iPhone

iPhone 4S

The iPhone is a mobile phone 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 phone; 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.

History

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. On July 11, 2008, Apple said that they would sell a better iPhone, called the iPhone 3G. 3G means it talks to the Internet faster. It also has GPS, which lets it know where it is on a map. Apple now sells the iPhone 3G in more than 75 countries. On June 17, 2009, Apple released the iPhone 3GS. The iPhone 3GS is faster than the iPhone 3G. It can be controlled by speaking to it. It can also find directions with a compass. On June 24 2010, a new version of iPhone (iPhone 4) was released. It has a video chat feature, and has an updated operating system that can make it do many tasks at once (called multitasking). And it has more pixels on the screen, which makes the screen look better. The newest iPhone is the iPhone 4S, released on October 14. It is almost the same as the iPhone 4, but the feature controlled by speaking to it is called Siri, and it does more things than the old speaking control.

In most places, the iPhone is only allowed with carriers (people who make mobile phones work) that Apple likes. Someone who buys an iPhone also makes a contract with the carrier, which is an agreement to pay for service. A mobile phone contract usually lasts for 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 because of the agreement. 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. 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. But to sell the software, Apple must give permission. The software is sold at the App Store. Many thousands of apps are available to buy.

Apple sold 5.2 million iPhones in the third fiscal quarter of 2009.

Other websites

• Apple iPhone - Official website