7 Apps You Don't Want to Miss for your Android device

From an app that makes your Android device look like an iPhone to another that gives 2D pictures a 3D look -- many interesting apps launched this week. Each weekend.

Cameo

Cameo is a new app for creating videos with your friends. The app helps you create a video, which you can then enhance with effects to make it a polished, finished product. You can share completed videos on social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, or upload them to Instagram and YouTube.

Zombie Kong Word

How could you possibly improve Donkey Kong? What about adding zombies? Zombie Kong World takes the traditional game, and adds a zombie twist for a fun new take on the original.

Tadaa 3D

Tadaa helps you make 3D illusions with your iPhone’s 2D camera. The app comes with dozens of built-in filters, and makes creating your own unique images a snap.

iOS 7 Keyboard For Android

iOS 7 Keyboard brings Apple’s keyboard to your favorite Android devices. The keyboard looks and feels exactly like the one in iOS.

Rhymes With Friends

Challenge your friends to a poetry slam with Rhymes with Friends. The app has solo and challenge modes, and lets you add finished poems to a digital book that you can share publicly.

Today - Calendar Widgets

Need a little help keeping up with your schedule? Today is a collection of minimalistic calendar widgets that can help keep you organized on your favorite Android tablet or smartphone.

 

Achvr

Are you trying to achieve something? Whether you’re trying to learn how to code or lose a few pounds, Achvr is a social network that aims to help you get there. With the app, you can earn points for achieving different goals, keep track of things you’ve accomplished and discover which goals you have in common with your network.

Samsung overtakes Apple in smartphones, trails in profits

Even with 40% fewer unit sales, the iPhone is 3 times more profitable than the Galaxy S

Source: Strategy Analytics

Apple's (AAPL) reign as the world's No. 1 maker of smartphones, it turns out, was like the life of a grasshopper: It overtook Nokia (NOK) in June and was overtaken by Samsung in September.

Samsung reported Friday that it sold 27.8 million Galaxy smartphones last quarter, easily outpacing the iPhone's 17.07 million. Even if Apple sells 25 to 30 million iPhones in the holiday quarter, as various analysts predict, Samsung is likely to retain its lead.

But unlike the grasshopper, Apple is in it for the long run. It's selling iPhones as fast as it can make them and socking away more profit than all of its competitors combined (see here).

Samsung, for example, reported profits of $2.2 billion from the sales of Galaxy smartphones last quarter, 60% of the electronic giant's total.

iPhone sales last quarter, while less than expected, generated nearly $11 billion in sales (39% 0f Apple's total). Assuming, conservatively, 60% profit margins on each iPhone sold, that's an estimated profit of $6.5 billion, leaving No. 1 Samsung in the dust.

Microsoft OmniTouch gives us what we all want, maybe

What you are seeing here is a project from Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University, and it could easily be the future.

This OmniTouch has the amazing ability to turn any surface into a touchscreen. All of this is possible with this shoulder-mounted device that is both pico-projector and Kinect.

So if you want to use your hand to run applications, just hold it out and the proper buttons will appear. Forget about a tablet PC, all you need is just a paper tablet!

What I really like is how the user can just go to a nearby wall if they want to see an email. He or she can even finger paint on the wall, using their hand as a palette. Yes, the hand can be used as an interim interface, like when you want to project your display on your desk, for example.

Considering that we didn’t have a lot of the devices that we have now ten years ago (heck, we haven’t even had iPhones for half a decade), one has to wonder where we are going with mobile technology. I can’t help but think that this could be the future, if this shoulder-mounted device was a little bit smaller and less protruding. If it was the size of a button, I’ll bet people would be more open to it.

In the meantime, I am content with sitting back and letting the future surprise me.

Dragon App turns your iOS Device into a Voice Recorder

Want to capture that sweet voice of your little girl humming her nursery poems? Or maybe you wish record an audio interview but without having to carry that digital voice recorder?

Nuance, developers of the popular Dragon Naturally Speech Recognition software, today released a new iOS app called Dragon Recorder that lets you quickly record voice notes on your iOS device with a single tap.

Launch the app and tap the screen to begin recording – tap again to pause or double tap to finish the recording. You can playback the audio on your iOS device itself or the audio files can be easily transferred to the computer over Wi-Fi.

One useful feature is that if you switch to a different app during a recording session, the Dragon Recorder app will continue recording. Thus the app can be used to record audio from other apps – for example, Skype calls.

Dragon Recorder is for the iPhone but can also be used to capture audio on the iPad.

iPod Touch and Nano Receive Minor Updates, Price Drops

 





















Apple today updated the iPod touch and iPod nano with the iPod touch now available in black and white.

The new iPod nano is available today starting at just $129 and features a redesigned user interface, 16 new digital clock faces and improved built-in fitness features.

“iPod has revolutionized the way we listen to music and with over 320 million sold is the world’s most popular music player,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “iPod touch, now available in both black and white, is the best selling iPod ever, and with iOS 5 and iCloud it is better than ever.”

Apple has now settled its holiday lineup which includes the iPod shuffle for just £40; iPod nano with Multi-Touch starting at just £115; iPod touch available in black or white, including iOS 5 and iCloud, starting at just £169; and iPod classic in a 160GB model for £199.

Skype 2.5 for Android adds more supported handsets and enhanced video experience

Today we are pleased to announce that with Skype 2.5 for Android, we are whitelisting video support for an additional 14 Android devices. This brings the total number of white listed devices for video calling to an exciting 41. Now Skype video calling will also be available by default on several Motorola Devices including the Atrix or Xoom. Download the updated Skype for Android app from the Android Market or Skype.com/m using your Android phone's browser or just scan the QR code below.
With Skype 2.5 for Android, the list of Android devices we've added Skype video support for include:

• Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1


• HTC Nexus One


• HTC EVO 3D


• Sony Ericsson Xperia Live with Walkman


• Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V


• LG Optimus Black


• LG Optimus 3D


• LG Optimus 2x


• Motorola Photon


• Motorola Droid 3


• Motorola Bionic


• Motorola Xoom


• Motorola Atrix


• Acer Iconia

For a full list of supported devices for video calling, please visit Android Market.


The Skype 2.5 for Android update also brings you further video enhancements. You can now switch between portrait and landscape mode during video calls, and zoom in with a simple double tap on the screen.

We also improved support for bluetooth headsets and included a number of bug fixes and performance enhancements, which should further boost the user experience of Skype for Android on your phone.
In addition, as with our recent Mac and iOS update, there will be an advertising platform introduced in this new release. Advertising will not be shown to users that have Skype Credit, a Calling or Skype Premium subscription.
If you want to discuss this new release or have any questions, please feel free to visit our new Skype Support Network. We hope you enjoy the update!

Photo-Sharing App LiveShare Adds News Feed, Local Groups

Cooliris’ photo-sharing app LiveShare is all-new today, with two major additions: a Facebook-like News Feed and enhanced geolocation features that let you share photos with others in your same vicinity. The latter feature, seemingly reminiscent of the failed location-based photo-sharing app from Color, is different in that it doesn’t just work on mobile – it works in a Web browser, too.

For those unfamiliar with LiveShare (not surprising, given the crowded photo-sharing space), it’s trying differentiate itself by being an app you can choose to use, but that doesn’t require everyone else in your network to use in order to be effective. It’s a photo-sharing tool, in other words, but doesn’t necessarily have to be your photo-sharing social network.

This, frankly, has been one of LiveShare’s best qualities. There are far too many apps that require a “network effect” to function properly. It’s a breath of fresh air to find one where that’s just an added bonus.

When you post photos in LiveShare, to either a public or private group, you can share those pics out via email or SMS or cross-post them to Facebook and Twitter.

It also offers dynamically generated suggestions of folks to add to a group’s list during its creation, including those who you only share with over email or text messaging, for example. Coming soon, if a friend replies via SMS or email, that message will be added to the LiveShare group, too, making it a one-stop shop for everything that’s going on with your photos.

Today’s addition of the News Feed inches LiveShare back into “photo social networking” territory, however, bringing the focus back to the in-app groups. Like Facebook’s News Feed, you can comment on the posts and those comments are syndicated back to Facebook. Unfortunately, LiveShare says that comments on Facebook won’t be synced back to the in-app group. There’s a reason for this (they claim it would be “too confusing”), but from my perspective, it feels like a mistake. After all, in every other capacity, LiveShare is helping to centralize the photo-sharing experience.

The other new feature, location-based public groups, lets anyone contribute to a photo collection, and works especially well for real-time events, like parties, weddings, or nights out on the town. For those who don’t have the app, they can email in photos to a main address instead or post online. Photos are then available for later viewing both in the app and on the Web.

Can Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 compete with the iPhone 4S?

The latest version of the Apple iPhone made an appearance today. The 4s, not the iPhone 5 as was anticipated. The question is does this help Microsoft with its Windows Phone 7 marketing?

Pricing

Microsoft and Nokia entered an agreement earlier this year to produce mobile phones. The marketing strategy behind this is that Nokia has a strong distribution and marketing system in Latin America, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Asia. Consequently, Microsoft would have a larger distribution point available to make the Windows Phone 7 a global entity. However, this largely relies on the assumption that Apple does not undercut the Microsoft plan with a cheaper mobile phone system.

A cheaper iPhone with a strong global launch pattern would have been a real marketing nightmare for both Microsoft and Nokia.  Both planned to undercut the iPhone system by selling smartphones in the $150-$300 average price range. Rightly so all new iPhones in the past have come out with average price levels above $650 – partly subsidized to the tune of $200 by leading US carriers.

The iPhone 4S
The technology is impressive, but from Microsoft’s point of view, it is the pricing that may be the sticking point.

• The iPhone 4S starts at $199 for a 16GB device, then $299 for 32GB, and $399 for 64GB.
• The iPhone 4 moves to $99.
• And the iPhone 3GS is now free (with a two year contract)

Can Microsoft and Nokia compete?
With this type of pricing for the mobile phone can Microsoft and Nokia compete? Ever since the Windows Phone 7 made its debut, there was more publicity than actual sales. The Windows Phone 7 has about 2% of the mobile phone market. Playing catch up has been hard for Microsoft in this market and it may be hoping that the price value of the Windows Phone 7 pushes its products out the door faster than before. But with Apple making the new price plans available, it may be hard for Microsoft to make a dent.

Apple Seeds iOS 5 Gold Master to Developers

 

Along with today's other iPhone news, Apple has also seeded the Gold Master (GM) of iOS 5. This was widely expected since it's common for Apple to seed the final beta release of an upcoming OS shortly after the announcement keynote. The build carries the name 9A334 and it's also expected to be the build that will ship on October 12th. Registered developers can download the build from Apple's developer center. Although iOS 5 will provide over-the-air updates, the GM must be installed via iTunes.

Accounts

• When creating an iCloud account you can use any Apple ID provided it is a full email address and not a MobileMe account. If you have a MobileMe account, you can copy data from that account to an iCloud account to use during testing. You can find more information on iCloud at: http://developer.apple.com/icloud
• When setting up an iCloud or MobileMe account using the setup assistant and leaving Find My iPhone on, it might actually turn Find my iPhone off after the setup. Please verify in Settings/Mail, Contacts, Calendar/YourAccount that Find my iPhone is toggled On after leaving the setup assistant.
• There is a problem finding a device using Find My iPhone on the MobileMe website (www.me.com) when switching from iCloud back to MobileMe. To workaround this issue:
  • On the device go to Settings->Mail, Contacts, Calendar-><your_account>@me.com and Toggle Find My iPhone off and back on. Now the device should show up on MobileMe website.
• It is recommended that you disable Bookmarks on multiple accounts. If they are enabled, the results might be undefined.
• NEW: In this beta the option of “Choosing a security question” is not working during an iCloud account setup.

AirPlay

• Starting in iOS 5, video content in applications and websites are AirPlay-enabled by default.
• iOS 5 supports AirPlay of video via AV Foundation.
• FIXED: The Apple TV screen saver may degrade mirroring performance over AirPlay. The screen saver can be disabled in Apple TV settings.

Apple TV

• Apple TV Software beta enables users to mirror the contents of an iPad 2 to an Apple TV (2nd generation) using AirPlay. This beta software also enables Photo Stream on Apple TV so users can access photos stored in iCloud. Apple TV Software beta is being provided to test the latest AirPlay functionality with your iOS 5 apps and web sites. If you wish to install Apple TV Software beta on your device, you must first register your device UDID in the iOS Developer Program Portal.

Audio

• Using voice chat in iOS 5 requires setting the kAudioSessionMode_VoiceChat mode on the Audio Session, or setting the AVAudioSessionModeVoiceChat mode on theAVAudioSession object.

CalDav

• FIXED: After creating a recurring event locally on the device, the device stops syncing after hitting an error on merge. Removing and re-adding the account acts as a workaround for this.

Calendar

• All MobileMe calendars were duplicated after turning calendar syncing off and back on.
• If you launch or manually refresh Calendars on an iPad, your calendars might disappear and you will have to tap “Show All Calendars” to display them again.
• NEW: Restoring from a Seed 1 backup or earlier will cause MobileMe/iCloud calendars not to sync. Subscribed calendars will show up in Calendars but none of your event calendars will appear in MobileCal. To workaround the problem please remove and re-add the account.

GameKit

• Match data for turn based matches is currently limited to 4 KB of data.

GameCenter

• If you have an existing Game Center account which has not yet gone through the first-time Game Center flow in iOS 5, you will encounter a crash when signing into a game’s login alert directly. The workaround for this is to launch Game Center to complete the first-time flow.

iBooks

• iBooks 1.2.2 may fail to display some text or images in books. Please update to iBooks 1.3 in the App Store.

iCloud Backup

• As this is beta software, it is recommended that you do not use the iCloud services to store any critical data or information. If you enable iCloud Backup, automatic backup with iTunes when syncing will be disabled. We suggest you also manually back up your device with iTunes.
• In the iOS 5 beta, support for data protection in iCloud Backup is unavailable. Apps that have protected files will not have any of their data or metadata backed up as a result.
• After restoring, you may not be able to back up again because the device still thinks it’s restoring. To workaround this issue try syncing apps or media that are missing form iTunes or try deleting your iCloud account and adding it back.
• If you delete your backup, the feature will be disabled but settings may still indicate that it is enabled and you will have to toggle the BackUp to Cloud switch in Settings.
• For compatibility reasons, this version of the iOS 5 beta requires that all files be backed up again, instead of only those files that have changed since your last backup. This may cause a warning that your account is over quota. In case the warning occurs, you can delete your oldest backup to free up space and then initiate a backup.

iCloud Storage

• During the iOS 5 beta period, any documents stored on the servers might be purged periodically before GM. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you do not store any critical documents or information on the servers.
• If your application is using the NSMetadataQuery class, you must set a predicate, even though the predicate itself is ignored.
• The Foundation framework doesn’t include the team ID when looking for an app’s mobile documents container. The Team ID must be included at the beginning of the identifier string passed to the URLForUbiquityContainerIdentifier: method.
• In this beta, the setSortDescriptors: method of NSMetadataQuery is not supported.
• In this beta, if you want to use iCloud, you have to manually specify various container identifiers (your application’s Display set) within an Entitlements file for both of your Mac OS X and iOS projects.
• There are issues using the Cloud Storage document API in conjunction with protected data which can lead to data corruption.
• In this beta, document-based applications cannot always detect when files change, move, or are deleted out from underneath them.
• NEW: In this beta, file presenters (objects that adopt the NSFilePresenter protocol) do not receive some of the messages that they’re supposed to receive, especially:
  • presentedItemDidChange
  • presentedSubitemDidAppearAtURL:
  • presentedSubitemDidChangeAtURL:
  You can workaround this by implementing the relinquishPresentedItemToWriter: method and checking to see if the writer actually wrote when your file presenter reacquires. You can also use FSEvents to observe file system changes
• In this beta, messages about changes to files in a directory are not getting delivered to objects that adopt the NSFilePresenter protocol.
• While reporting a bug related to the iCloud storage interfaces, please include the logs collected during your debugging session. To generate these logs, you must install a special debug profile on your device.The debug profile can be obtained from http://connect.apple.com. This profile enables the generation of debug logs that are needed to diagnose any problems using iCloud storage. The instructions to collect the logs are:
  1. Install the profile. (The easiest way to do this is to mail it to yourself and open the attachment on their device.)
  2. Reproduce the bug.
  3. Sync with iTunes to pull the logs off your device.
  4. Attach the logs to your bug report. You can find the logs in ~/Library/Logs/CrashReporter/MobileDevice/DeviceName/DiagnosticLogs.
  These logs can grow large very quickly, so you should remove the profile after you have reproduced the problem and pulled the logs for the bug report.

iMessage

• NEW: iMessage beta 3 will be unable to communicate with iMessage users on beta 1. It works between beta 3 and beta 2.
• NEW: Modal alerts don’t appear for iMessages.

iTunes

• The version of iTunes that comes with beta 3 cannot sync devices that have the beta 2 software installed. To avoid this problem, do the following:
  1. Sync any devices that have beta 2 installed to the version of iTunes that came with beta 2.
  2. Upgrade iTunes to the version that comes with beta 3.
  3. Connect the device and install the beta 3 software. (Understand that you might see a failure to sync error when you first connect the device.)
  4. After installing the beta 3 software, restore from your the backup you made in step 1.
• Videos purchased from the iTunes Store do not play on a 2nd generation AppleTV over AirPlay with iTunes 10.5.

MMS

• Sending an MMS of large videos does not work.

Photo Adjustments

• If you apply red-eye adjustments in iOS, and import your image into the iPhoto seed build, the red-eye adjustments will not appear on that image in iPhoto. As a result, subsequent syncing of your image back to the iOS device from iPhoto will not show the red-eye adjustments.

Reminders

FIXED: The Reminders application does not send notifications for reminders that are based upon the entry (and/or exit) of a location if there is no date associated with the reminder.

Settings

• The “Back Up Now” button is enabled without the backup data class being enabled for the account.
• FIXED: If you bring up the keyboard of the terms in Settings->General->Software Update, you cannot dismiss it. You have to force quit Settings to get out.
• NEW: In this beta FaceTime icon is missing in Settings on the iPhones.

Simulator

• NEW: Location services are not functional in iOS 4.3 simulator running on Mac OS 10.7 with Xcode 4.2.

Springboard

• Push and local notifications for apps appear in the new Notification Center in iOS 5. Notification Center displays notifications that are considered “unread”. In order to accommodate push and local notifications that have no “unread” status, developers can use their application badge count to trigger a clearing of notifications from Notification Center. When an application clears its badge count (by setting it to zero), iOS 5 will clear its notifications from Notification Center.

Twitter

• NEW: When tweeting your location from Safari and exiting before the location can be established, the location arrow will stay in the status bar. The arrow can be removed by killing Safari from the task switcher.

UI Automation

• NEW: In iOS 5 beta 3, the first execution of a script after a reboot or erase install will likely fail. Subsequent attempts should succeed until the device is rebooted again.
• The play and record buttons in the Automation instrument script editor may not work properly after targeting an application that was launched by a trace session and has ended. They may also not work if you target an application that was suspended. If you run into this problem and it persists, you may need to close and reopen the trace document to get back into a functional state.
• When capturing actions into a script using the Automation instrument, interfaces with web views or table cells that contain a high number of off screen elements may take an extremely long time before returning with an expression.
• The lock() and unlock() functions of UIATarget have been replaced with the lockForDuration(<seconds>) function.
• Instruments overwrites the loaded automation script, even if another program is editing it.
• Starting iOS 5 beta 2, you can now trigger the execution of an UI Automation script on an iOS device from the host terminal by using the instruments tool. The command is:
  • instruments -w <device id> -t <template> <application>

UIKit

• NEW: Starting in iOS 5 beta 3, the exclusiveTouch property of UIControl has returned to its original default value of NO.
• Returning nil from the tableView:viewForHeaderInSection: method (or its footer equivalent) is no longer sufficient to hide a header. You must overridetableView:heightForHeaderInSection: and return 0.0 to hide a header.
• In the iOS 5 beta, the UITableView class has two methods to move one cell from one row to another with defined parameters. These APIs are:
  • moveSection:toSection:
  • moveRowAtIndexPath:toIndexPath:
• Using the UIWebView class in Interface Builder, setting transparent background color is possible in iOS 5. Developers compiling against the new SDK can check their XIB for theUIWebView transparent setting.
• In the iOS 5 beta, the UINavigationBar, UIToolbar, and UITabBar implementations have changed so that the drawRect: method is not called on instances of these classes unless it is implemented in a subclass. Apps that have re-implemented drawRect: in a category on any of these classes will find that the drawRect: method isn’t called. UIKit does link-checking to keep the method from being called in apps linked before iOS 5 but does not support this design on iOS 5 or later. Apps can either:
  • Use the customization API for bars that in iOS 5 and later, which is the preferred way.
  • Subclass UINavigationBar (or the other bar classes) and override drawRect: in the subclass.
• The indexPathForRow:inSection:, section, and row methods of NSIndexPath now use NSInteger instead of NSUInteger, so that these types match with methods defined onUITableView.
• There is a known issue with presenting a UIVideoEditorControllerobject where it doesn’t show the selected video, which appears blank instead. In certain cases it may also crash.
• Touch events are not getting forwarded to the view in the cameraOverlayView property of UIImagePickerController.
• The imagePickerController:didFinishPickingMediaWithInfo: method of UIImagePickerController is not returning a URL to the video when recording is complete.
• NEW: When creating a new appointment in calendar app on a device using 24 hr clock, you cannot select an hour value greater than 12. The date-time picker value sets current weekday to be the same as previous day (e.g: a An appointment on Tuesday will be set as Monday).
• FIXED: We have changed the behavior of scrollToRowAtIndexPath:atScrollPosition:animated: such that UITableViewScrollPositionTop andUITableViewScrollPositionBottom now adjust for the top and bottom portions of the contentInset property.

WebKit

• NEW: In iOS 5 beta 2, a new inherited CSS property, -webkit-overflow-scrolling: value, is available. The value touch allows the web developer to opt in to native-style scrolling in an overflow:scroll element. The default value for this property is auto.
• The WebKit framework has picked up a newer WebKit engine, which closely matches Safari 5.1. Some areas to be aware of with the new WebKit framework on iOS:
  • There is a new HTML5-compliant parser.
  • Text layout width may change slightly because word-rounding behavior now has floating-point-based precision.
  • There is improved validation of the <input type=number> form field, which includes removing leading zeros and number formatting.
  • Touch events are now supported on input fields.
  • window.onerror is now supported.
  • There is a new user agent that does not have locale information in the User Agent string.

WiFi Syncing

• In iOS 5 beta 2, wireless syncing is available for the Mac. It requires iTunes 10.5 beta 2 and OS X 10.6.8 or Lion. You will see an option to enable wireless syncing when you connect your device to iTunes with the USB cable. It is recommended you perform your initial sync with a cable after restoring your device.
  • Wireless syncing is triggered automatically when the device is connected to power and on the same network as the paired computer. Or, you can manually trigger a sync from iTunes or from Settings -> General -> iTunes Sync (same network as paired computer required). Be sure your device is plugged into a power source when performing wireless syncs.
  • If you find issues with apps, media and/or photos synced to your device, you can reset then resync. From Settings -> General -> Reset, choose Erase all Content and Settings. Then reconnect to iTunes and sync again.
• FIXED: In this beta, iTunes may incorrectly report Photos as “Other” in the capacity bar. Photo syncing otherwise works as expected.
• NEW:In some cases, your device may fail to sync contacts, calendars and account settings, or back up to iTunes. If this happens, reboot your device and re-sync.
• NEW:In some cases, syncing photos may result in only thumbnails on your device. If this happens, unsync Photos then re-sync again.

Xcode

• In this beta, device restores using XCode are disabled. Please use iTunes only to back up and restore your device.
• In some cases, Xcode 4.2 Organizer does not display a device that is in restore mode. As a workaround you can use iTunes to restore.
• FIXED: On some desktop machines, Xcode’s memory usage inflates incredibly fast while restoring a device or copying an IPSW. As a workaround use iTunes to restore.
• FIXED: In this beta, crash logs (either unsymbolicated or symbolicated) do not appear in Xcode Organizer. To make them appear in the Xcode Organizer, you will have to rename the device.
• In iOS 5 beta 2, the iOS Simulator is not compatible with previous releases of the iCloud Developer Seed for OS X. It is highly recommended that you update to the latest iCloud Developer Seed to ensure compatibility.
• iOS 5.0 SDK supports both iOS 4.3 and iOS 5.0 simulators.

iPhone 4S Launches October 14th

As expected, Apple unveiled its new iPhone 4S at its media event this afternoon. It’s available for pre-order on October 7th, and will begin shipping on October 14th. Availability on the 14th will be restricted to the US, Canada, Australia, UK, France, Germany and Japan. Twenty two more countries will get the phone by the 28th, and 70 by the end of the year. The 4S will be available on Sprint, AT&T and Verizon networks in the US. Contrary to rumors that indicated a complete overhaul of the phone, the 4S is a predictable progression from the iPhone 4.

It uses the same Apple A5 SoC as the iPad 2 (though, as usual, Apple didn’t reveal its clock speed or the amount of on-board RAM) and is now universally compatible with CDMA and GSM networks (making it a "world phone), but is visually similar to the iPhone 4 and uses the same 3.5” 640x960 “Retina Display” as its predecessor. It will be available in 16GB ($199), 32GB ($299), and 64GB ($399) capacities in both black and white with a 2-year contract. The iPhone 4 will remain as an 8GB phone for $99, while the 3GS will also stick around for free with contract.

Antenna diversity, a feature originally introduced in the CDMA iPhone 4, is now standard on all models of the iPhone 4S. As we found in our review of the Verizon iPhone 4, antenna diversity fixes the infamous antenna issue with the iPhone 4's design. The wireless stack has been upgraded to support HSPA+ 14.4, likely courtesy of Qualcomm's MDM6600.

As was widely predicted, the iPhone 4S sports a new 8MP camera sensor with a five element f2.4 lens. The new lens is apparently 30% sharper than the previous iteration. The camera subsystem itself supposedly has better color accuracy and more color uniformity. Apple talked about their custom designed Image Signal Processor (ISP) on the A5 SoC, however previous versions were also Apple designed. Apple claims 1.1 seconds to the first photo and 0.5 second shot-to-shot latency on the iPhone 4S. The camera can now shoot 1080p video due to the ISP upgrades in the A5 SoC. 

Wireless display mirroring via AirPlay is also supported on the iPhone 4S.

The new iPhone will debut with iOS 5, which will also be available to users of older devices on October 12. Exclusive to the new iPhone is iOS 5’s Siri voice assistant, which promises to bring new precision and utility to voice commands on the phone. The iPhone 4S with Siri will be able to understand natural language requests (e.g. "Wake me up tomorrow at 6AM) and act accordingly (e.g. create an alarm for 6AM tomorrow).

Expect a full review from us as soon as possible, and in the meantime you can always re-read our in-depth iPhone 4 review to get a better idea of what has changed since last summer.

Future Deliver Apple iOS 5 with Voice Control

While we are preparing for an iPhone event on October 4th, Apple hasn’t shared much about what we can expect aside from a coy, “Let’s talk iPhone.” invite.

We have been expecting an official confirmation of the fall iPhone even for some time, and expect Tim Cook to announce a new iPhone and the iOS 5 release date. We have also heard rumors of a cheaper iPhone, one that might push Apple stock prices over $530, but according to another analyst Apple will focus on iOS 5.

Gene Munster, an analyst with Piper Jaffray, issued an investment note which predicts that Apple will focus on the iPhone 5 and iOS 5 with new voice control features.

Apple is hosting an iPhone event on October 4th.

This contradicts other analysts and Al Gore’s promise of “iPhones,” but isn’t out of the question. The iPhone 4S is reportedly a new iPhone, which costs less to make than the iPhone 4, but will look similar to the device. An iPhone 4S would reportedly be sold for $300 to $350, which would allow Apple to enter the pre-paid cell phone market and mid range smartphone market.

The iPhone 4S might make an appearance as a cheaper iPhone on carriers like Verizon, Sprint and AT&T, or it could even appear on a carrier like Virgin Mobile, which is owned by Sprint and uses the Sprint networks.

Munster’s analysis may be spot on despite the contradicting reports. Apple’s coy, “Let’s talk iPhone.” invitation likely points to a heavy focus on the new iOS 5 voice control. The iOS 5 voice control comes from the acquisition of Siri and a partnership with Nuance. This new feature reportedly allows you to speak in plain english and your iPhone will respond with the appropriate action. This may be called Assistant and could be an iPhone 5 exclusive due to the increased RAM needed to make the system work flawlessly.

Apple typically delivers the best iOS experience on new devices, with older devices picking up parts of the update. With iOS 5, it looks like Voice Control will be the iPhone 5 exclusive.

iOS 5 on the iPhone Could be the iPhone 4S

Instead of spending the time to create a new piece of hardware with similar specs and a similar look, Apple might choose to make an iOS 5 powered iPhone 4 the new affordable Apple device. After Apple announcements, the past iPhone devices typically take a price cut, but production isn’t completely shut down. It’s possible that Apple will work on behind the scenes parts changes to bring the price down and count on the many new iOS 5 features to meet demand for a pre-paid or cheaper iPhone.

The video above shows off a collection of iOS 5 features which will come to current iPhones and iPads. This is a major update that could breath new life into older devices. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Apple use this update to move even more iPhone 4 devices. We may even see Facebook Integration in IOS 5.

For more on iOS 5, check out the iOS 5 Top Ten Features and videos, and learn how this will change the way you use your iPhone. iOS 5 addresses many of the complaints that users have, and it will be available as a free update to iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPod Touch and iPad owners. This is welcome news for the many iPhone owners who are stuck in a contract and cannot update to an iPhone 5 on launch day.

Tim Cook is expected to announce the iPhone 5 and iOS 5 on October 4th at Apple’s headquarters. This is his first announcement as CEO aft Steve Jobs resigned, which will bring many eyes to the event. We expect that Apple will share an iOS 5 release date of October 10th or 12th and an iPhone 5 release date of October 14th. If you are interested in selling your iPhone ahead of the launch, you can lock in a $250 trade in value form Netflix and send your phone in after it launches.