The iPhone's functions include those of a camera phone and a multimedia player. It also offers Internet services including e-mail, text messaging, web browsing, Visual Voicemail, and local Wi-Fi connectivity. User input is accomplished via a multi-touch screen with virtual keyboard and buttons. Screen size is 8.9 cm (3.5 in).
Apple has filed more than 200 patents related to the technology behind the iPhone. Its comes out under ther the direction of Apple's CEO Steven Paul Jobs and Magician Designer Jonathan Ive.
The touch screen topped with optical-quality glass is specifically created for use with a finger, or multiple fingers for multi-touch sensing. For text input, the device implements a virtual keyboard on the touchscreen. The iPhone varies from common desktop interfaces by using a direct manipulation model of scrolling. Its interface enables the user to move the content itself up or down by a touch-drag-lift motion of the finger.
The photo album and web page magnifications are multi-touch sensing. It is possible to zoom in and out of objects such as web pages and photos by respectively "unpinching" and "pinching" them, that is, placing two fingers (usually thumb and forefinger) on the screen and moving them farther apart or closer together as if stretching or squeezing the image.
The iPhone has three physical switches on its sides: sleep / wake, volume up / down, ringer on / off. All other multimedia and phone operations are done via the touch screen.
The iPhone is available from Apple Retail Stores, the Apple Online Store, and from AT&T Mobility. The initial U.S. release is offered in two configurations with two different prices: a 4 GB model for US$499 and an 8 GB model for US$599.
