iPhone 4S Countdown: Just Hours Away -- Review of Specs/Features Along with Price and Purchase Info

Memo to all the Apple enthusiasts who feel slighted that new CEO Tim Cook unveiled an iPhone 4S and not an iPhone 5: get over it, because the iPhone 4S is an excellent phone.

The iPhone 5 will come out one day, too, but until then, there's plenty to be pleased about with the iPhone 4S, which hits stores within hours.

Apple will begin selling the iPhone 4S at all 245 Apple retail stores in the U.S. starting at 8 a.m. local time on Friday, Oct, 14. The iPhone 4S will also go on sale at AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon locations, as well as at Best Buy, Target, and Wal-Mart.

The demand is already sky high. For iPhone 4, roughly 600,000 units were sold in 24 hours, and iPhone 4S has already reportedly sold over a million in pre-orders

So what makes the iPhone 4S so special?

Siri: Apple is betting on this feature as the signature difference between this iPhone and all others. According to Apple.com, Siri lets you use your voice to send messages, schedule meetings, place phone calls, and more. Ask Siri to do things just by talking the way you talk. Siri understands what you say, knows what you mean, and even talks back. Siri is so easy to use and does so much, you'll keep finding more and more ways to use it. The last part of that pitch may be open for debate. Will people actually use Siri, or will they try it out for fun, and then revert back to the former ways of using the phone?

For the Apple fans who searched the Internet like Sherlock Holmes to find the newest detail about iPhone 5, Siri bears a striking resemblance to Assistant, the feature that many Web sites leaked as the newest Apple creation. Siri basically encompasses all of the features of rumored features of Assistant, giving those who were disappointed by iPhone 5 even less reason to whine.

Worldwide release: Unlike in previous Apple launches, the U.S. won't be the first country to get the newest gadget as Canadians won't have to wait in the cold (pun intended) for three months while their neighbors to the south were already going over their minute plan. The the phone is also launching on Oct. 14 in the U.K., Australia, France, Germany, and Japan, and should be in 70 nations by December.

AppleCare+: Apple has offered an upgrade in their protection plan with AppleCare+, which gives every iPhone a year of repair coverage and accidental damage, for a one-time fee of $99. There is still the default protection that Apple gives free of charge.

Steve Jobs's last gadget: There is some sentiment with iPhone 4S as it is the last product that famed innovator Steve Jobs signed off on. As many mourn Jobs, the iPhone 4S will be a reminder of his enormous contribution to the technology industry.

Three carriers: We've come a long way since it was just AT&T that had access to the iPhone. With the additions of Verizon and now Sprint, Apple has broadened its reach and now more users will be able to have access to the iPhone. For the repeat buyers of the iPhone, finding friends and family to convert to Apple's smart phone will become a lot easier. In Japan, iPhone 4S will launch through KDDI.

Apple A5 chip with 1 GHz dual-core processor: Under the slick casing is a faster processor and a more light-sensitive camera that will take faster pictures.

Prices: There is no difference in the white or black models. The subsidized prices are the following with a two-year contract: 16GB: $199; 32GB: $299; 64GB: $399. The following are prices for an unlocked phones without a contract: 16GB: $649; 32GB: $749; 64GB: $849.

There will be throngs of tech geeks outside the Apple store, as well as the numerous stores that will be selling the iPhone 4S, but there will be time for everyone to make their upgrade soon enough, as many have already forgotten about not having an iPhone 5.

As the New York Times wrote in their review, The question isn't what's in a name - it's what's in a phone. And the answer is: 'A lot of amazing technology. And some of it feels like magic.'