The latest edition of Apple Inc's iPhone will be available in the market this month, in an attempt of the company to keep ahead of their increasing number of competitors, like Google Inc, in the smartphone industry.

People were caught in awe as Apple's chief executive Steve Jobs showed the packed room on Monday the new $199 16GB "iPhone 4" that has double picture quality , A4 processor, allows video chat and is a quarter slimmer than the current handset.

Mr Jobs told an investor and industry audience during the annual developers' conference of Apple in San Francisco that the newest phone will be ready for sale on June 24 in five countries, expanding to 18 by July and 88 by September in the fastest-ever international roll-out for an iPhone.

However, not everyone was amazed with the technological improvements, as they had been already expected. Analysts say that it will take a lot to stand out from the crowd, adding that Google's operating system, which is used by many brands from Motorola Inc and HTC Corp to Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Dell Inc, poses the biggest threat.

"This is more evolutionary than revolutionary -- it doesn't completely change the paradigm for the iPhone," Hudson Square Research analyst Daniel Ernst said.

"Expectations get so high for these product launches and announcements that a lot of times, by the time it comes out it's already in the stock. They always have to walk on water in order to impress the market."

The stock has gained more than 20 percent this year, and the company overtook Microsoft Corporation as the world's most valuable technology company.

Apple's shares were down 1.9 percent to $251.11 in busy late afternoon Nasdaq trading in a weakening market. Google shares were off 2.9 percent, while Research in Motion Ltd was down 6.0 percent.

Nevertheless, the phone still received mostly positive initial reviews.

"But what you're buying from Apple is not just the hardware. It's the whole package, including the apps and the store. That is very impressive," said Gartner analyst Kenneth Dulaney.