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It combines the multi-touch touchscreen interface we’ve all heard whispers of for over a year now, with a fully fledged widescreen video iPod. 

The device comes with either 4GB or 8GB of flash-based storage and will sell for an introductory price of $499 and $599, respectively. Expect it in June 2007 within the US, and a tentative ‘end of 2007′ for us Europeans - a long wait for those of us who are already drooling.

The phone has been confirmed as a Cingular Wireless exclusive in the US and it will be interesting to see who picks it up in the UK.

The phone features a rich HTML email client and in-built Safari web browser - which Apple purports as being the most advanced browser on portable device. We imagine Opera may have something to say about that.

This is all running on the ‘OSX’ operating system, presumably a very cut-down, thin client version, built for the device’s proprietary hardware.

The iPhone OS allows for the use of widgets which are the same applications found on OSX’s Dashboard.

Steve Jobs was recorded using the Google maps widget which looks like an exact copy of Google maps on the web.

Expect up to five hours phone talk time and around 16 hours of audio playback - but knowing manufacturers battery life specs, you should take this with a pinch of salt.

A range of accessories have also been announced including stereo headphones, headphones with a microphone, and a Bluetooth headset.

Here’s a quick rundown of the currently known specs:

Specification overview

Source : Theinquirer

MICROSOFT JUST HASN’T stopped with cracking the holes in PlayStation 3 armour. First it knocked the 1080p discussion, and now, an IPTV service is being prepared in order to make the Xbox the TiVo device for the late first decade of the 21st century. Unlike the thing Steve Jobs will allegedly be unveiling at his MacWorld keynote - opening exactly the same day as CES this year - IPTV content isn’t provided by Microsoft. However, it is working with existing content providers that run their services. Robbie Bach used the CES Keynote to launch the service with an intelligent name: IPTV for the Xbox 360. Since companies are only talking about social networking blah blah, it’s no wonder that this service will feature a sort of joint commenting on content, all with the aim of having as deep a social impact as possible. Just imagine heated arguments over a “scientific error” in one of the sci-fi series [Sheesh, let's hope not. Ed.]. All that, courtesy of IPTV on Xbox 360. We have seen the demo and we have to say that Microsoft has added a lot of headroom with the console, because software just keeps on being developed. The amount of official modding has just been incredible. You’re still thinking that a larger hard drive isn’t on the way? Think of 120GB local storage and hundreds of gigabytes at your local media server. Or a terabyte or two?

Source: THEINQUIRER

In the first quarter of 2007, Apple is set to debut a digital media player that can stream movies, music, and photos from networked PCs and Macs. In an unusual move, Apple CEO Steve Jobs provided a detailed preview of the product at his “Showtime” press conference, which also saw the announcement of new iPods, iPod Nanos, and the launch of full-length movie availability on iTunes. Dubbed iTV, the Apple digital media device will retail for $299 when it hits stores next year.

While the “iTV” moniker is just a temporary code name, the product’s features were laid out in fairly explicit detail. Like other network digital media boxes, the iTV will stream video, photos, and audio from networked PCs–and perhaps straight off the Internet–so they can be enjoyed on a big-screen living room TV and home audio system. Unlike all of the previous competitors, however, the iTV will start out with several huge advantages: it will offer seamless integration with movies, TV shows, and music purchased from Apple’s iTunes Store. Additional media content on the PC–such as digital photos, video and audio podcasts, MP3 audio, and, presumably, downloaded video files–should be able to be streamed as well.

The box itself looks like a thinner version of the Mac Mini–from a distance, it could easily be mistaken for a Netgear or Belkin network router. It interfaces with home networks via built-in Ethernet and 802.11 wireless and has an impressive bevy of audio/video connections: HDMI and component-video outputs, as well as analog stereo and optical digital audio out. The dearth of S-Video and composite outputs imply that the iTV will be aimed squarely at HDTV sets, while the digital audio output will enable full surround sound when connected to an A/V receiver. Finally, a single rear-panel USB jack is present as well, and Jobs was mum as to how it would be employed–but iPod connectivity is definitely a fair bet.

The little white box may be slick, but it’s what users will see on the screen that’s really important. Based on the previews at Jobs’s press conference, the iTV’s onscreen display and navigation looks just as polished and intuitive as that of the iPod, albeit optimized for the larger real estate of a big-screen HDTV–and with plenty of animated eye candy thrown in. The onstage demo had Jobs easily jumping in and out of menus and listings for movies, podcasts, music, and photos, just as simply as one would with the iPod–think Front Row, but with a lot more options. What’s more, all of the iTV’s onscreen navigation is handled with the same ultrasimple six-button remote that ships with current Macs.

As always, it’s tough to judge an unreleased product based simply on a demo–especially a demonstration run by Apple’s eminently enthusiastic and persuasive head honcho. That said, the iTV is easily one of the most promising developments in the network-media category that we’ve seen to date. Competing products have been hobbled by a combination of a lousy interface (nonintuitive, hard to navigate, and/or just plain ugly onscreen menus), underwhelming feature set (HD streaming and HDMI output are still comparatively rare), and lack of content. And it’s that last point that may very well be Apple’s ace in the hole. The company’s iTunes store has been the leading online retailer for music and TV shows, and it’s a fair bet that movies will be a popular offering as well. When the question, “Is it compatible with all the songs (or TV shows or movies) I’ve purchased from iTunes?” is asked, every other network media device has to answer “no;” Apple’s iTV will be the first to respond with an enthusiastic “yes.”

We’ll have more information on the Apple iTV as soon as it becomes available, and a full hands-on review once it’s released in 2007.

BLAKE ROSS, one of the key people behind the Firefox browser, says that he is losing faith in the antics of the search engine Google.

Writing in his bog, Ross was miffed that Google was displaying tips that point searchers to Google Calendar, Blogger and Picasa for any search phrase that includes calendar, blog, and photo sharing.

He said that this was bad for competitors, and was a bad sign for Google.

Ross said that Yahoo and Ask had tried to do this but they didn’t build their businesses on the promise of being unconventionally trustworthy.

Tips are bad for users because the services they recommend are not the best, he said.

Ross said that if Google wants to make it faster for users to manage events, create a blog or share photos, it could do what it does when you search GOOG: link to the best services.

He said that Google would complain if Microsoft informed users about Live Search when they typed Google.com into Internet Explorer’s address bar, however that is what the search engine outfit was doing to its users.

Source: THEINQUIRER

In a move that could well be the beginning of Internet access through mobile Broadband, Hutchison Whampoa has forged a group of global Internet companies, and handset makers - Nokia and Sony Ericsson, to globally launch Broadband mobile Internet access on the same flat fee model as fixed Broadband Internet.

Titled “X-Series from 3,” the service will include free Skype calling, unlimited Web browsing, and instant messaging from mobile handsets.

Initially, the service will be available only on select handsets from Nokia and Sony Ericsson.

Customers of “X-Series from 3″ will be able to make and receive unlimited Skype calls with Skype PC users around the world; they will be able to engage in unlimited browsing of the Internet from their mobiles for free; and they will be able to send or receive instant text messages to/from another X-Series handset or PC free-of-charge.

Hutchison says X-Series will be priced like fixed line Broadband, providing use of mobile Internet services for a flat fee.

“X-Series from 3″ will be available in the UK December 1st onwards. In other 3G markets across the globe, it will be available sometime in early 2007.

About the service, Canning Fok, Group Managing Director of Hutchison Whampoa, said that mobile Broadband is the natural next step for mobile services, which extends the full power of the Internet to mobile handsets.

Source : Techenclave