Tuesday, 5 June 2007

Apple iPhone To Debut on June 29

Keeping its promise of launching its highly anticipated phone, Apple today said it will launch its iPhone June 29. The Friday release date gets the iPhone under Apple's self-imposed deadline by just a day. Apple has repeatedly said it would unveil its...

Keeping its promise of launching its highly anticipated phone, Apple today said it will launch its iPhone June 29.

The Friday release date gets the iPhone under Apple's self-imposed deadline by just a day. Apple has repeatedly said it would unveil its first-ever cell phone this month, and last week company CEO Steve Jobs agreed when asked if the roll-out date would be "the last day of June."

Three commercials touting the iPhone have been posted to Apple's Web site. Dubbed "Never Been an iPod," "How To" and "Calamari," the ads promote the phone's music and video play, its basic operation, and the connection between seeing a giant squid in a movie playing on an iPhone and a hunger for calamari.

While the ads are the first look the public has gotten of the iPhone in action, they also disclosed one additional fact: Buyers will be required to sign a two-year (or longer) contract with the phone's only wireless carrier, AT&T.

The phones from the maker of personal computers and iPods are a more expensive than competing phones from Nokia and Samsung that also pack better features. It remains to be seen how can Apple market its phone in the fiercely competitive market.