Apple says iPhone battery better than originally expected

CUPERTINO, California (AP) – Apple Inc. says its highly anticipated iPhone will have a battery life that supports 8 hours of talk time, better than what the company originally estimated in January.

The company said Monday the battery also supports 7 hours of video playback, 6 hours of Internet use, 24 hours of music playback, and it will feature up to 10 days of standby time before requiring a recharge.

In January, Apple said it would support up to 5 hours of ”talk/video/browsing” and up to 16 hours of audio playback. Competitors’ phones – such as Palm Inc.’s Treo and Research in Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry Curve – tout about 4 hours of talk time.

In another change, the iPhone’s touch-sensitive screen will be made out of optical-quality glass, instead of plastic. Apple CEO Steve Jobs said the change will create ”superior scratch resistance and clarity.”

The combo cell phone, media player and wireless Web device will only be sold at stores owned by Apple Inc. and AT&T Inc., which has an exclusive deal to offer service for the device when it goes on sale in the U.S. on June 29. It will also be available at Apple’s Web site.

The iPhone will be available in two configurations, $500 (euro373) for a 4 gigabyte model and $600 (euro448) for one with 8 gigabytes of storage.

Shares of Apple jumped $3.12, or 2.6 percent, to $123.62 in morning trading.