MONTREAL - Apple's faster and cheaper new iPhone, expected in Canada on July 11, will challenge Research In Motion's BlackBerry in both the consumer and business smartphone markets.
Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs introduced an upgraded iPhone with faster Internet and new GPS capabilities on Monday at a conference in San Francisco.
"Just one year after launching the iPhone, we're launching the new iPhone 3G that is twice as fast at half the price,'' Jobs said.
An eight-gigabyte model priced at US$199, $200 lower than the current model, will be available as well as a 16-gigabyte version that will sell for $299.
The price drop is seen as a key to getting the new iPhone 3G device into more hands in significantly more countries. Analysts say they believe the price will stay at the equivalent of US$199 in other countries, including Canada.
Rogers Communications Inc. will be the exclusive Canadian carrier.
Rogers and Apple said Monday that more information about price and rate plans for the much-sought after touch-screen phone will be announced at a later date.
Apple said the updated iPhone be available in more than 70 countries later this year.
U.S.-based Gartner Inc. analyst Ken Dulaney said Apple has made serious progress in a short amount of time with the iPhone and will be a threat to other smartphone makers, including Waterloo, Ont.-based, RIM.
"I think they've made a bid to become the No. 1 cellphone supplier in the world,'' said Dulaney, who's was in San Francisco at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference.
But, he said, it will take a while for Apple to achieve this and noted that RIM's BlackBerry is in a good position to turn back a push by the iPhone.
"It's probably the one that has the biggest defence against the product right now, I think, because of its security and enterprise focus,'' Dulaney said of RIM.
RIM and Apple are competing against each other, and other smartphone makers, in both the consumer and business markets. Smartphones allow consumers to do such things as surf the Internet, watch videos, play games and check e-mail.
Apple has just five per cent of the worldwide smartphone market, says U.S.-based technology research firm IDC.
Nokia is No.1 and RIM is No.2 in the smartphone market worldwide, say IDC's worldwide mobile phone tracker statistics.
Sascha Segan, lead analyst for mobile devices at PC Magazine, said even though the iPhone is now cheaper it could still be a pricey package in Canada with a data plan.
"Given that Canada has some of the highest cellphone data prices in the world, people are cringing a little to see how much this thing is going to cost per month,'' Segan said from New York.
Segan said he believes the new iPhone is still primarily a consumer phone, but Apple wants to make it friendly to businesses to help break into the enterprise market.
"Apple doesn't intend to be the No.1 smartphone manufacturer,'' Segan said. "They intend to sell a profitable moderate niche number of devices.''
Analyst Nick Agostino said he believes the BlackBerry is still a better device and the new iPhone won't make big dent on the business side.
"I don't think there will be much of a challenge in the enterprise space,'' said Agostino, of Toronto-based Research Capital Corp. "We still think it's still inferior to the BlackBerry platform.''
New York-based ABI Research Inc. said the new iPhone is thinner, faster, more open, location aware and less expensive.
"While the hype surrounding both the original, and now updated iPhone, clearly outstrips the actual impact it has had on the mobile phone market, its influence over competing hardware and content services is undeniable,'' said Kevin Burden, director of mobile devices at ABI Research.
