Apple unveiled its next version of the hugely popular iPhone today, confirming the many rumors that have been surrounding the already-legendary phone for months. The iPhone 3G will feature 3G data speeds – far outpacing the current iPhone's Edge network speeds, and very closely rivaling Wi-Fi speeds.

In addition to the faster speeds, the iPhone 3G will have GPS, a flush headphone jack (so you can use your favorite headphones, instead of needing iPhone-specific headphones), a choice of colors (black or white back), and improved audio.

Thanks to the iPhone 2.0 firmware upgrade (also available for original iPhones), the iPhone 3G will have Exchange support and VPN for corporate users, as well as access to third party software and games via the Apps Store.

The iPhone 3G's battery life will actually improve on the previous iPhone, supplying 300 hours of standby, 10 hours of standard talk time, 5 hours of 3G talk time (most of any 3G phone), 5-6 hours of Web browsing, 7 hours of video watching, and 24 hours of audio playback.

The price for the iPhone 3G is drastically lower than the previous iPhone, starting at $199 for the 8GB model (available in black), and $299 for the 16GB model (available in black or white).

The iPhone 3G will be simultaneously released in several countries around the world, including the United States, on July 11, 2008.

This morning, during his monthly keynote address, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced a slew of new iPods--including a touch-screen version--for the upcoming holiday season.

Jobs first announced the launch of iPhone ringtones available in iTunes for $0.99 starting tonight.

He then announced new colors for the iPod Shuffle (which will remain at 1GB). He unveiled the redesigned iPod Nano, which features a new color (red) and video playback. The Nano will hold the same amount of data (4GB and 8GB), but will be cheaper ($149 and $199 respectively). The current iPod Video is being re-branded as the iPod Classic and will now be available in 80GB ($250) and 160GB ($350).

And now for the exciting news... The new iPod Touch is exactly like the iPhone--just without the phone features (and email, as far as I can tell). It is shaped just like an iPhone and features the exact same glass touch-screen. It does not have a speaker and does not have some of the icon widgets that the iPhone does, but it does have Wi-Fi and the Safari web browser. No integrated email client (like AOL Mail, Yahoo! Mail, Gmail, etc.) was mentioned, but you would still be able to access your webmail through the Safari browser. The iPod Touch comes in two sizes: 8GB ($299) and 16GB ($399).

Jobs unveiled a new icon for the iPod Touch (which will also be added to Apple iPhones)--the iTunes Store widget. Now, you'll be able to browse the iTunes store remotely and download any songs you want to the iPod Touch or iPhone. These songs will then sync with your computer when re-connected.

There will also be some integration with Starbucks coffee houses, so when you're in or near a Starbucks, a special button will appear in iTunes that will allow you to download the song that's playing in the store. Not a huge deal, but a nice to have.

Finally, the biggest news to me was the fact that Apple will be discontinuing the 4GB iPhone and will just have the 8GB iPhone. The 8GB one (which I paid $599 for back in June) will now be sold for $399 effective immediately. Yikes!

So, being an early adopter has cost me $200. Was it worth it?

Hmm... Yes.

Because I *heart* my iPhone!!!