What Features Does the New iPhone 5 Have?

I've been excited about this for a long time!!  This afternoon (EST), in San Francisco, Apple introduced the iPhone 5.

The latest version of the best-selling smartphone has been highly anticipated ever since the somewhat disappointing release of the previous iteration, the iPhone 4s.

The iPhone 5 will be the thinnest smartphone on the market. Made entirely of glass and aluminum, (not good for me.... I drop my phone a lot!) the phone was also designed by Apple to fit right into your hand, according to Apple CEO Tim Cook, who led the product demonstration.

Other features include:

• a new, larger 4-inch display
• all software has been updated
• screen is bigger—taller but not wider (it now has five rows of apps per page)
• all apps updated to fit the screen; they'll be centered until resized by the developer
• faster wireless
• the touch has been integrated with display with ... drumroll, please ... LTE
• better speakers and microphones
• 1080p HD video
• the 8-megapixel camera now has a panorama feature built in
• wide-band audio makes voices sound much more natural
• a new A6 chip
• longer battery life
• a new connector and dock
• a new, native maps app; i.e., no more Google Maps
• new mail features include VIPs
• passbook, which allows you to put passes, tickets and coupons on one app, with push notifications—basically, it's a digital wallet
• photo streaming updates to share photos directly with friends
• Siri updates: sports scores, movie recommendations, direct posting to Facebook, coordination with Open Table, less delay
• comes in white (an  aluminum finish called silver) or black (aluminum finish called slate)

The iPhone 5 will be available for pre-order from Apple this Friday, September 14, and ships on September 21. Pricing is $199 for 16 GB, $299 for 32 GB, and $399 for 64 GB (all on contract).

My husband is going to be jealous!  He upgraded when the 4s came out, but I kept my iPhone 4....  Now it's my turn to upgrade!