Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL): iPhone 4S May be a Better Buy than the iPhone 5

Is Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iPhone 5 really an improvement over the iPhone 4S?

The launch of the new phone from the Apple stable saw the shares of the company rise 1.4 percent to $669.79 on the Nasdaq.

The new phones will be available at three price pints of $199, $299 and $399 according to storage sizes of 16GB, 32GB and 64 GB, which has been a regular practice with Apple's phones now.

A new launch always depreciates the prices of the older models. The price of the iPhone 4S has now been reduced to $99 for a 16GB model, that is available with a two-year contract with any of the top carriers such as AT&T, Sprint and Verizon.

Many top-end retailers such as Best Buy, RadioShack and Target have reduced the prices of the 4S by as much as $75 while network carrier Sprint brought the online price down to 450. Incidentally the iPhone 4 is now actually available for free with a two-year contract.

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So with all the price reductions, the 4S is actually a better deal for customers, who may not be really too much enthused with what the iPhone 5 has to offer.

The 4S has all the necessary features which the iPhone 5 has and Apple has already said that its new operating system iOS6 will be available as a free upgrade for 4S owners.

The upgraded operating system will automatically enhance many of the existing features on the phone including an updated iTunes and a smarter Siri.

There's no doubt that the new phone has a more powerful processor and its 4G support will allow faster download speeds. But it’s a trade-off between what is in a customer's budget and urge to possess something new.