Apple plans mobile revolution with iPhone
With characteristic showmanship, Steven P. Jobs introduced Apple’s long-awaited entry into the cellphone world on Tuesday, pronouncing it an achievement on a par with the Macintosh and the iPod. The creation, the iPhone, priced at $499 or $599 (approx Rs 22,000 or Rs 26,500), will not be for everyone. It will be available with a single carrier, Cingular Wireless, at midyear in the United States. Its essential functions — music player, camera, Internet browser and email tool as well as phone — have become commonplace in handheld devices. But it was the ability to fuse those elements with a raft of innovations and Apple’s distinctive design sense that had the crowd here buzzing. Apple’s goal, Mr Jobs said, was to translate the Macintosh computer’s ease of operation into the phone realm. “We want to make it so easy to use that everyone can use it,” he said. And he was clearly betting on translating Apple’s success with the iPod music player to a hot category of multifunction devices. Unde...