Apple on Tuesday announced the iPhone 4S, a 3G smartphone with improved hardware designed to allow the device to run applications faster than its predecessor, the iPhone 4.

The iPhone 4S will run on a dual-core A5 processor, which also will allow the device to run graphics up to seven times faster than prior models, said Phil Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide product marketing at Apple, during an event held at the company's Cupertino, Calif. campus. That could allow for a better gaming experience and 1080p video playback. The iPhone 4's A4 chip provides up to 720p of video playback.

The iPhone 4S will be priced at $199 for a 16GB model, $299 for a 32GB model and $399 for a 64GB model, with a two-year contract.

The smartphone will be available on Oct. 14 in the U.S. through AT&T, Sprint and Verizon. It will also become available in Canada, Australia, the U.K., France, Germany and Japan on that day. It will become available in 24 more countries by Oct. 28, and in 70 countries by the end of the year.

The new smartphone will offer eight hours of 3G talk time, 14 hours of 2G talk time and 10 hours of video on one battery charge. The device will also offer nine hours of Wi-Fi browsing time and six hours of 3G browsing time.

Full story: Computerworld