Apple Officially Announces The iPhone 4S

At his first press conference as CEO of Apple, Tim Cook unveiled the iPhone 4S, the next generation of Apple's hit smartphone.

Cook, who became Apple's chief executive following Steve Jobs's resignation in August, promised that the iPhone 4S would be far faster than its predecessor, offering speedier downloads thanks to its revamped antenna system and faster processing as a result of its new chip.

The most notable new feature will be the iPhone 4's integration of a virtual, voice-activated personal assistant: Siri. Powered by technology developed by a company of the same name Apple acquired in 2010, Siri will answer questions a user poses by speaking to the phone, read text messages out loud, speak reminders, and more.

The iPhone 4S will feature the high resolution Retina Display that was introduced on the iPhone 4 and an A5 processor (which currently powers Apple's iPad 2) that will make the phone twice as fast as the previous generation of the iPhone.

Its battery has also been improved -- Cook noted that users can expect 8 hours of talk time, or an hour more than the iPhone 4 -- it will be a "world phone" compatible with both GSM and CDMA networks, and the phone has been equipped with a new wireless system that will enable it to "intelligently switch" between its two, built-in antennas so that it can send and receive data at the same speed as 4G phones, according to Cook.

The iPhone 4S will have an upgraded 8 megapixel camera. In addition to offering higher-resolution photos with 60 percent more pixels than the iPhone 4, the iPhone 4S will allow for 1080p HD video recording and has been revamped to let users take better pictures in lower light and snap shots faster than on other phones.

The iPhone 4S will be available for pre-order on October 7 and will hit stores October 14. Not only will be available on AT&T and Verizon, two wireless carriers that already offered the phone, but Sprint will also be offering the iPhone 4S.

The specs disclosed so far:

• Dual-core A5 CPU, said to be “2x as fast at CPU tasks”
• Dual-core graphics, up to “7x faster than the previous iPhone”
• Battery life estimates: 8 hours talk time on 3G, 14 hours on 2G. 6 hours of browsing on 3G, 9 on Wi-Fi. 10 hours of video playback, 40 hours of music.
• Theoretical download speeds of 14.4Mbps (as opposed to 7.2 on the iPhone 4.) Interestingly, Schiller called out Motorola, LG, and HTC for calling these speeds “4G”.
• World Phone (in other words, the one model will handle both GSM [like AT&T] and CDMA [like Verizon], and it should work well in most countries around the world)
• 8 megapixel camera (Photo resolution: 3264 x 2448). The camera also takes advantage of image processing on the A5 chip, enabling stuff like Face detection and 26% more accurate white balance.
• 1080p video recording with real-time noise reduction and video stabilization (!)
• Voice-controlled personal assistant. You can ask things like “Will it rain in Cupertino?”, or “Can you find me a Greek Restaurant in Palo Alto?”, or “What’s the time in Paris?” and it’ll answer accordingly. This is the culmination of their purchase of Siri back in 2010 — and surprisingly enough, they’re keeping the “Siri” name.
• Available in black or white
• Pricing 16GB for $199, 32GB for $299, or 64GB for $399. This is the first time Apple has offered a 64GB iPhone.

Fake iPhone 5 Email can Infect your Computer

The new iPhone has not been announced. It is not available for pre-order. It does not have a ridiculous see-through screen. It is not called the "iPhone 5G S" and it's (probably) not going to be available this Friday. So if you get an email with the subject line "iPhone 5G S has been released" that contains what appears to be marketing from Apple, don't fall for it.

Technology journalist Abram Wagenaar received such an email in his inbox and posted a screenshot to Twitter (see below). Aside from the fact that the phone hasn't even been announced yet, there are several other warning signs: the see-through display, the weirder-than-weird naming scheme (iPhone 5G S) and the insanely big "5" on the backside of the phone.

"Clicking on links in the email takes you to some Windows malware (lucky Mac fans are being ignored by the hackers on this occasion) which Sophos detects as Mal/Zapchas-A."

If your computer has become infected by Mal/Zapchas-A, you run the risk of having your machine remotely accessed by others. However, it appears that most common anti-virus programs are able to remove it.

Anonymous Creates Twitter Tool

The loose-knit group Anonymous which claims responsibility for a number of politically-motivated online attacks has made a tool available for download which takes over Twitter trending topics and lets users post messages within them. A report in Cnet says the beta software called U.R.G.E. (Universal Rapid Gamma Emitter), is for Windows and requires .Net Framework 4 to work.

 The Anonymous group said in a statement that "This is not a hacking tool nor is it an exploit tool. It was created to make it easier for us to tweet faster without copying and pasting constantly."
Anonymous members say they are annoyed with all the redundant and "pop culture" topics featured on Twitter Trends and want to draw more attention to topics that "actually serve a cause."

Apple's iPhone 5 Sneak Peak

The much awaited Apple's product iPhone 5 could look something like an enhanced version of iPod as per the leaked mockup designs by MacRumors. The new iPhone 5 will have tapered edges at its back along with a much sleeker look with close resemblance to iPod. It is also rumored that the back of iPhone 5 will have aluminium base instead of the iPhone 4 glassy base.

[Apple's iPhone 5 Will Have A 4-Inch Screen]

The final dimensions of the new design are calculated to be: 4.33" x 2.36" and .27" thickness at the top and .21" at the bottom In comparison, the iPhone 4 dimensions are: 4.5" x 2.31" x .37". So the new design is actually shorter than the existing iPhone 4, but slightly wider and thinner. 

The iPhone 5 is expected to be released in September or October of this year.