Apple has announced the new iPhone 4S packed with loads of new features including Apple’s dual-core A5 chip for super fast performance and stunning graphics; an all new camera with advanced optics; full 1080p HD resolution video recording; and Siri, an intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking. Check out my nine things to know below:

1. All new camera 8MP
2. Full 1080p HD video recording
3. Siri intelligent assistant, ask it “what is the traffie like around here?” 
4. iOS5 advanced operating system
5. Dual core A5 super fast chip
6. iCloud free cloud services for iPhone
7. iMessage new messaging service for texts, photos and videos between iOS5 users
8. Built in Twitter integration
9. Extended battery life – 8 hours of 3G talk time

iOS5

iPhone 4S comes with iOS 5, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, which includes over 200 new features including Notification Center, an innovative way to easily view and manage notifications in one place without interruption and iMessage, a new messaging service that lets you easily send text messages, photos and videos between all iOS 5 users.

Siri

iPhone 4S also introduces Siri, an intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking. Siri understands context allowing you to speak naturally when you ask it questions, for example, if you ask “Will I need an umbrella this weekend?” it understands you are looking for a weather forecast.

Siri is also smart about using the personal information you allow it to access, for example, if you tell Siri “Remind me to call Mum when I get home” it can find “Mum” in your address book, or ask Siri “What’s the traffic like around here?” and it can figure out where “here” is based on your current location.

Siri helps you make calls, send text messages or email, schedule meetings and reminders, make notes, search the Internet, find local businesses, get directions and more. You can also get answers, find facts and even perform complex calculations just by asking. It texts, writes and send emails and even speaks back to you!

iCloud

iCloud is a breakthrough set of free cloud services, including iTunes in the Cloud, Photo Stream and Documents in the Cloud, that work seamlessly with your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC to automatically and wirelessly store your content in iCloud and push it to all your devices. When content changes on one device, all your other devices are updated automatically and wirelessly.

Camera

iPhone 4S includes an all new camera with the most advanced optics of any phone. The 8 megapixel sensor has 60 percent more pixels so you can take amazing high quality photos with more detail than ever. iPhone 4S includes a new custom lens, a larger f/2.4 aperture and an advanced hybrid IR filter that produce sharper, brighter and more accurate images.

New features in the Camera and Photos apps give you instant access to the camera right from the lock screen, and you can also use the volume-up button to quickly snap a photo. The new Photos app lets you crop, rotate, enhance and remove red-eye, and organise your photos into albums right on your device to share them on the go.

iMessage

New iOS 5 features include built-in Twitter integration and iMessage, so you can instantly share your photos via Twitter directly from the Photos app and send photos via iMessage to individuals or groups. And with iCloud’s innovative new Photo Stream service, a photo you take on your iPhone is sent to iCloud and automatically pushed to your iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC. You can even view your Photo Stream album on your Apple TV.

HD Video

iPhone 4S can also now record video in full 1080p HD resolution and with the new video image stabilisation feature, you can take richer, smoother videos. Other iPhone 4S video camera improvements include increased sensitivity, sharpness and an increased ability to capture video in low light conditions. With the new iMessage service in iOS 5, you can now instantly share videos with family and friends.

A5 Chip

Apple’s dual-core A5 chip delivers up to twice the processing power and up to seven times faster graphics than iPhone 4, all while maintaining incredible battery life—now up to 8 hours of 3G talk time.

Pricing & Availability

iPhone 4S comes in either black or white and will be available in the UK on Friday, October 14 and customers can pre-order their iPhone 4S beginning Friday, October 7. iPhone pricing will be available closer to launch.

Simple to use this is a great gift for the golfing dad to help him finely tune his golf swing and ultimately improve his game. The Sensoglove is the first and only golf glove with built in sensors that measure your grip pressure when you are holding the club.

It helps you attain a smooth, consistent swing that delivers greater distance, enhanced precision and lower scores. It has a small 1.2 inch detachable digital monitor on top of the glove which analyses the pressure of your grip throughout every stage of your golf swing. You then get audio and visual feedback if you exceed your target level of grip pressure. Ideal for golfing fans at every level.

Available from www.sensoglove.com Price £50

If you’re not just a girl geek but also a girl nerd then, like me, you probably like playing board games. Traditional board game set up can be a bit tedious what with all those pieces that need counting out and setting up, not to mention the storage space required for all those boxes.

Luckily the iPad has amazing range of board game apps, meaning you can carry them around and it even sets up the pieces for you! Here are a few of the top contenders.

Classic

All classic boardgames from chess through backgammon to go and even Othello have many many implementations for the iPad. One of the most unusual is Game Table, which doesn’t implement the rules or force correct moves only but just lets you move pieces as you want.

Family

EA Games do a great line in all the family classics you’ll have played when you were a kid: Monopoly, Yahtzee, Scrabble and so on. If you also have an iPhone or iPod touch, Scrabble has a lovely feature where you can use your phone as a tile rack, with the iPad as the main playing board area. However my favourite of EA Games offerings is The Game of Life – they’ve even replicated the 10 number spinner that you flick to determine how many squares to move.

Eurogame

Finally all the classic Eurogames are implemented, including the world famous Settlers of Catan, Spiel des Jahres winning Carcassonne and GAMES magazine’s board game of 2010 – SmallWorld (2 player only).

There’s also an increasing number of games from from Sage Board Games, the most significant Eurogame developer for the iPad: Medici, Ra and Tikal are already in the Apple store with Puerto Rico, Le Havre and Tigris and Euphrates rumoured to be coming soon.

It’s a board game girl geek paradise!

This stylish personal security alarm is designed to be kept on display as a fashion accessory – right where you need it to hand. Clip to your handbag, or use as a keyring, but don’t be misled by its shiny good looks. In a threatening situation, just pull the chain. You’ll activate an ear-piercing 130Db female scream that research has shown others are more likely to respond to than a traditional alarm, as well as disorientating an attacker. It’s available in a range of seasonally updated designs that you can match to your own personal style and comes with a handy clasp to attach to your handbag.

• Weight: 60gm net product weight with battery
• Size: L80(mm) X W38(mm) X H19(mm)
• Battery life: 3 years 4 x LR43 alkaline button cells (non replaceable)
• Volume: 130dB
• Usage: Pull chain and replace

Available Colours:

Light blue, Pink Flowers, Black Face, Chinese flowers, Red polka dots, Blue with white stars, Dark Pink flowers, Black leopard, Blue Butterflies, Black Circles, Owls.

For more details go to www.ilasecurity.com     Price £15

There are always new mobile phones emerging on the market and the autumn release window is looking pretty exciting this year because a fifth iPhone is promised. Here are five other recently rumoured handsets that might pique your interest ahead of the Christmas rush.

BlackBerry Curve 9360

 Appealing to the budget-conscious buyer, the Curve 9360 will pick up from where its predecessors left off, providing a compact, slim smartphone with great email and messaging credentials. With BB OS 7 onboard it will be geared towards social networking to a greater degree than previous BlackBerry handsets and as contract phones go this should be an affordable option.

Nokia 700

 Nokia has proved that the Symbian operating system is not as dead and buried as many had assumed with the speculation circulating around its new 700 smartphone. Running Symbian Belle, the latest augmentation to this ageing platform, the 700 will reportedly have a 3.2 inch OLED screen, a 1GHz processor and an interesting, elongated design which helps it to stand out from the other contract phones on the market at the moment.

Samsung Galaxy M Pro

 An alteration in the naming strategy for the Galaxy range has seen Samsung announce the M Pro, a mid-range Android 2.3 smartphone with its eye firmly on the business and enterprise market. Like the Curve 9360 it has a full physical QWERTY keypad and a modest display, although it is actually thinner than the BlackBerry rival, measuring just under a centimetre thick. A five megapixel primary camera, 1GHz processor and custom TouchWiz interface will make sure that the Galaxy M Pro is competitive despite its inevitably affordable price point.

Google Nexus Prime

 Details about this handset are thin on the ground, but it is likely to be manufactured by Samsung and feature a range of class-leading hardware features to make even Apple quake in its boots. Recent rumours suggest that it could have a 4.65 inch Super AMOLED Plus display with a native resolution of 1280×720. A dual core processor is a certainty, with clock speeds of up to 1.5GHz per core implied via industry insiders. Google has already confirmed that a third Nexus-brand smartphone will be emerging and given that the Nexus S was built in partnership with Samsung it would make sense for it to continue using this manufacturer in the future.

HTC WP7 Mango

 HTC has been working on a new batch of contract phones designed to run the Mango update for Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 platform and an early September launch is anticipated to coincide with the software’s release. Specifications are still hazy at this point but it would not be a surprise to see dual core processors, full HD video capture and larger displays put on the table by this Taiwanese firm in an attempt to win over more users to WP7.

For more details on any of these handsets go to www.expansys.com