“What else can this are used for?” Yes, this is the most commonly asked question while buying any equipment these days. What one looks for is that apart from its ‘obvious’ use what else facilities can the equipment provide. And this is what iPhones are all about. iPhone is not just a phone but much more beyond that. It is the combination of three devices- a cell phone, an ipod and an internet device.

iPhones designed and marketed by Apple Inc was first introduced in the United States on June 29, 2007. Since then there have been two more versions of iPhones introduced- iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS. These are the other improved versions apart from the first generation iPhone. iPhone 3G supports faster 3G data speeds up to 3.6Mbps where as iPhone 3GS supports faster 3G data speeds up to 7.2 Mbps. It has Google and Yahoo! search built in. And since iPhone multitasks, you can make a phone call while emailing a photo or surfing the web over a Wi-Fi or 3G connections.

With iPhone, forget hard pressing the keys on your keypad when dialing any number. iPhones have a multi touch interface with which you can simply call by tapping a name or number in your contacts or favorites list, your call log, or just about anywhere. iPhones have a 9 cm (3.5 in) liquid crystal display (320×480 px at 6.3 px/mm, 160 ppi, HVGA) with scratch-resistant glass, and 18-bit color (rendering 262,144 colors). The touch screen is so designed that you can perform functions just by tapping your bare finger on the screen. Also multiple fingers can be used for multi touch sensing. The iPhone 3GS version also has oleo phobic coating on the screen which prevents marks of fingerprint on the screen.

The iPhone display responds to three sensors- proximity sensor, ambient light sensor and accelerometer sensor. The proximity sensor deactivates the touch screen functions while you make a call. This deactivation prevents unnecessary inputs from your face and ears when you are on a call. The ambient light sensor adjusts the display brightness according to the surrounding whereas accelerometer helps you to switch between portrait mode and landscape mode.

For text input, the iPhone provides a virtual keyboard on the touch screen which automatically checks and corrects spellings, predicts words, and a dynamic dictionary that learns new words. The first generation iPhone lacked GPS hardware where as the 3G and 3GS versions of iPhone employ assisted GPS. The iPhone 3GS version also features a digital compass.

iPhone and iPhone3g have builtin 2.0 megapixel cameras with no optical zoom, flash and autofocus. It also does not support video recording. However, the iPhone 3GS has a 3.2 megapixel camera, featuring autofocus, auto white balance. It is also capable of capturing 640×480 (VGA resolution) video at 30 frames per second. The video can then be cropped on the device itself and directly uploaded to YouTube, Mobile Me, or other services.

The original first generation iPhone had 4 GB and 8 GB internal memory storage. However later the 4 GB version was discarded. Now iPhone3G is available in 8 GB and 16 GB whereas iPhone 3GS is available in 16 GB and 32 GB variant.

All the three versions of iPhones are accompanied by USB power adapter, or wall charger. The original first generation iPhone also comes with a clearing cloth, a stereo headset and a plastic dock which holds the phone upright while charging. The 3G version has a similar headset and it includes a sim eject tool. Whereas the 3GS version has the sim eject tool and a headset which is featured with a volume control switch on it.

iPhone opens a whole new world of applications. You can choose from thousands of applications and download them at a tap. With each application your iPhone gets better. Be more productive. Keep yourself entertained. Play games, stay in touch with your pals on face book or discover new restaurants on the urban spoon. No matter what you want to do on iPhone, there’s an application for that. When you buy an iPhone you just don’t buy a cell phone but you build a whole new world around you.