THE NEW IPHONE - STRONGER, FASTER, CHEAPER!

Apple’s new iPhone — faster, cheaper and with more features — is winning praise from analysts who say the device has already more than earned its place in cell phone history.

The company, aiming to make its goal of selling 10 million iPhones by the end of this year, Monday slashed the price of the phone by half from $339 to $199 on its least expensive model, and said it will have faster 3G networking speed, as well as GPS.

“Whether or not they make their goal of selling 10 million iPhones by the end of the year doesn’t matter,” said David Chamberlain, principal wireless analyst for In-Stat Research.

“Apple has absolutely succeeded in this market, whether they hit that number,” he said. “The iPhone has forced all the major handset manufacturers in the same direction.”

That direction includes having a touchscreen and combining smartphone features, like calendar-keeping and e-mail, with entertainment uses, including music.

The new phone, which will go on sale July 11 in the United States and 21 other countries, is being called the iPhone 3G, a reference to the faster Internet surfing and e-mail access that it will get from AT&T Wireless’ third-generation cellular network.

3G speed means the phone is capable of more quickly processing data, at rates of up to 2 megabits per second. The original iPhone was 2.5G, which generally transmits data at a rate of between 144 and 384 kilobits per second.

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