iPhone
The iPhone is a mobile phone with Wi-Fi made by Apple Inc. It does many different things like a computer but is small enough to fit in someone's hand. It is a mobile smartphone; it makes calls without wires. It can access the Internet as well. Like an iPod, it plays music and videos that have been put on it from a big computer, which is called syncing. It also has a calendar and camera, and can send text messages. People use the iPhone by touching the screen with a finger or two. This is done by tapping, dragging, and even typing on a keyboard shown on the screen. The iPhone 3GS and later models can run iOS 5.1.1, and they can also run iOS 6, the latest version of iOS.
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History[change]
There have been four types of iPhone. At first, only people in the United States who paid Cingular/AT&T for their mobile phones could buy the iPhone, starting on June 29, 2007. In November 2007, Apple took the iPhone to a few new countries in Europe. It also has GPS, which can be used to find its location in the world. Apple now sells the iPhone 3G in more than 75 countries. On June 17, 2009, Apple released the iPhone 3GS. On June 24 2010, a new version of the iPhone, the iPhone 4, was released. It has facetime included, and has an updated operating system that allows quicker navigation of all the features. The iPhone 4 also has more pixels on the screen than previous version of the iPhone, which makes all features such as pictures and videos look sharper. A minor upgrade to the iPhone 4 was the iPhone 4S, which came on October 14 2011 with a new feature called Siri, which is a voice activation system. On September 12 2012, the iPhone 5 was announced. It was released on 21 September 2012. The most noticeable change is its bigger 4 inch screen.
In most places, the iPhone is only allowed with carriers (cellphone service providers) that Apple has an agreement with. Someone who buys an iPhone also signs a contract with the carrier, which is an agreement to pay for their services. A mobile phone contract usually lasts for one or two years, and the person buying the phone pays the carrier every month. At first, they pay less than the iPhone is worth because they will pay the rest later through fees as part of their contract. The contract also says the iPhone may only be used on their network. However, some people do not like that, so they 'unlock' their iPhone so it can be used with other carriers. Other people "jailbreak" their iPhones to allow it to do more things. Apple does not allow many of these changes. In hopes of discouraging this, Apple voids the warranty when an iPhone is "unlocked" or "jailbroken."
Apple made a Software Development Kit for the iPhone, which lets people make their own software for it. However, the software cannot be sold without Apple's permission. The software is sold at the App Store. Many thousands of apps are available to buy.
Models[change]
| Model | Image | Storage space | Changes | Connection | Original release date | Original Pricing (USD) | Minimum OS to sync |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 8, 16, 32 GB | First model with many multimedia features such as Safari (either Wi-Fi or 2G), Music, Camera, and more. Also first device to use a touch screen without a stylus. | USB | 29 June 2007 | $499, $699, $899 | Mac:10.4/10.5 Win:XP/Vista</mall> |
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| 3G | 8, 16, 32, 64 GB | Featured a GPS, 3G (faster internet) and a new, black plastic back rather than the metal back on the previous iPhone. A white model was also released. | USB | 11 July 2008 | $499, $699, $899 | Mac:10.5 Win:XP/Vista |
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| 3GS | 8, 16, 32, 64 GB | Featured video recording and a compass. | USB | 19 June 2009 | $599, $799, $999 | Mac:10.5/10,6 Win:XP/Vista/7 |
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| 4 | 8, 16, 32, 64 GB | Totally redesigned with a glass back instead of plastic, and a metal band around the edge of the phone. Features a camera facing the user for "FaceTime" video calling and a much better screen and camera. | USB | 24 June 2010 | $599, $699, $799 | Mac:10.6/10.7 Win:Windows 7 |
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| 4S | 8, 16, 32, 64 GB | Features an 8 megapixel camera and a voice assistant named Siri (hence the "S" in 4S) so people can speak to their iPhone. | USB | 14 October 2011 | $599, $699, $799 | Mac:10.6/10.7/10.8 Win:Windows 7 |
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| 5 | |
8, 16, 32, 64 GB | Features a taller 4" screen, rather than the traditional 3.5" screen, 4G/LTE (super-fast internet), a new charging/synchronising cable. It is also much thinner than the previous iPhone's. | USB | 21 September 2012 | $649, $749, $849 | Mac:10.7/10.8 Win:7/8 |
Timeline[change]
References[change]
- ↑ Apple Inc., Apple press release library, Retrieved September 19, 2007.
- ↑ Mactracker (mactracker.ca), Apple Inc. model database, version as of 26 July 2007.
Other websites[change]
- Apple iPhone - Official website
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