Gulf misses out on new iPhone

APPLE LAUNCH: The new Apple iPhone will be available in Qatar later this year, the only Gulf nation to have a sales agreement for the popular mobile phone. (Getty Images)

The newly launched Apple iPhone will be available in Qatar later this year, the only Gulf nation to have a sales agreement for the popular mobile phone, according to Apple's website.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the new iPhone 3G at the Apple Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco on Monday night and said the phone was “twice as fast at half the price”.

The phone will officially launch on July 11 in 22 countries, with further releases scheduled for another 70 nations at a later date.

While Jobs did not name any new countries due to receive the second generation phone. Vodafone will sell the phone in Qatar, according to Apple's website. There was no indication on price or release date.

The first generation 2G model is already no longer available in the US and UK.

The new iPhone will also come in 16 GB and 8 GB models, with prices of no more than $299 and $199 respectively, Jobs said.

The phone now includes improved battery life and would provide very fast download times for browsing, up to 36% faster than rivals Nokia N95 and Treo 750, he told the conference.

The form of the iPhone 3G remains the same, a 3.5 inch screen and built in camera, and will be available in black and white.

During his keynote speech, Jobs said the original iPhone had changed the usage of smartphones, with 98% of iPhone users using it for internet browsing, 94% for email and 90% for SMS, while 80% were using ten or more features.

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