Apple made some more info about the iPhone public today and the news is encouraging. Apple has upgraded the touchscreen to a scratch-resistant glass surface, and the battery will provide up to 8 hours of talk time. That's much better than the rumored 40 minutes of talk time we saw a couple of months ago.The new battery life numbers are a nice step up from original estimates of 5 hours. Now, Apple is talking up the fact that the iPhone has 8 hours of gab time, 7 hours of video playback, 6 hours of Internet use (assuming Wi-Fi here, not EDGE), and a very nice 24 hours of music playback. With numbers like this, users will actually be able to get through 2 days or so without needing to recharge the device, depending on how they use it.

This is a key issue for the iPhone. Right now, it does not appear to have a user-replaceable or serviceable battery. One of the many early fears about the iPhone is that battery life would be terrible and it would force lots of returns of the device. That would result, of course, in a nice black eye for Apple. These stats put those fears to rest.

Another concern about the iPhone is that the front screen, originally a plastic surface, would become easily scratched and marred. This was a problem on the first generation iPod Nano MP3 player, and Apple was forced to eat some crow. Looks like Apple is looking to prevent a similar set of problems and has upgraded the front surface to optical-quality glass in order to help it fend off scratches, as well as improve clarity.

"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."