New iPhone has reduced price

MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple Inc. announced a new 3G version of its iPhone on Monday, with the new handset expected to come on the market next month at drastically reduced prices.

The lower prices will likely help the company land a much larger share of the fast-growing market for so-called smart phones, taking on Nokia Corp. and BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd., analysts said.

The new version of the iPhone will operate at faster speeds than current models; it will also sell at prices comparable to the company’s iPod line of digital-media players.

News of the 3G iPhone was widely expected before Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs took the stage to deliver the keynote address at the company’s Worldwide Developers’ Conference in San Francisco on Monday.

The consumer-electronics maker has been looking to capitalize on the momentum it has so far generated with the iPhone, which hit the market one year ago and has sold more than 6 million units to date.

The new version of the iPhone is designed to run over next-generation networks known as 3G, which offer faster data speeds than older systems such as AT T’s Edge network that the current iPhone uses in the United States.

Apple surprised observers with the price for the new device. The new iPhone will start at $199 for a version with 8 gigabytes of memory—half the price of the current model with comparable memory. A 16GB version of the 3G device will cost $299.