iPHONE 4 UNVEILED

Apple gets a jump on rivals

SAN FRANCISCO

APPLE’S iPhone is outdistancing the pack of phones that use Google’s rival software, thanks to video-
calling features, a sharper screen and its array of 225,000 applications, analysts said.

The iPhone 4, unveiled on Monday by chief executive Steve Jobs, is thinner, has better resolution and a front-facing camera. It also sports a new type of glass and a stainless-steel band that Apple says is designed to improve network reception.

Apple is counting on the product to fend off mounting competition from Android, a smartphone operating system developed by Google.

The iPhone is evolving fast enough to keep competitors at bay, even if the new version lacks major surprises, said Mr William Kreher, an analyst at Edward Jones.

“They remain the technology-innovation leader,” Mr Kreher said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “While nothing was really revolutionary in terms of new features, I think that Apple took a nice step forward.”

Mr Jobs, who unveiled the phone at the company’s developer conference in San Francisco, downplayed the threat from Android. The iPhone was the No. 2 smartphone in the United States in the first quarter, with a
28 per cent share, he said, citing Nielsen data.

Research In Motion ranked first, with a 35 per cent share, while Android-based devices accounted
for 9 per cent.

Though many of the iPhone 4’s enhancements were expected – a prototype of the iPhone was dissected and photographed by technology blog Gizmodo. com in April – the upgrade provides Apple with some exclusive capabilities, said Mr Shaw Wu, an analyst with Kaufman Bros.

“The new features and software further differentiate the iPhone from competitors,” he said.

When Apple’s first iPhone appeared in 2007, its touchscreen design and app-based interface shook up the market. Research In Motion and other mobile- phone makers clambered to add similar features to their
devices.

Since then, the industry’s rapid- fire advancements have made it harder for an upstart to catch up quickly, said Mr Charles Golvin, an analyst at Forrester Research.

“Apple and its competitors are steadily bringing better and better technology and software to...the market,” he said.

“In that environment, it’s difficult to leapfrog the competition in the same way the iPhone did when it was introduced.” The iPhone is now Apple’s top product, generating 40 percent of revenue last quarter –
more than the Macintosh computer.

The company has three products that work with its App Store: the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. All in, Apple will have sold 100 million of those devices by some time this month.

Mr Jobs said yesterday that there are more than 225,000 applications available.

The company has paid out more than US$1 billion (S$1.4 billion) to developers, who get a 70 per cent share of profits on programs sold through the store, he said.

Android developers, meanwhile, have created only about 50,000 apps, according to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.

An advertising system called  iAd will be built into the new iPhone software, giving creators of apps a new way to make money.