• June 8, 2009

Apple will introduce the successor to its iPhone 3G on June 19. The new iPhone 3G S will include a longer battery life, faster operation, a 3 megapixel autofocus camera, voice control and the ability to shoot video. Two versions of the phone, which will still be tied to AT&T's service plans, will sell for $199 for a 16 MB version and $299 for a 32 MB version. In addition, the company is lowering the price of its iPhone 3G to $99, starting immediately.

"IPhone 3G S is the fastest, most powerful iPhone yet and we think people will love the incredible new features including autofocus camera, video recording and the freedom of voice control," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of WorldWide Product Marketing, in a statement. "And with a breakthrough price of $99, we are thrilled to get iPhone 3G into the hands of even more users who want them."

A new television commercial for the phone shows the device under high security at Apple's headquarters. As thieves use a small camera to look at the phone from an air duct in the ceiling, a worker enters the high security room. He picks up the phone and uses its video function to reveal the iPod's view of the thieves' camera.

The iPhone 3GS will come with the latest iPhone 3.0 software, which will also be available free to current iPhone 3g customers (and available to iPod Touch owners for $9.99) The new operating system includes 100 new features including: cut, copy and paste within applications; multimedia messaging, searching across the phone or within Mail, Contacts, Calendar and iPod and landscape keyboard capabilities.--Aaron Baar