the handset making it possible to use any common headset with the phone.

The biggest surprise, and the most welcomed for some, is Apple's new iPhone pricing. In fact, the only part of this announcement which rings of "Jesus phone version 2" is the loaves-and-fishes price point of US$199 for the 8GB model, and US$299 for the 16GB heavyweight which also comes in white.

For the white sheet scanners amongst you, detailed specs for the second-gen iPhone are as follows:

  • 115.5x62.1x12.3mm
  • 133 grams
  • UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100MHz)
  • GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900MHz)
  • Wi-Fi (802.11b/g)
  • 3.5-inch Multi-Touch display (480x320)
  • Assisted GPS
  • 2-megapixel camera with geo-tagging
  • 3.5mm headphone input port
  • Battery life: 5 hours (3G), 300 hours standby, 24 hours audio playback

There is a few notable absences from this list, particularly a front-facing camera for video-calling and A2DP stereo Bluetooth for pairing Bluetooth stereo headphones to the phone.

Australian pricing is yet to be announced, but both Australian carriers Vodafone and Optus have indicated that the iPhone will be available on prepaid plans. Eager beavers wanting to express their interest can do so on either the Vodafone or Optus websites.

Topics: 3g, apple, iphone, mobile phone, gps, optus, vodafone, optu, announce, australia

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Comments (26)

  • ryan mcdonald commented on 11/10/2008 16:47 Report abuse

    iphones are ****

  • Johnoh commented on 12/07/2008 02:14 Report abuse

    If anyone can clear my problem i'll be so greatful.... i'm with 3 and can i just use my current prepaid card in the iphone that i buy on no contract? will there be any problems with itunes and stuff that won't work?

  • slooby commented on 09/07/2008 14:46 Report abuse

    To buy outright from Optus expect to pay $729 for the 8GB model and $849 for 16GB. And forget them waiving any current contract fees owing, if you are in a contract, expect to have to pay them out to get an iPhone on a plan to keep your current phobe number. What a complete rip-off!!

  • Go Sydney FC commented on 04/07/2008 11:30 Report abuse

    what kind of a top class phone cant do mms/bluetooth, and is flash-less with only a 2MP camera?!? until apple can match the standards of other phones and fix up their evergrowing list of "cant do this" then i reckon sony ericssons Walkman series is the way to go

  • FMK2106 commented on 29/06/2008 23:02 Report abuse

    Its not gonna be AUD199. its gonna be US199 converted to AUD price. which is about AUD210.

  • Red_Deadly commented on 19/06/2008 02:08 Report abuse

    Erinsimons he did say $199 dollars with dollar sign...which means 199 US globally pricing upon conversions to different currencies....True it won't be $199 cause of conversions. Erinsimons I don;t want to offend you but you are very well...stupid.

  • erinsimons commented on 16/06/2008 15:58 Report abuse

    H-bomb, why not go and buy it from Japan for 199 Yen then, that should be about $US 2! I don't think the ACCC will waste their time even replying to you. I can promise you it WON'T be $199 in Australia.

  • MB commented on 16/06/2008 13:42 Report abuse

    With all the great things its hard to believe you can't do simple things like use blue tooth to send a photo to another phone for example!

  • H-Bomb commented on 15/06/2008 22:37 Report abuse

    Yes Steve Jobs said $199 worldwide so why is OPTUS and Vodafone being so secretive I will be going to the ACCC if they do not honour this price even if it is just a dollar conversion.
    Note watch the end of the WWDC 2008 Keynote you will hear Steve himself say $199

  • Ziggy commented on 11/06/2008 22:53 Report abuse

    Hey, I'd just like to clear up a tiny misconception everyone has. As apparent the general media has too.

    It's only $199 for the 8GB and $299 in the US because it's SUBSIDISED. There is no way to purchase one in North American without 24 month contract. This means for Apple it doesn't matter even if you jailbreak it after, as they're receiving the rest of the cost of the iPhone from the contract. In shorter terms, you can not purchase an iPhone for just $199 and do whatever, it's attatched to a 24 month contract.

    It may also be $199 and $299 here too but obviously you'd have to be taking a contract too, or the phone may cost $0 upfront but you'd have to pay $70 (as with current BlackBerry plans at Vodafone) monthly for 24 months. Prepaid options will definitely cost a lot more as you're not taking a contract and the cost of the iPhone may not made back from recharges.

    If you still think the iPhone 3G will definitely be $199 and $299, think about the current iPod touch prices which are at $400 for the 8GB model and $500 for the 16GB model. Who in their right mind would purchase an iPod touch over an iPhone?

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