The company credited with reinventing the personal computer in the 1980s decided Tuesday to drop "computer" from its name and jump-start the company down a new path of revolution. Tuesday at his keynote speech at the MacWorld expo in San Francisco, Apple, Inc. CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone, an Apple cell phone, which will be carried by the Cingular network. Tara Traycoff, Indiana's regional Cingular public relations manager, said Cingular's partnership with Apple is beneficial to both companies.
"The partnership lets Apple be Apple and Cingular be Cingular and continue to lead our respective industries," Traycoff said. "It frees each company to do what it does best. Apple delivers innovative products, and Cingular provides outstanding wireless service."
The iPhone will begin showing up in U.S. Apple and Cingular stores in June, when it will sell for $499 for the 4GB version and $599 for the 8GB model.
Jobs described the phone at the keynote speech as being three devices in one: a phone, a widescreen iPod and an Internet communications device, utilizing Safari to browse the Web, Yahoo! Mail to check e-mail and Google to search and navigate with maps.
The phone features a multi-touch technology interface, which means everything on the phone, including the keyboard and number pad, is controlled by touching the 3.5 inch widescreen instead of buttons.
Jobs said at the ceremony that the multi-touch interface is a primary feature of the phone, putting it five years ahead of all mobile phone competition. "We are all born with the ultimate pointing device -¡-¡- our fingers," he said. "And iPhone uses them to create the most revolutionary user interface since the mouse."
Apple has also included three sensors on the iPhone to maximize battery life and convenience for the user, according to Apple's Tuesday press release.
One sensor detects whether the user is holding the phone horizontally or vertically and automatically rotates the image or movie on the screen to fit the orientation.
A second sensor detects when the phone is being held to the user's ear and then turns off the touch capability to prevent inadvertent touches.
The third sensor detects ambient light and automatically adjusts the screen's brightness with the level of light in any space.
Traycoff put a special emphasis on the "Visual Voicemail" feature on the phone, which she said Cingular worked with Apple to develop.
The new voicemail allows users to look through voicemails and see who left the message before deciding if and when they want to listen, she said. While Traycoff said Cingular's products are always popular, she said she believes the iPhone will generate additional interest in Cingular from consumers.
"With this device, there is something for everyone," she said. "The new iPhone is a stunning package."
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