Apple Announces iPhone 4

THE WOODLANDS, Texas - On Monday, at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, Apple CEO Steve Jobs revealed the highly anticipated iPhone 4 and the iOS 4 operating system.

The new smartphone features a front and rear facing 5 megapixel camera; an LED flash; 720p HD video recording; Wi-Fi video calling; a new Retina display; a new glass front and back, multi-tasking; and Apple's iBooks store.

The on sale date for iPhone 4 is June 24th with pre-orders available online June 15. iPhone 4 will be available in white or black with 16GB models priced at $199 and 32GB at $299. Also, AT&T has announced that it will expedite phone upgrades 6 months for those who just can't wait. Any customer with a phone upgrade due in 2010 will be able to purchase the iPhone 4 at these prices when it goes on sale.

Here is a rundown of the key features:

Video Calling with Facetime
Facetime on iPhone allows for video calling between iPhone 4 phones over Wi-Fi connection. Facetime also allows you to use and switch between the phone's front and rear camera.

Camera
The iPhone 4 has a 5-megapixel still camera and a built-in LED flash for low-light scenes. It also has 5x digital zoom and takes pictures with either the front camera or the back camera. Apple has also added tap to focus, which allows users to focus on anything in the picture before taking the photo.

Retina Display
The new Retina display screen has four times the number of pixels into the same 3.5-inch (diagonal) screen found on earlier iPhone models, making text and graphics look smooth and continuous at any size. Using IPS (in-plane switching) technology, the iPhone 4 has a wider viewing angle than on typical LCDs and offers four times the contrast ratio of previous models. The glass is chemically strengthened to be harder and more scratch resistant. It also features an oil-resistant coating that helps keep the screen clean.

HD Video
iPhone 4 has HD Video recording (720p, 30 frames per second). Also announced at the conference was the iMovie app (available soon for download from the Apps store, $4.99), which allows users to edit video, plus add themes and photos similar to iMovie on Apple's computers.

Multitasking
Multitaskers rejoice! The new iPhone 4 operating system allows users to switch between applications and continue right where they left off without slowing the performance of the app or draining the battery. For example, you could listen to music playing on your phone while uploading photos to Facebook or using GPS.

Apple also unveiled a new feature as part of iOS 4, folders, which allows you to group your apps for easier access from the iPhone's Home screen.

iBooks
Apple's iBooks store, currently on the iPad, will be on iPhone 4 as part of iOS 4. iOS 4 will be available "soon" for download for iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G.

Information courtesy of Apple