iPhone 4S Availability: Tips on How to Get Yours Fast

The iPhone 4S' availability, or lack thereof, has left consumers frustrated and impatient to get their hands on what has been the most anticipated smartphone of the year.

For those who did not pre-order the iPhone 4s online or who did not wake at the crack of dawn Friday to wait in an Apple store line are infuriated as they face an unavailable message on Apple's online reservation facility. You can only buy the phone in-store after reserving it online.

The situation in U.S carrier stores is far worse, with stocks of the phone not expected for at least another week. Just reserve it on the Web site, it's the fastest way, said one AT&T representative based in the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

Apple asks its customers to log onto its Web site at 9 p.m. to reserve their phone for pick-up the next day. But by 9.01 p.m. on Monday, both the 16GB iPhones were sold out in Black and White on all carriers. By 9:02pm, the 32GB white phone had gone on AT&T and Verizon and by 9.05pm every 16 and 32GB phone was unavailable.

It is obvious the white version of the 4S is the most popular; therefore the trick is to have selected your closest store by 8.59 p.m. and then click Next as soon as the clock strikes 9 to be able to land the 16GB in your color of choice.

For those who have tried this method for a few days and still failed due to a slow Internet connect or overloaded server, it might be a good idea to order the phone directly and get it shipped to your address. The wait time for all carriers is 1-2 weeks according to Apple's Web site. On the upside, however, shipping is free and it could save time and hassle of having to get to a store before 6 p.m. the next day.

Released months after the expected summer date, the iPhone 4S has become the most highly anticipated phone of the year. Consumers showed disappointment when Tim Cook failed to unveil an iPhone 5 at Apple's Let's Talk iPhone Event, yet the so- called disappointment did not reflect in sales after 4 million units were sold over the first weekend.

In pre-orders alone, Apple broke its record and sold 1 million units in 24 hours. The iPhone 4 had sold 600,000 through its pre-orders the previous year.

Here are the newest features packed into the iPhone 4S:

The A5 Chip: The new iPhone may have the same retina screen but the interior has had an entire revamp with the latest A5 chip making its way into the phone.

It's Fast: With a Dual-core CPU the new iPhone is 2x as fast at CPU tasks and up to 7x faster than the previous iPhone, which is a great perk for games. Data can also be downloaded twice as fast as before. Theoretical max performance used to be 5.8 up and 7.2 down - now doubles to almost 14.4Mbps down.

Second Wireless System: The new iPhone can now intelligently switch between two antennas to produce even higher calling quality. This has never been done in a phone before.

Brand New Camera: As predicted, the iPhone 4S comes with an 8 megapixel sensor that gets 73 percent more light than the iPhone 4 sensor, and is faster. A high-end IR filter has also been fitted for greater accuracy and uniformity.

New Lens: The brand new camera lens has five elements and goes down to a wide f2.4 aperture

Apple designed ISP: The ISP enables face detection in photos and lets in a lot more light while shooting.

HD Video: The new iPhone 4S camera comes with stunning HD video with 1080p real-time video image stabilization.

Intelligent Assistant: With the new iPhone you can actually talk to your device through an integrated intelligent assistant who gets things done just by asking. What is the weather like? Where is this restaurant? Your device gives you all the answers you are looking for. Compose and dictate email right to your device. Set timers. Look up contacts, create notes, and search the Web.

More Languages: The intelligent assistant will have built-in with support for English, French, and German. More languages will be added over time.

It's out: iPhone 4S is available in Black and white, 16GB for $199, 32GB for $299, and 64GB for $399. This is the first 64GB iPhone.