Last night saw a stack of new product announcements by Apple, but sadly a UK iPhone launch date wasn't one of them. Instead, the company focused on its iPod MP3 players, introducing several new models including a touchscreen iPod and new video-capable iPod Nanos.
However, there was some US iPhone news, which provides a taster of what we can expect when Apple's phone comes here. For starters, the company is phasing out the 4GB iPhone to focus on the top-spec 8GB model, and announced a sizeable price cut of $200 for the latter, meaning it'll now sell in the US for $399 (around £197). We're assuming this means that when iPhone comes to the UK, it'll be only the 8GB model from day one.
Also announced last night was the launch of the Wi-Fi iTunes Store, allowing iPhone users (as well as owners of the new iPod Touch) to buy music directly from their device, via its Wi-Fi connection. Until now, you've always had to buy songs on your computer and then transfer them to your iPhone or iPod. The Wi-Fi iTunes application will be released for iPhone soon, so should be preloaded on the handset when it comes out in the UK.
Lastly, Apple has teamed up with coffee-chain Starbucks, to give iPhone and iPod users free access to the Wi-Fi iTunes Store from selected Starbucks shops. It means you won't have to pay the usual fee for logging on to the company's Wi-Fi hotspots, although it's initially only in Seattle and New York outlets. There are plenty of Starbucks here in the UK though, so here's hoping the deal will extend to your local high street by the time iPhone goes on sale here.
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