Apple fails to impress with iPhone 4S - Apple fans who stayed up for the highly anticipated iPhone 5 announcement might be disappointed to know that its latest mobile device is a souped-up version of the iPhone 4 - the iPhone 4S.
In a conference held at its headquarters in Cuppertino, Apple's new chief executive Tim Cook, who replaced ailing founder Steve Jobs, unveiled the company's latest products and developments, including its iPod, iCloud and the new iOS5, which will be launched on Oct 12.
The iPhone 4S, which was announced by Apple's senior vice-president Philip Schiller, boasts the A5 processor which is used to power the iPad and will run on both CDMA and GSM networks, as well as the iOS 5 software.
But what made iPhone lovers take notice is the upgraded camera of eight megapixels and the intelligent assistant, Siri, which recognises voice commands and makes calendar appointments just by talking to the phone.
According to Apple, the new voice command system can even perform mathematical calculations when asked to and is able to answer queries such as "will I need an umbrella this weekend?" and "what is the traffic like around here?"
Siri, which understands English, French and German, also allows users to search the web, search for restaurants, set the alarm, and have messages read back to the user.
The iPhone 4S, which will come in black and white, will launch on Oct 14 in the US, Canada, Australia, UK, France, Germany and Japan.
Apple will launch the phone in 22 more countries by Oct 28 and Singapore will be one of the countries to get the handset then.
By 3am local time, Singapore's Apple online store unveiled the iPhone 4S on their website but prices are yet to be available.
Prices for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS in Singapore will be available from S$788 and S$548 respectively.
The US price range for the iPhone 4S announced during the conference last night are US$199 (S$262) for 16GB, US$299 for 32GB, and US$399 for 64GB, the new capacity that is offered in the iPhone 4S.
The lower entry prices for Apple's newest iPhone will effectively make the iPhone 4 available in the US at only US$99, while earlier generations iPhone 3GS models will be free with telecom carrier contracts.
iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users will be able to upgrade to the iOS 5 software for free on Oct 13.
