Apple launches iPhone4S

Not what everybody was expecting but below is just some of the news reports from various people  when to expect the launch of the Apple iPhone 4S

Pcr Newsflash

Tim Cook unveils updated version of previous model, rather than brand new device
Apple has announced the iPhone 4S, an updated version of the previous generation iPhone4.
All the updates are under the bonnet - the device has an A5 chip roughly twice the speed of the previous model, duel core graphics, a higher res camera and a GB of RAM.
It will hit the UK on OCtober 14th.
CEO Tim Cook took center stage at Apple's Infinite Loop building in Cuppertino, having taken over from Steve Jobs earlier this year.
Speculation was rife in the run up to the event, and many were expecting a slightly more groundbreaking announcement from the consumer electronic giant, such as the launch of a brand new device.Investors may have felt the same way, since Apple's share prices have dropped 3 per cent.
However the technical updates do keep the phone firmly on top of the specs pile - which at this stage of Apple's popularity is all it really needs to do - and is a much needed move considering some of the super-powered Samsung and HTC devices hitting the market.
The firm also launched an updated version of iOS, some new cheaper iPod SKUs, and announced the launch date of iCloud as October 12th.

Bloomberg

Apple Inc. (AAPL), in its first product unveiling since Steve Jobsresigned as chief executive officer, introduced a faster iPhone with voice features and a higher- resolution camera to help it vie withGoogle Inc. (GOOG)’s Android.The new iPhone 4S’s A5 chip will be seven times faster than the old processor, Apple said today at an event at its headquarters in Cupertino, California. The model will cost $199, $299 and $399, depending on features, and will be sold by Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) for the first time. Apple already has agreements with AT&T Inc. (T) andVerizon Wireless.The update of Apple’s best-selling product marks an early test for Tim Cook, CEO since Aug. 24, who hasn’t yet shown he can match his predecessor’s skills at product design and marketing. While the iPhone is the world’s most popular smartphone, Google’s Android software is more widely used, showing up in devices from Samsung Electronics Co. and HTC Corp. Shares slumped today during the presentation after Apple failed to announce a more groundbreaking iPhone 5 model.“There is some disappointment that only one new iPhone has been announced,” said Shaw Wu, an analyst at Birmingham, Alabama-based Sterne Agee.Jobs, who remains Apple’s chairman, didn’t appear at the event today. The 56-year-old has taken three medical leaves over the past seven years amid a battle with a rare form of cancer.

Camera Phone. The iPhone 4S, available Oct. 14, will have a camera with 60 percent more pixels and can handle high-definition video. The device also relies on an “intelligent antenna system” that’s designed to improve call quality and works with both CDMA and GSM wireless standards. Users will have up to 8 hours of talk time on one charge. “For many customers, the iPhone 4S will be the best still camera they’ve ever owned, the best video camera they’ve ever owned, and it’s with them all the time,” said Phil Schiller, a senior vice president in charge of product marketing. A new voice-recognition system, meanwhile, will turn the device into a hands-free personal assistant. The technology lets users check weather, get directions or surf the Web using speech commands. Apple already had basic voice-control abilities on the iPhone for placing a call or accessing a song. Apple acquired a speech-recognition software company last year called Siri, which helped it develop the new features. The system relies on artificial intelligence to handle users’ questions. 

‘Who Are You?’ 

Scott Forstall, a senior vice president in charge of iPhone software, demonstrated the technology on stage by asking the phone, “Who are you?”  It responded, “I am a humble personal assistant.”  The features, combined with the more aggressive prices, will give Apple an edge, said Andy Hargreaves, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities in Portland, Oregon.  “Siri is very unique from what I’ve seen and should continue to differentiate them at the high end,” he said.  The older iPhone 4 model will now cost $99, and the iPhone 3GS will be free with a wireless contract, Apple said.  The company also demonstrated iCloud, a new service for storing files such as pictures and music on Apple’s remote servers. That means the files can be accessed through iPads, iPhones and Macs, and mobile devices no longer have to sync up to a computer. Apple will give away advertising-free e-mail as part of the service, which comes out Oct. 12.

Twitter Features

Apple showed off other new software features, including an integration with Twitter Inc. that lets users quickly post updates to the social-blogging service. Apple’s new iOS 5 operating system, which runs its mobile devices, also will be available for free on Oct. 12.  The iPhone accounted for almost half Apple’s sales in the most recent quarter. Combined, the iPhone, iPad tablet and iPod Touch touch-screen media player have sold 250 million units in total, Apple said today. There are now more than 500,000 applications in the company’s App Store, which has generated $3 billion for developers since its debut in 2008.  “In three years, customers have downloaded 18 billion apps -- and it’s accelerating,” Forstall said at today’s event. The rate is now over 1 billion per month, he said.  The company also is making inroads with corporate users. Ninety-three percent of Fortune 500 companies are testing the iPhone for use by their employees, and 92 percent are trying out the iPad, Apple said today. 

Smartphone Showdown

At stake is leadership in the market for smartphones, which is projected to double by 2015, when 1 billion of the handsets will be sold, according to research firm IDC. While Apple is the single biggest smartphone maker, the Android coalition leads the market, accounting for 41.7 percent.  It’s been 16 months since the last iPhone release -- a longer lag than usual. The pent-up demand may help Apple sell a record 25 million iPhones during the December quarter, according to estimates by Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray Cos. The lack of an all-new iPhone, with a different outer design, won’t deter buyers, he said.  “Everyone would have liked a new form factor, but they’re still going to sell a boatload, and there will be long lines,” Munster said. “It’s less about hardware and more about software and services.”

Pcmag

Apple on Tuesday finally unveiled a new iPhone—the iPhone 4S.  Sprint was also added to the iPhone carrier lineup.  Pre-orders for the device start October 7 and they will be in stores on October 14. The iPhone 4S will come in black and white. A 16GB will cost $199, the 32GB will be $299, and, for the first time, a 64GB version will be $399.  "Don't be fooled. Inside it is all new," Apple's Phil Schiller said. That includes Apple's new dual-core A5 chip, as well as dual-core graphics and 7x faster performance, with the same retina display found on the iPhone 4.  Schiller said users will get eight hours of 3G talk time with the iPhone 4S, for the first time. He also said the device will "intelligently switch between two antennas to improve call quality" and double download speeds. It will support HSPA+ 14.4, which can deliver speeds up to 14.4 Mbps.

The "world phone" will support both CDMA and GSM networks.  One of the updates coming to the 4S is voice recognition. "We really just want to be able to talk to our device. Tell it what we want and have it do it for you," Forstall said. 

Last year, Apple acquired voice-recognition application startup Siriand added some voice-to-text features to iOS 4. That option will be beefed up with the iPhone 4S to understand context and allow you to speak naturally when you ask it questions, Apple said.

Forstall asked Siri for the weather, for example, and it spit out the forecast. It also told him the time in Paris, and the status of the NASDAQ, and also provided restaurant recommendations for Palo Alto, sourced from Yelp.

Siri can also read messages aloud so you don't have to read them on the screen, Forstall said. Voice-activated search is also supported.

Siri is incorporated into the navigation of the device, so you can have Siri do just about anything you would do with your phone, according to Forstall. "You can manage your calendar now with your voice. You can compose and dictate emails right to Siri."

The technology will initially include support for English, French, and German. It will debut as a beta, meaning Apple will add more languages and services over time.

Apple boasted about the phone's camera capabilities, arguing that it will be better than the average point and shoot device. The 4S's camera will include an 8-megapixel sensor with 60 percent more pixels, hybrid IR filter for better image quality, five element lens, f/2.4 aperture for better low-light performance, and advanced face-detection algorithms, as well as 1080p video recording.  The iPhone 4S will come pre-loaded with iOS 5, which will make its debut on October 12, along with iCloud.  Schiller made the announcement at a press event at Apple's Cupertino headquarters, where Tim Cook also took the stage for the first time as CEO.  Cook said the iPhone 4 accounts for more than half of all the iPhones sold since the device's inception. "It's pummeling the competition," he said.  Apple also talked up its iPad tablet, and said Apple has now sold more than 250 million iOS devices. About 92 percent of Fortune 500 companies are also testing or deploying the tablet, which Cook said is "unheard of." Despite the competition, the iPad is "the undisputed, top selling tablet in the world," he said.  Rumors about Apple's next iPhone, meanwhile, have been making the rounds for the better part of a year, with reports of a completely revamped device, an edge-to-edge screen, no NFC (well, maybe), and an 8-megapixel camera, among other things.  Attention soon turned to when Apple might unveil the new device. For the last two years, Apple has announced its new iPhone at its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in June. This year, however, Steve Jobs took to the stage to provide a glimpse of iOS 5 and Mac OS X Lion, but did not show off a new iPhone. Attention then turned to Apple's fall music event—September? October? Never? We finally got our answer late last month, when Apple sent out invites for today's event, urging attendees to "talk iPhone."