Yesterday, at Apple’s WorldWide Developer Conference saw the announcement of the much anticipated new iPhone, and it seems Apple have corrected many of the shortcomings of the first iPhone, but some still remain, initially at least. The feature set remins much the same, but there have seen several features added, no doubt to the delight of current, and potential iPhone owners. For a start, the two (arguably) most-requested features are present: 3G connectivity – which is tri-band, and Assisted-GPS, and, if you wish to conserve battery life, you have the option of turning the 3G radio off. Also, many of the users will be delighted to hear that the headphone jack is no longer recessed – you can now use any standard earphones you like, without the need for a cumbersome adapter.

Battery life has been significantly improved - The new iPhone has up to 300 hours standby time, compared to the originals 250 hours, and 10 hours talktime, compared to the originals 8 in 2G mode. The new iPhone’s rear is comprised entirely of plastic – it’s no longer all-metal, supposedly this was done in an effort to make the new iPhone as thin as possible, what with the 3G and GPS radios crammed in.

Now for the memory capacity and pricing. The original iPhone lunched with only an 8GB version, and a 16GB version came sometime afterwards – this time, they will ship side-by-side. The 8GB version will ship for $199, on a two-year contract, and the 16GB $299, on a two-year contract. Apple has gone back to its roots with the colour of the new iPhone, it will ship in a choice of black, or their trademark white colour – for the 16GB version only. As you’ll remember, the original iPhone had severely crippled availability, this will not be the case, with the new iPhone being available in twenty two countries (Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and the US) come launch date on July 11th, with more to follow later in the year. For those in the UK, O2 will offer the new iPhone on Pay As You Go – meaning you don’t need a minimum-term cntract to buy it. Pricing will be revealed closer to launch date. Unfortunately for some, the camera remains the exact same one as in the original iPhone, meaning no video recording, Bluetooth is still limited to a headset profile, meaning no data transfers, and there is still no support for MMS. Still, we’re sure it’ll be a worthy upgrade for current iPhone owners,, and with new pricing, features, and availability, will seem more appealing to potential new iPhone owners.