Those of you who have spent all your time online poring over every pixel sent home by the Phoenix lander may be interested to learn that Steve Jobs opened the curtain on the new iPhone at the Worldwide Developer Conference today. My ears perked up at the mention of the 3G's lower price tag ($199), faster Internet browsing, longer battery life, and cool attributes like GPS support.
Woo woo, the 3G even comes in two colors... but alas, neither of them is green. I was hoping to hear some details on how it will improve on the mediocre environmental credentials of its predecessor. But as with fanboy hopes for an upgraded camera and a 32 GB model, no such luck (at least, nothing was mentioned on MacRumors.com's coverage).
Still, as Greenpeace reported last month, there is some good news from Cupertino: Apple has decided to phase out the worst chemicals in its product range, brominated fire retardants (BFRs) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), by the end of this year. Whether that's the case for the iPhone, I don't know.
Apple is also expanding its take-back program. A message from Jobs on the Apple site says the company is offering free take-back shipping within the U.S. and that iPods can now be turned in at any Apple store worldwide—not just in the U.S.—for free, responsible disposal.
Of course, the company still has room for improvement, as Greenpeace's comments on Jobs's message show...
