At the “Let’s Talk iPhone” event in Cupertino, Apple officially introduces its iPhone 4S, an upgrade to the iPhone 4 with the “S” mark stands for Speed (Or Super Man, your call). The 4S will run on HSDPA network (dual CDMA / GSM) and will launch on October 14 in the US (Canada, Australia, UK, France, Germany, and Japan), priced at $199 for 16GB, $299 for 32GB and $399 for 64GB, while orders start October 7th.
The new iPhone 4S will sport a rear eight-megapixel camera (capable of 3264-by-2448 pixel resolution) with a backlit sensor, a DSLR lens mount, and last but not least: 1080p HD recording. Besides that, it boasts 1GB RAM (vs. the 512mb on the iphone 4), a powerful dual-core A5 processor, a 7x times faster graphics integration and finally, and maybe a little disappointing, the same concept/design of the good ‘ol iphone 4.
What else inside, you’re asking? Well, it has that same stunning 3.5-inch Retina display up front, paired with the nice and fragile glass cover on the back, a built-in Wifi connectivity, Bluetooth 4.0 +A2DP, a battery that delivers impressive 8 hours of 3G talk time, 6 hours of 3G browsing, 10 hours of video playback and up to 40 hours in music mode.
Software wise, the iPhone 4S will run Apple’s latest and greatest iOS 5 platform which will be released, free of charge, on October 12th, along with other cool features such as AirPlay mirroring, Notifications center, Reminders, the iMessages, a Newsstand app, and the big daddy of them all – iCloude support. The 4S is also the first iDevice to run Siri, your personal intelligent voice assistant that lets you ask any question about weather forecast, directions, technological issues, restaurants recommendations and more – Compatible with English French and German languages in the Beta stage – Or set up calender meetings, voice-to-text messages, alarms, different kind of web searches/activities and many other options on board.
Apple also plans an 8 GB iPhone 4 that will be launched at the same day for $49.99(!), replacing the iPhone 3GS that will be offered for nothing but $0 at the entry level point.
Make sure you checkout the Official iPhone 4S/Siri introduction videos after the break, along with the full PR announcement and a comparison table between the new 4S device and its twin brother – iphone 4.
Update1: Whether it’s the Steve Jobs effect or the iphone 4S attraction, one thing’s for sure – the iphone 4S mobile device is already a hit. According to the latest news, the Cupertino giant has already received over 200,000 AT&T pre-orders in the first 12 hours of online availability (since October 7), which means the entire first iphone 4s U.S online stock is GONE and it would probably take one or two weeks of shipping for those who aim for a second round of orders. That’s crazy! To say the least.
Update2: And to be even more precised, Apple has just issued a new press release announcing even more staggering numbers – Over one million pre-orders for the iPhone 4S in 24 hours. Wow. Almost twice the previous single-day iphone 4 selling record of 600,000. Full PR after the break.
[Apple]