The Apple iPhone 4S Is Finally Here

Are you one of the millions who can't wait for the 'latest and greatest' in communications?  Your wait is over.  Preorders for the 4S begin October 7. For the 4S, with a two-year contract, it’s priced at $199 for 16 gigabytes of storage, $299 for 32 GB, and $399 for 64 GB. The price for the 8 GB iPhone 4 dropped to $99, and if you don’t mind an older phone, the 3GS is now free with that same contract.

In addition, Sprint joins AT&T and Verizon as an iPhone carrier, as was expected.

Apple also introduced an iPhone 4S-only “voice assistant” called Siri, which can understand natural human language rather than just simple commands. Apple purchased the Siri technology in 2010, and while the Siri app itself has always been cool, integrating it into the phone itself is new… and looks pretty amazing.

The iPhone 4S will run faster and has new mobile software that can sync content wirelessly, without having to plug an iPhone to a Mac or Windows machine.

But all this aside, speculation about an all-new iPhone ran high in the weeks and months leading up to Tuesday’s keynote. Many tech blogs even showed cases for the new phones, which were larger and thinner than the current iPhone 4 body. No one’s quite sure what those cases are for now, but scores of people are already expressing disappointment that today’s keynote didn’t live up to their expectations.

Apple also is touting the popularity of its products and unveiled a new line of iPods, including a Nano model with a multi-touch display that promises to be easier to navigate.