iPhone gets glass lens/screen, 8 hour talk life

Monday, June 18th
iPhone gets 8hr battery life, glass screen
Ahead of the much publicized launch, Apple today revealed a surprise upgrade to the performance of the iPhone reaching stores. The device now claims a practical talk time of a full eight hours -- a major increase from the five-hour figure claimed for the device in January. Music playback has also been increased to an all-day 24 hours while Internet browsing and video playback have been extended to six and seven hours respectively. Standby time has been lengthened to 250 hours (over ten days), the company says. The firm points out that the final specifications make it one of the most capable devices in its field.

"With 8 hours of talk time, and 24 hours of audio playback, iPhone’s battery life is longer than any other ‘Smartphone’ and even longer than most MP3 players," Apple's CEO Steve Jobs says.

Beyond the battery upgrade, Jobs also notes that the iPhone's 3.5-inch touchscreen has been upgraded from plastic to lens-quality glass, which helps both visibility as well as resistance to scratches. This too is better than other rivals -- including the latest devices such as the BlackBerry Curve, Apple says.

Prices remain the same at $499 for the 4GB version and $599 for 8GB. Both require AT&T service and will be available on June 29th at 6PM, though the official announcement doesn't mention earlier claims about the need for a two-year contract, which has also been dropped from the company's ad campaign.

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