Apple Soars to New High

Jobs said that when making the iPhone, the company decided to ditch the small QWERTY keyboard and plastic buttons used to operate other smartphones -- such as Research In Motion's (RIMM Quote) BlackBerry -- and make a giant screen instead so that the functionality could easily change.

For instance, a touch-screen QWERTY keyboard pops up for typing email on the iPhone, but with a touch of the screen, a user can switch and listen to music from his iTunes library instead.

The user also can zoom in on a photo or part of a Web page by pinching his fingers together or tapping the screen twice.

The iPhone comes just as Motorola's (MOT Quote) iconic Razr phone has fallen out of favor.

With its music, Internet, camera and email features, the iPhone will compete against smartphones such as Nokia's (NOK Quote) E62; Research In Motion's new Pearl BlackBerry; Samsung's thin lineup, including the BlackJack; and the increasingly popular Sony Ericsson Walkman phones.

As expected, Jobs also launched the renamed Apple TV device, which allows people to wirelessly transmit television shows, movies and music stored on their computers to their TV sets. It has a 40-GB hard drive and can store up to 50 hours of video. The device can auto-sync from one PC, stream content from up to five computers and is controlled by one remote.