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Apple Introduces Innovative Cellphone

By JOHN MARKOFF
Published: January 10, 2007

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 9 � With characteristic showmanship, Steven P. Jobs introduced Apple�s long-awaited entry into the cellphone world Tuesday, pronouncing it an achievement on a par with the Macintosh and the iPod.

The creation, the iPhone, priced at $499 or $599, will not be for everyone. It will be available with a single carrier, Cingular Wireless, at midyear. Its essential functions � music player, camera, Web browser and e-mail tool as well as phone � have become commonplace in hand-held devices.

But it was the ability to fuse those elements with a raft of innovations and Apple�s distinctive design sense that had the crowd here buzzing.

Apple�s goal, Mr. Jobs said, was to translate the Macintosh computer�s ease of operation into the phone realm. �We want to make it so easy to use that everyone can use it,� he said. And he was clearly betting on translating Apple�s success with the iPod music player to a hot category of multifunction devices.