Anchorage Daily News

The new iPhone 3G that goes on sale today at 17 Alaska AT&T stores has three things the current models don't.

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Appearance: It looks different, with a black or white (16GB model only) plastic case.

GPS: That's new to the iPhone, but it's been a staple on other smartphones for at least a year.

3G: The phone runs faster, using AT&T's advanced 3G, or third-generation wireless network, which the company claims is twice as fast as the EDGE network used by the current iPhone. The iPhone 3G will automatically detect 3G service and use it; otherwise it will connect to the slower EDGE network used by the older model.

But AT&T doesn't currently have a 3G network in Alaska, "We'll have 3G up and running in Alaska in the first half of 2009," said Patrick Fraser, director of sales for AT&T in Alaska. Until then the existing EDGE network used locally may be an advantage for local users as it requires less battery power compared to 3G.

Other than GPS, the option of a faster network and some cosmetic changes, the rest of the new iPhone 3G is pretty much the same. The camera is still the same 2-megapixel unit found on the older model. The screen is the same size. The microphone and speakers are unchanged.

THE BOTTOM LINE

The iPhone 3G will be available for $199 for the 8GB model and $299 for the 16GB model. These prices require two-year contracts and are available to customers activating a new line with AT&T and current iPhone AT&T customers who will extend their current contracts.

Existing AT&T customers who are not iPhone users but are eligible for an upgrade discount can purchase an iPhone 3G for $399 for the 8GB model or $499 for the 16GB model. Both options require a new two-year service agreement. In the future, AT&T will offer a no-contract-required option for $599 (8GB) or $699 (16GB).

AT&T customers who are upgrading to iPhone 3G will pay an $18 upgrade fee, and new AT&T customers will pay the standard $36 activation fee.

The phones must be activated at the store.

-- Mike Wendland, technology columnist for the Detroit Free Press

Along with the new phone, Apple is also opening its App Store for iPhone software today. The store, which will offer more than 500 software applications, including games, educational programs, mobile commerce and business productivity tools, may be a far more important development than the iPhone 3G. An abundance of software could make the iPhone's operating system dominant among a host of competing phones. The App Store works over cellular networks and via Wi-Fi and will be available to current iPhone and iTouch users after they purchase a software update.

-- New York Times News Service