Utah's Apple retailers and customers alike hail the company's release of a new television-computer hybrid and super-smart phone as multimedia evolution.

Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the Apple TV and iPhone on Tuesday at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco. "We're going to make history today," he said.

First out on Jobs' product runway was Apple TV, a wireless device that connects digital media - such as photos, music and movies downloaded to a laptop or PC - to a widescreen television. The unit includes a 40GB hard drive able to store up to 50 hours of high-definition video, and a super-fast 802.11n grade Wi-Fi networking connection.

The iPhone is being praised as the feature-laden next generation of the smart phone. The palm-sized device comes with a 3.5-inch touchscreen, high-speed wireless Internet and a 2-megapixel digital camera on board.

Jobs forecast a June release for the iPhone in the United States, while Europe and Asia will see it on shelves in late 2007 and 2008, respectively. They'll cost in the $500 to $600 range.

Cingular will be Apple's exclusive service partner for the iPhone.

"It's high time Apple got involved with phone," said Salt Lake City's Jeff Edwards, president of the Utah Mac Users Group. "There are a lot of them out there, but they all look alike and have pretty much the same features. The iPhone is all new and innovative."

"I can't wait to get my hands on it," Edwards said.

Jobs said designers worked hard to make iPhone easier to use than current models. It "is going to reinvent the phone," he said, and serve as a "leapfrog" product in the communications market.

With its full, desktop-level Internet browsing abilities, multimedia features and robust processor and hefty onboard memory, the iPhone could make competing smart phones made by rivals Palm (Treo) and RIM (Blackberry) look old and tired, said Phil Windley, a Provo-based information technology analyst.

Meanwhile, with Apple TV's direct connection to the company-run iTunes site and other Internet media outlets, the days of video rentals - whether Netflix-like movies by mail, or from neighborhood video stores - may be numbered.

Priced at $299, Apple TV units are expected to ship to stores in February, though Jobs said Apple already is taking orders.

Apple would not allow staff at its Gateway corporate store to comment. But competitor Russ Fellows, manager of the MacDocs store at 1435 S. State St., anticipates good business ahead. Restocking, inventory and staff training "will definitely change a lot of stuff for us," he said. Still, said Fellows, who runs one of the state's oldest Apple resellers, Apple TV and iPhone could be as successful as the company's iPod line - the world's most popular audio and video players.

Innovation powers technological evolution, Fellows said, something "Apple has been doing for the past five years in blurring the line" between TV, stereo and computer functions.

"Not only can I now have my PC in the kitchen feeding the TV in the living room, but this takes out the [video rental] middleman," Fellows explained. "You can buy the movie, download it and watch it as you do."

Richard McAllister, a longtime fan of Apple Macintosh computers, may be one of the first in Utah to go with Apple TV. He's already placed his order, though he knows it could be several weeks before he gets the unit.

"I just couldn't wait. I'm so crazed about it, that's all I've been talking about today," said McAllister, who tracks consumer technology for Salt Lake City's Xmission Internet service provider.

He predicts the advent of the Apple TV and iPhone products together will spur innovations in the ways multimedia is delivered, with third-party applications yet unimagined speeding adoption of the new technologies.

"Apple TV will take all these people buying music and television shows off [the Internet] and integrate that into the home theater system," McAllister said. "It's slick, easy and you can connect up to five different machines, grabbing media off of any of them."

bmims@sltrib.com

The IPhone

The iPhone lets you listen to music, view photos or watch movies and television on its 3.5-inch touchscreen. When you turn the phone sideways, a built-in sensor detects the shift to widescreen mode.

It's a super-phone

To make a phone call, scroll your finger through the address book and point. The iPhone also handles text messaging, voice mail and computer-based contacts.

It's a Web surfer

The iPhone Web browser displays Web pages similar to how they look on computer screens. The machine is powered by the same operating system that runs Apple's desktop computers, giving it the ability to run multiple applications at once.

Tech specs

The iPhone comes in two sizes - 4GB and 8GB - and will sell for between $500 and $600. Expect it to hit the streets in June.