'''New i-Phone Bows But Fails To Wow'''

Apple Inc.'s Tim Cook stepped into the spotlight for the first time as chief executive to unveil a new iPhone that was more fizzle than pop.

At a keynote address at Apple's Cupertino, Calif., headquarters, the new CEO introduced the fifth-generation of the company's smartphone, dubbed the 4S, which features a faster processor and a better camera, as well as voice-command services.

But despite upgrades to its internal components and some new software capabilities, the iPhone 4S looks like its predecessor physically and doesn't make a big leap in its overall capabilities. Many of its features are also already available on competitors' phones. That left some analysts, investors and customers wanting more.

'Underwhelming is the word that hit me,' said Endpoint Technologies Associates analyst Roger Kay. Many of the new software features, such as syncing media among devices over the Internet, are 'really interesting,' he said, 'but when it comes to packaging that for excitement, it is really hard to show people why that is so cool.'

The letdown was echoed in the early performance of Apple's shares, which fell as much as 5% Tuesday and finished down 0.6% at $372.50 at 4 p.m. trading even as the broader market rose.

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said there will inevitably be long lines for the new iPhone, which will arrive at stores in the U.S., Japan and several other countries on Oct. 14. 'But those lines could have been longer if they would've just gone to a four-inch screen,' instead of keeping it at 3 1/2 inches, he said.

Mr. Munster estimates Apple sold 22 million iPhones in the quarter that ended in September and will sell 25 million in the next quarter.

The iPhone 4S is Apple's first overhaul of its popular smartphone in nearly 16 months and comes at a vastly different time for the company and the market. Apple now faces a considerable rival in the form of phones running Google Inc.'s Android software, which is also touch operated and offers users access to thousands of apps.

The new iPhone, which comes in black or white, will have an Apple A5 processor, the same chip found in the company's iPad 2 tablet. The new chip can download data twice as fast and can handle graphics seven times faster, making it better for videogames, Apple said. Users can also go directly to the camera even when the phone is locked and take a photo within 1.1 seconds. The phone's battery offers eight hours of 3G talk time, nine hours of Wi-Fi browsing and 10 hours of video.

But with Tuesday's announcement, Apple also sought to focus attention on its software. The new phone will run Apple's latest mobile operating system, iOS 5, which features new messaging and data-synchronization tools and is part of a wider ecosystem of software and services designed to work together, so that, for example, photos taken on the iPhone show up automatically on a user's iPad.

Some Apple followers -- and more than a few avid customers -- had expected Apple's fifth-generation phone to be called the iPhone 5. But Apple chose to follow the strategy it used in upgrading its iPhone 3G. That phone was called the 3GS and included improvements to software and services but retained the same basic form.

'''Apple Sets iPhone Event Oct. 4, 2011'''

Apple Inc. invited reporters to an iPhone-related event Oct. 4, setting the stage for the widely anticipated launch of its latest smartphone.

On Tuesday, Apple sent reporters an email with the message, 'Let's talk iPhone,' inviting them to an event at its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters. Apple has traditionally held an event in the early fall to update iPod products, as well as its iTunes digital music jukebox software.

Apple shares recently were up $2.14 at $405.31.

'The company will likely announce a redesigned iPhone 5 with a larger screen and thinner form-factor for $199/$299, and may drop the iPhone 4 to $99, possibly with slightly upgraded components and a new name, iPhone 4S,' Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said in a note Tuesday.

He added that the invitation's phrase of 'Let's talk iPhone' may 'refer to new speech-based features for the iPhone.'

Mr. Munster, who rates Apple at outperform with a $607 price target, estimates sales of 25 million iPhones in the December quarter. He noted that demand from Verizon Wireless subscribers could be strong because iPhone 4 had been available on other carriers for more than six months when the carrier got it in February.

The event next week follows what analysts say has been a blowout quarter for Apple's iPhone 4. The device, which was released in June 2010, has been a hit with consumers despite initial customer complaints that the device's antenna was prone to malfunctioning when held a certain way.

Overall, the iPhone has helped to drive Apple's revenue and profit growth to record levels and has become the best-selling smartphone in the world.

Despite its high ranking, however, the iPhone's sales pale in comparison to the mountain of devices sold around the world that are powered by Google Inc.'s Android operating system. The software, which powers phones made by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., HTC Corp. and Dell Inc., is used by 43% of U.S. smartphone subscribers, according to the latest surveys by Nielsen. The iPhone, by comparison, represents 28%.

Still, analysts expect the new iPhone will likely follow a similar path of success as its predecessor, drawing enthusiastic customers to its stores on its release day.