Today sees the UK release of the updated Apple mobile phone, the iPhone 3G, first revealed by Steve Jobs at the start of June in the Apple WDC keynote.

The Electronics Weekly guide to the iPhone 3G

A gallery of images  

As well as 3G comms, GPS functionality has also been added, to support map-based and movement tracking apps. Geo-locational info can be triangulated using Wi-Fi and mobile transmitters. Details of supported wireless comms are as follows:

• UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz)
• GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
• Wi-Fi (802.11b/g)
• Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR

Weighing 133 grams and measuring 115.5mm x 62.1mm x 12.3mm (h x w x), the iPhone 3G features a 3.5-inch (diagonal) touchscreen, with 480-by-320-pixel resolution at 163 ppi. Full specifications can be found can be found here www.apple.com/iphone/specs.html

O2 is the Apple-chosen UK supplier, with 8GB and 16GB models available on contracts starting from £30 per month.

Pay-as-you options have been previously leaked as costing £299 and £350, respectively, but a date for the appearance of these phones has yet to be confirmed, let alone their price.

The iPhone comes in a choice of colours: white or black, but not green.

Despite the expected popularity of the phone, Apple has come under fire from Greenpeace for not designing out the toxics (PVC, BFRs and antimony) that Greenpeace found present in the first generation iPhone. Apple has made progress, it says, in reducing toxic chemicals such as PVC and Brominated Flame Retardants from computers such as the MacBook Air and the new iMac.

"The iPhone may be 'Twice as Fast' and 'Half the Price' as Apple advertises, but does it have just as many toxic chemicals as previous models?  Based on the iPhone specs from Apple's website, it appears that the "G" in the new 3G iPhone will not be standing for 'Green,' said Casey Harrell, Greenpeace International Toxics Campaigner.

"Steve Jobs has missed an opportunity to reinvent the iPhone in green and catch up with other leading mobile phone providers such as Nokia and Sony Ericsson, whose product lines are already free of these harmful substances." 

While not responding directly to the Greenpeace criticisms of the latest model, Apple confirmed to Electronics Weekly that it plans to eliminate completely the use of PVC and BFRs (brominated flame retardants) in its products, a la Nokia and Sony Ericsson, by the end of 2008, suggesting another iteration of the device.

Apple supplied no comment at the time of writing.

See also: Curious Story of Atom's Apple Design-In, from Mannerisms, David Manners' semiconductor industry blog.