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unprecedented collaboration withAT&T MobilityCingular Wireless at the time, at an estimateddevelopment cost of $150 million over thirty months. Apple rejected the design by committeeapproach that had yielded theMotorola ROKR E1, a largely unsuccessful collaboration withMotorola. Instead, Cingular gave Apple the liberty to develop the iPhone's hardware andsoftware in-house.On
July 11, 2008
, Apple released the iPhone 3G in twenty-two countries, including the originalsix. Apple has since released the iPhone 3G in upwards of eighty countries and territories. Appleannounced the iPhone 3GS on
June 2009
, along with plans to release it later in
June, July,
and
August
, starting with the U.S., Canada and major European countries on June. Apple sold 6.1million original iPhone units over five quarters. The company sold 3.8 million iPhone 3G unitsin the second quarter, ending
March 2009
, totaling 21.4 million iPhones sold to date.
Sales inthe fourth quarter 2008 surpassed temporarily those of RIM'sBlackBerrysales of 5.2 million
units, which made Apple briefly the third largest mobile phone manufacturer by revenue, after NokiaandSamsung.
Approximately 6.4 million iPhones are active in the U.S. alone.
WhileiPhone sales constitute a significant portion of Apple's revenue, some of this income isdeferred.Regardless, the iPhone has garnered positive reviews from critics like
and
.
The iPhone attracts users of all ages.
Phone
The iPhone allows audioconferencing, call holding, call merging,caller ID,and integration with
other cellular network features and iPhone functions.
For example, if a song is playing while acall is received, it gradually fades out, and fades back when the call has ended.
The proximitysensor shuts off the screen and touch-sensitive circuitry when the iPhone is brought close to the
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