Meeting the wide speculation of the wireless world in typically dramatic fashion, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs (News - Alert) today unveiled an upgraded iPhone at a San Francisco developers’ conference.

 

Responding to the main criticism of the first version of Apple’s (News - Alert) breakthrough touch-screen mobile device, the new iPhone will take advantage of faster third-generation, or “3G,” network technology, Jobs said.

 

“Today we’re introducing the iPhone (News - Alert) 3G,” Jobs reportedly told more than 5,000 industry insiders, media members and others gathered for the event.

 

“We’ve learned so much with the first iPhone.” Jobs reportedly said, and then showed off the new iPhone.

 

The device reportedly is thinner at the edges, has a black plastic back and metal buttons on its side. The screen is the same and it has a camera, flush headphone jack, which reportedly was welcomed with “wild applause,” and an improved audio system.

 

In going over the device’s 3G support, Jobs mentioned that the new iPhone will have faster download times – an improvement that will address the original iPhone’s most widely reported criticism.

 

Illustrating the point, Jobs put an “EDGE” iPhone beside the 3G device, and showed how the new one could download National Geographic’s photo-laden home page in 21 seconds, compared to nearly a full minute with the older model. Jobs reportedly said the 3G download speeds are close to WiFi.

 

Jobs said 22 countries will get the 3G iPhone first, at the same time: July 11. The 16-gig model will cost $299, and will be available in white, he said. The price compares favorably for consumers with the first iPhone’s hefty $599 price tag. An 8-gig model now will sell for $199, Jobs said.

 

Despite the lower cost, the new iPhone includes dozens of new features.

 

“Location services are going to be a really big deal on the iPhone,” Jobs reportedly told the crowd.

 

The build-up to the 3G iPhone’s unveiling was palpable, according to bloggers who attended the event, as the Apple store went down 90 minutes before Jobs’ keynote address.

 

At the World Wide Developers Conference itself, a parade of new, mostly free applications – most of which foreshadowed the upgraded device’s capabilities – led up to the iPhone’s introduction.

 

GPS capability was one of those featured capabilities, as was integration with eBay (News - Alert), integration with Loopt, a location-based application that blends social networks with maps, and integration with another application that lets users create posts and photos and add them from a library to an iPhone on the go. Demonstrations also included an application that lets iPhone users view near-live video highlights from events such as baseball games, and an application that will allow users to tailor their iPhone’s particular look and feel.