Apple today announced the launch of a product that CEO Steve Jobs (News - Alert), justifiably so, deems “revolutionary”—the long awaited and much speculated-on iPhone. It combines a widescreen iPod with touch controls and a smartphone.

 

The new product was announced during Jobs’ keynote speech at the Macworld Expo, where he indicated that the iPhone has been in development for two and a half years.

 

“Today Apple is going to reinvent the phone,” Engadget blogger Ryan Block quoted Jobs as saying, in a Tuesday blog entry.

 

Bold words, but not without justification. While iPhone probably will be a luxury item for many people, at least initially, it does look posed to revolutionize the mobile phone industry.

 

“iPhone is a revolutionary and magical product that is literally five years ahead of any other mobile phone,” Jobs said in an official announcement from Apple Tuesday, following his keynote

 

In essence, Apple’s iPhone is a smartphone and mini computer (running OS X) with a 160ppi resolution, 3.5-inch touchscreen. Synching to a desktop computer—for multimedia and other data—will be managed through iTunes.

 

There are no buttons on the device Jobs demoed at Macworld—rather, the user’s finger serves as a sophisticated stylus, using a new technology called Multi-Touch. Multi-Touch solves the problem, Jobs said, of buttons fixed in place on mobile phones, which serve a purpose but nonetheless at times get in the way.

 

“We are all born with the ultimate pointing device -- our fingers -- and iPhone uses them to create the most revolutionary user interface since the mouse,” Jobs said in a statement.

For service to go with iPhone, Apple has entered into an exclusive partnership with Cingular (News - Alert). iPhone, a GSM and EDGE-capable device with WiFi and Bluetooth 2.0 functionality, will be available starting in June, after Apple gets FCC approval.

 

iPhone is for more than just talking, though—it best falls into the “smartphone” category in that users can surf the Web and perform messaging tasks using the device. Google (News - Alert) search and maps, along with Yahoo search and IMAP e-mail services, are built in.

 

Perhaps significantly, the primary search and e-mail related partnership announced Tuesday by Jobs was with Yahoo, not Google—although Google CEO Eric Schmidt did take the stage briefly to applaud iPhone and indicate that Google is working on a more full-fledged partnership with Apple.

 

Most industry standard IMAP and POP-based e-mail services will work with iPhone, Apple said Tuesday, including Microsoft Exchange, Apple .Mac Mail, AOL (News - Alert) Mail, and Google Gmail.

 

In his blog, Block quoted Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang as saying that iPhone’s search and e-mail functionalities, coupled with its other features, makes the device “like BlackBerry (News - Alert) without an Exchange Server.”

 

iPhone will be available in two models—4-gigabtye for $499 and 8-gigabyte for $599, Associated Press reported Tuesday.

 

In addition to its other features, the Apple iPhone boasts a built-in, 2-megapixel camera, headset jack, SIM tray, sleep-wake switch, speaker, mic input, and iPod connector. It is 11.6mm (0.46 inch) thick.

 

Sensors on iPhone “automatically enhance the user experience and extend battery life,” Apple said Monday. A proximity sensor detects when the phone is lifted to the user’s ear, automatically turning off the display. An ambient light sensors automatically adjust the display based on how bright the environment is, saving power.

 

Block noted in his blog that Jobs claims iPhone’s battery features five hours of talk/video/browsing time, and 16 hours of audio playback time.

 

During Jobs’ speech Monday, bloggers commenting live on the event speculated about how Apple can use the name “iPhone” for its device when Cisco’s Linksys division recently released a line of VoIP products under the “iPhone” trademark.

 

That speculation was put to rest Monday afternoon following the keynote when Cisco issued a statement saying an agreement with Apple over the iPhone name was imminent, Reuters reported.

 

“We expect to receive a signed agreement today,” the Reuters report quoted Cisco spokesperson Penny Bruce as saying.

 

AP noted Monday the most minor part of Jobs’ speech, namely that his company has been renamed from Apple Computer to Apple, Inc., reflecting its status as a full-fledged consumer electronics manufacturer.

 

Apple stocks (AAPL) were up more than eight percent mid-Monday afternoon to roughly $92.50, from previous close of $85.47.