Apple unveils thinner and lighter iPhone 5

For the first time, the iPhone is growing even as it slims down. After sticking for five years to the same screen size, Apple on Wednesday revealed a new phone that's taller, with a bigger display.

The iPhone 5 will go on sale in the U.S. and eight other countries next Friday, Sept. 21.

Even though it's taller than the iPhone 4S, it's lighter, thanks to a new screen technology that makes the whole phone thinner.

The bigger screen -- 10.16 centimeters measured diagonally -- creates room for another row of icons on the screen and lets widescreen movies fit better. The calendar will now show five days at a time instead of just three. Previous iPhone models carried 8.89-centimeter screens.

In another big change, the iPhone 5 will come with the capability to connect to the fastest new wireless data networks in the U.S. and overseas.

The new device also carries another distinction: It's the first iPhone developed and unveiled since the death of Apple founder Steve Jobs.

The iPhone that Jobs had conceived ushered in what he billed as “the post-PC era” -- a shift that is causing people to rely less on personal computers and more on mobile gadgets they can hold in their hand. Jobs died last October, the day after Apple introduced the iPhone 4S, which was the fifth version of Apple's phone.

There was little surprise in Wednesday's announcement. Despite the pains the company takes to hide its plans, the rough launch date, the new screen and the capability to connect to so-called LTE networks had been reported for months by blogs and analysts.

“There was nothing unexpected in terms of the new features of the iPhone,” said Tavis McCourt, an analyst with Raymond James.

That's a contrast to last year, when Apple watchers were first surprised by a delay in the launch, and then by the fact that the phone that was revealed was the iPhone 4S rather than a more radical update. The 4S, nevertheless, has been a smash success. During the first nine months that the iPhone 4S was on the market, Apple's revenue from iPhones has exceeded $63 billion, helping to establish Apple as the world's most valuable company ever.

One thing that did surprise McCourt this year: Apple is launching the phone in so many countries so quickly. On Day One, the phone will be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and the U.K., besides the U.S.

A week later, it will go on sale in 22 more countries, including Italy, Poland and Spain.

Another surprise about the iPhone 5 is that it's 18 percent thinner than its predecessor. The company was expected to use the space freed up by the new screen technology to expand the phone's battery, not make the phone thinner.

Apple followed its usual script for the new iPhone's coming-out party. Apple CEO Tim Cook, Jobs' hand-picked successor, kicked off the festivities before an audience of reporters, bloggers, applications developers and special guests with a summary of the company's milestones. He then handed things over to his top lieutenants, a group led by marketing chief Philip Schiller and mobile software executive Scott Forstall.

It has become such a familiar ritual that Cook, Schiller and Forstall all appeared to be wearing the same attire as they did at Apple's last product event in June. Adopting a personal work uniform was something that Jobs embraced. After learning that designer Issey Miyake had made work uniforms for Sony Corp. employees in Japan, Jobs eventually paid Miyake to make him the black mock turtlenecks that became the signature piece of clothing in an ensemble that included jeans and New Balance sneakers.

With Jobs gone, the Apple executives left the showmanship to the rock band Foo Fighters, who closed out the two-hour presentation with three songs, including one called “My Hero” dedicated to the company's employees for developing products like the iPhone 5.

It's the year's most anticipated phone. The number Apple can sell, analysts believe, is limited mostly by the production capacity of its suppliers. There had been concerns that supplies could be tight. Even so, analysts were expecting Apple to sell tens of millions of phones before the year is out, including perhaps as many as 10 million of the devices before this month is ever.

If the iPhone 5 lives up to the lofty expectations, it will be the company's hottest selling -- and most lucrative device yet. But it will face stiff competition from an array of smartphones running on software made by rivals Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp., as well as tablet computers that also cater to consumers' desire for a more convenient way to stay connected to the Web.

Apple has dominated the tablet market by selling more than 84 million iPads since they came out in April 2010, but it's facing a challenge from Amazon.com Inc. and Google. Both those companies are peddling less expensive tablets with slightly smaller screens than the iPad, a threat that many analysts expect Apple to answer next month by rolling out a mini-iPad.

The bigger screen in the iPhone 5 moves Apple somewhat closer to competing smartphones, but the iPhone is still small compared with its main rivals. Samsung Electronics Co., Apple's biggest competitor, has increased the screen size of its flagship phone line every year, and it's now 4.8 inches (12.19 centimeters) on the diagonal, about 45 percent larger than the one on the new iPhone. The new iPhone is lighter than Samsung's new Galaxy S III.

The iPhone will cost the same as the iPhone 4S did when it debuted, starting at $199 with a two-year contract in the U.S. Meanwhile, the price for the iPhone 4S will drop to $99 for new contract signers and the iPhone 4 will be free.

In the U.S., advance orders will start this Friday.

With the new model, Apple is ditching the connection port it's used for iPods, iPhones and iPads for nearly a decade in favor of a smaller, narrower one. That means Apple is still the holdout in an industry where other manufacturers have settled on a standard connector for charging and computer backups.

There will be adapters available so that the new phone will be able to connect to sound docks and other accessories designed for the old phones.

The camera on the back of the iPhone 5 has the same resolution as the one on the iPhone 4S, but takes pictures faster and works better in low light, Apple said.

The front-facing camera is getting an upgrade to high-definition, letting users take advantage of the faster data networks for videoconferencing.

The iPhone 5 will arrive with a new version of Apple's operating system, iOS. It will be available for download to older phones next Wednesday.

One feature missing from the new phone is a chip for near-field communications, or NFC. Other top-of-the-line phones are incorporating such chips, which let phones work as credit cards at some store payment terminals. They also enable phones to share data when “bumped” into each other.

Apple also announced a new iPod Touch model that brings over the changes applied to the iPhone 5, including the bigger screen and smaller connection port. For the first time, Apple's voice-controlled personal assistant software, Siri, will be available on the iPod. Apple is also updating its iTunes software for the Mac and PC, with what it says is a “dramatically simpler and cleaner interface.” It will be available as a free download in October.

In another audio-related update, the white earbuds that ship with all of Apple's portable devices are getting an update. Now called EarPods, they are tube-shaped, which Apple says will help meld them to the shape of your ear. The EarPods took three years to design, Apple said. They'll go on sale Wednesday as a stand-alone accessory for $29, but will be included free with new devices out in October.

Since Apple's main announcements were largely in line with expectations, investors registered a tepid response. Apple shares rose $9.13, or 1.4 percent, to close at $669.72. The shares have been on a tear as expectations rose for the iPhone 5, rallying 16 percent since Apple's latest earnings report, in July. On Monday, they hit an all-time high of $683.29. (AP)

<관련 한글 기사>

드디어 공개된 아이폰5!

애플의 첫 4인치 스마트 폰인 아이폰5가 베일을 벗었다.

애플은 12일(현지시각) 오전 미국 샌프란시스코 예르바 부에나 예술센터에서 신 제품 발표 행사를 열고 아이폰5를 공개했다.

아이폰5는 그동안 업계와 시장이 예측한 대로 4인치 화면을 장착한 LTE(롱텀에볼루션)폰으로 나왔다.

가로 길이는 기존 제품과 같지만 세로 길이를 늘려 화면비는 3:2에서 16:9가 됐다. 애플리케이션(앱) 아이콘이 하단에 있는 기본 설정을 제외하고도 페이지 면에서 만 5줄까지 들어갈 수 있게 됐다.

인치당 화소 수는 기존 '레티나(망막)' 디스플레이와 마찬가지로 326ppi를 유지 했다.

거의 전세계적으로 사용할 수 있는 LTE 망도 지원한다. 미국•캐나다•호주•독 일•영국뿐 아니라 국내에서도 LTE를 탑재한 아이폰5를 이용할 수 있다.

국내에서 쓰는 800㎒와 1.8㎓를 포함해 5가지 주파수 대역을 지원해 SK텔레콤과 KT가 아이폰5로 LTE 서비스를 할 수 있게 됐다.

이런 기능을 추가하면서도 제품 외관은 더 얇고 가벼워졌다. 두께가 7.6㎜로 기 존 제품인 아이폰4S보다 18% 얇아졌고 무게도 112ｇ으로 20% 줄었다.

애플의 마케팅 담당 필립 실러 수석부사장은 "지금까지 나온 제품들 가운데 가장 아름답다"며 "세계에서 가장 얇고 가장 가벼운 스마트폰"이라고 소개했다.

아이폰5는 기존 아이폰•아이패드용 30핀 커넥터보다 크기가 80% 작아진 새로운 '라이트닝' 8핀 커넥터를 채용했다. 이에 따라 주변기기 시장에도 상당한 변화가 있을 것으로 예상된다.

스마트폰의 두뇌에 해당하는 애플리케이션 프로세서(AP)는 기존보다 2배 빠른 차세대 칩셋 A6를 탑재했다. 그러나 A6가 쿼드코어 칩셋일 것이라는 예측은 빗나갔다.

A6는 기존과 같이 듀얼코어 제품이지만 연산 속도와 그래픽 처리 속도가 A5의 배로 빠르다. 행사에 참석해 막간 발표를 한 롭 머리 EA스튜디오 제작책임자(executive producer)도 아이폰5의 그래픽 성능에 대해 '콘솔과 같은 수준'이라고 말했다.

아이사이트(iSight)란 이름이 붙은 카메라도 파노라마 모드와 빛이 적은 상황에 서도 촬영할 수 있는 역동적저광모드(Dynamic low light mode)를 장착하는 등 새로워졌다. 렌즈 덮개도 사파이어 수정(水晶)으로 씌워 사진을 더 선명하게 찍을 수 있도록 했다.

애플은 아이폰5 64GB 제품의 경우 399달러(이하 2년 약정 기준), 32GB와 16GB는 각각 299달러와 199달러로 가격을 책정했으며 미국, 영국, 캐나다, 호주, 프랑스, 독일 등 9개국에서 14일부터 예약 주문을 받아 21일부터 배송할 예정이라고 밝혔다.

그러나 한국은 이번에 첫 출시국은 물론이고 28일부터 판매를 시작하는 2차 출시국에도 포함되지 않아 연말께나 상륙할 것으로 보인다. 애플은 아이폰5를 내놓을 국내 이동통신사로 SK텔레콤과 KT를 명시했다.

애플은 이날 새로운 새 아이팟터치와 아이팟나노, 사람의 귀 모양에 맞게 디자인한 이어폰 '이어파즈(EarPods)', 전보다 작아진 충전 잭 '라이트닝' 등도 선보였다.

iOS6에 포함된 자체 지도 앱에서 3D 위성 지도 기능인 '플라이오버'와 내비게이 션 기능인 '턴바이턴'도 공개했다.

이날 행사는 전반적으로 팀 쿡 최고경영자(CEO)가 진행했지만, 아이폰5 등 주요 제품 소개는 필 실러 부사장이 맡았다. 행사장에는 전세계에서 1천여명의 기자가 몰 려 열띤 취재 경쟁을 벌였다.

일각에서 '대약진(great forward)'이 없다는 평가를 했음에도 불구하고 아이폰5에 대한 기대감은 적지 않았다.

행사 직전까지 참석자들이 현장 등록을 위해 길게 줄을 늘어섰으며, 그 앞에서 미국의 개인방송 스트리밍 서비스 회사인 유스트림이 행사장 앞에서 싸이의 '강남스타일' 춤 퍼포먼스를 선보이기도 했다.

이런 분위기는 아이폰5와 여러 제품의 소개를 거치면서 점차 고조됐다가 발표 마지막에 록밴드 푸파이터스(Foo Fighters)가 발표 스크린 뒤에서 깜짝 등장하는 순간 절정에 달했다. 일부 참석자는 밴드의 노래가 끝날 때마다 기립 박수를 보냈다.