I normally wouldn’t cover cellphone news, but with recent announcements such as this…, I thought it would be good to let this be known. We might soon see a new device entering the competitive portable gaming market.

Today, Apply released info about it’s upcoming 3G iPhone. The phone features thinner edges, a plastic back, headphone jack, and the standard iPhone 2.0 firmware. Apple claims its 3G speeds trounce the competition, with pageloads 36% faster than the N95 and Treo 750 It is also said to have 300 hours of battery life on standby, 8-10 hours of 2G talk, and 5 hours of 3G talk. Apple hopes to launch in 70 countries this year. The 8GB model will be available for $199, 16GB for $299. Apple will be hitting the 22 biggest markets, including the US, on July 11th. More information about this can be found at Engadget.com.

 
Other tidbits:

• It’s a teensy bit thicker. 4.5 by 2.4 by 0.48 inches (115.5 by 62.1 by 12.3 mm), and weighs 4.7 ounces (133 grams).
• Radios galore: Wi-Fi (802.11b/g), UMTS / HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz), GSM / EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
• A SIM ejector comes in the box, at last.
• There’s no dock included, just a USB power adapter and dock connector.
• On AT&T unlimited iPhone 3G data plans for consumers will be available for $30 a month, on top of voice plans starting at $39.99 a month. Unlimited 3G data for business users will be $45 a month, on top of voice. There’s a minimum two-year agreement, but we’re not positive what that’ll look like for those currently enslaved to an AT&T contract — you could be looking at a solid four years of time if you just took the plunge.
• Apple’s new MobileMe service will be coming with the iPhone 2.0 software, bringing push email and contacts for all.
• Apple’s official page is here, and you can watch the new ad here.
• Available on July 11th in: Australia, Austria, Belgium (French), Belgium (Dutch), Canada (English), Canada (French), Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland (French), Switzerland (German), UK, USA
• The rest of these are slated to get the phone this year: Argentina, Botswana, Brazil, Cameroon, C. African Republic, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, India, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Macau, Madagascar, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Nicaragua, Niger, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Senegal, Singapore, Qatar, Slovakia, South Africa, Turkey, Uruguay.