Apple Announces iPhone 4S

In the first major keynote address and product unveiling not handled by legendary mastermind Steve Jobs, Tim Cook unveiled the Apple iPhone 4S today at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California.

On the outside the 4S looks exactly like its predecessor, but on the inside Apple is calling it "all new." Apple has jammed a dual-core A5 CPU inside alongside a new dual-core GPU that supposedly boosts graphics performance by up to 7x. This is the same processor that can be found in the iPad 2. Up front is the same 3.5-inch Retina display, and around back is a glass plate.

A major flaw in the last installment of exterior of the iPhone were the antennae. Those antennae around the sides have been revamped and iOS will intelligently switch between two different sets on the fly to avoid dropping calls no matter how you hold it. Those antennae are connected to a dual-mode GSM and CDMA radio that will let Apple's handset roam the globe while enjoying either 14.4Mbps HSPA+ or EVDO.

On the back is also a new camera that sports an 8-megapixel camera with a backside illuminated CMOS sensor for better low-light performance. The lens now comes packed in a new 5-element assembly with a hybrid IR filter and sports apertures down to f/2.4. The improved visuals extend to video performance as well. The 4S can record 1080p video and has a new image signal processor for image stabilization and facial recognition, making the handset's camera comparable to many point-and-shoots. The camera is also quite a bit faster than many other smartphone shooters, needing only 1.1 seconds before being ready to take the first shot and only half a second between successive images.

The 4S is also the first Apple handset to come packing Siri virtual assistant tech included. Just tap the mic on the keyboard (just like on Android!) and start talking to enter text, check the weather, get directions or perform web searches.

Battery life is also improved: eight hours of talk over 3G, and 14 hours of 2G, while web browsing over 3G cuts off at six hours. Using WiFi you'll get a respectable nine hours of web, video playback tops out at 10 hours and music at 40 hours. The 4S will come in both black and white, starting at $199 for 16GB and $299 for the 32GB, but the big news is a new 64GB model coming in at a whopping $399. You'll be able to pre-order this friday, October 7th, and it'll start shipping on October 14th in the US, Canada, Australia, UK, France, Germany, and Japan.Also, Sprint users will be able to use apple products now as well in the US.

For more info, visit Engadget