This morning Apple issued a press release announcing significant upgrades to the iPhone - both the screen and the battery life. This is very good news, as it addresses one of the primary concerns about the iPhone - battery life.

The other upgrade, changing the screen from plastic to glass, poses another question though…will the glass crack easier than the plastic if dropped? I don’t know the answer, but I’m sure it will be discussed all throughout the interweb over the coming weeks…

From the Apple Gazette Article -

The first, and most significant upgrade is in the form of battery life. iPhone now will feature up to 8 hours of talk time, 6 hours of Internet use, 7 hours of video playback or 24 hours of audio playback. In addition, iPhone will feature up to 250 hours—more than 10 days—of standby time. The original announcement at Macworld earlier this year announced only 5 hours of video battery life, and 16 hours of audio playback.

“With 8 hours of talk time, and 24 hours of audio playback, iPhone’s battery life is longer than any other ‘Smartphone’ and even longer than most MP3 players,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We’ve also upgraded iPhone’s entire top surface from plastic to optical-quality glass for superior scratch resistance and clarity. There has never been a phone like iPhone, and we can’t wait to get this truly magical product into the hands of customers starting just 11 days from today.”