SAN FRANCISCO — Apple is giving iPhone customers more for less.
Chief executive Steve Jobs on Monday unveiled new versions of the iPhone that are lighter and thinner at the edges, feature faster Web-surfing, have built-in global-position capabilities, and cost $200 less than the current models.
The iPhone 3G, named for the “third-generation” network it will run on, goes on sale July 11 for $199 or $299, depending on the storage capacity. Thanks to subsidies by Apple’s U.S. wireless partner, AT&T, the newer iPhone will cost one-third the price of the first version that hit the market in June 2007.
Analysts said the price cut would spur sales of the iPhone despite the nation’s economic slump.
“Price is the big surprise,” said Mike McGuire, an analyst with research company Gartner Inc. “If anyone needed proof that Apple wanted to go after a broader market, they have it now.”
Apple also plans to update existing devices to the same software, called iPhone 2.0. It will include features such as the ability to move and delete multiple e-mail messages, search for contacts and turn on parental-control restrictions.
The new software also will let existing iPhones run Microsoft’s Exchange e-mail service, which will put Apple in more direct competition with BlackBerry maker Research in Motion.
Apple has sold 6 million of the devices and is on track to reach its goal of selling 10 million by the end of 2008.
“My suspicion is that Apple understood it had a revolutionary product and had to move quickly to stop competitors from coming in and expanding in their market potential,” said Tim Bajarin of high-tech consultant Creative Strategies.
Apple will charge $199 for an iPhone 3G with 8 gigabytes of storage and $299 for one with double the capacity. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company could do so because AT&T is now following the wireless industry’s usual practice of subsidizing the price of handsets to win more customers.
To offset the subsidy, AT&T said it planned to raise the price of its cheapest voice and data plan for iPhone 3G customers. Still, the telecommunications giant said it would take a near-term hit on its profit. It expects to make up for it in the long run by putting the iPhone in more customers’ hands.
