Well there we have it. The much anticipated and speculated WWDC Keynote for 2010 has come and gone. And while it is hardly the truth to say that an Apple presentation is underwhelming, it certainly didn’t have the intrigue, surprise product announcements, or John Hodgman-based farewell rumored to happen. Today’s announcement was totally about the new iPhone 4 and iOS 4 and it certainly dominated the nearly two hour presentation.

So what do we finally know about the new iPhone? Officially it is simply known as the iPhone 4. It will run the previously announced iPhone OS 4.0 although from now on Apple’s mobile operating system will be known as iOS. While Jobs pointed out during the keynote the new iPhone brings over 100 new features to the table, he chose to highlight nine key features of the new device:

• New Design – The prototype at the center of the Gizmodo fiasco earlier this year represented essentially the completed design of the product. The new iPhone 4 is 9.3mm thick, has forward and rearward facing cameras, a second microphone for noise reduction, and antennas built into the stainless steel that rings the handset. The squarish design of the handset represents both a departure from traditional iPhone designs and a nod to earlier design cues from the iPod.
• Retina Display – The iPhone 4 display contains a denser pixel concentration Apple has called Retina Display. The iPad-like IPS display has 326 pixels per inch which results in a 960X640 resolution on the iPhone 4’s 3.5 inch display.
• A4 Chip – Apple’s in-house designed chip will run the new iPhone 4. With its improved battery management capabilities, the A4 allows the iPhone 4 to run 7 hours of 3G talk, 6 hours of 3G browsing, 10 hours of Wi-Fi browsing, 10 hours of music play, or 300 hours of standby.
• 3-Axis Gyro – Combined with the existing sensors on the iPhone, the new sensor will provide six axis of movement tracking.
• Improved Camera System – The new 5MP rear facing camera shoots 720p HD video as well as still pictures. The new iMovie app for iPhone 4 is available in the App Store for $4.99. It allows for the editing and transfer of video from the iPhone 4.
• iOS4 – Apple renamed the iPhone OS and called it iOS 4. The gold master seed was made available today for all the developers.
• iBooks for the iPhone – This app will have the same functionality of the current iPad app as well as the added capability to sync place, bookmarks, and notes across all devices. Books purchased on one device will be wireless downloaded to all devices for free.
• iAds – Apple today announced some of the brands who will be serving ads via iAds which included: Nissan, Citi, Unilever, AT&T, Chanel, GE, Liberty Mutual, State Farm, Geico, Sears, JCPenny, Target, Best Buy, DirecTV, TBS network, and Disney
• FaceTime – This is the much anticipated video chat application that uses the new front facing camera. FaceTime is currently a Wi-Fi only application with the potential for future 3G usage. FaceTime can use either the front or rear camera and can only be used between iPhone 4 devices.

The iPhone 4 will come in a 16GB model for $199 and a 32GB model for $299 in white and black. The iPhone 3G will no longer be manufactured and the iPhone 3GS will now sell for $99. The new phone 4 will launch on June 24th to the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Japan with pre-orders starting on June 15th. Availability in additional countries will roll out in July and August. As we reported earlier today, all current iPhone 3GS owners will be offered the new iPhone by AT&T for the price of a new two year contract plus a small fee.

While the new iPhone 4 was clearly the star of the show today, there were some additional interesting points. iOS4 will be available as a free upgrade to all current iPhone 3G, 3GS, and second generation and later iPod Touch owners on June 21st. Not all features of the new operating system will be available on the 3G and iPod Touch, chief of which is multitasking. Apple also demoed three new apps for the iPhone environment: NetFlix, Farmville, and Guitar Hero. NetFlix and Farmville will be available later this year while Guitar Hero is available right now for $2.99.

So even though we didn’t get a streaming Apple TV or iTunes.com or new Mac Minis, I would call this a successful and satisfying WWDC keynote. The new iPhone 4 once again catapults Apple to the forefront of the smartphone world with a unique feature set and slick operating system.

Poll Question

What do you think? Was this WWDC as interesting and exciting as those gone by? Are you already anticipating the new iPhone 4? Leave us your thoughts in the comments section.

iPhone 4 Image Gallery