Last week, Apple was expected to debut the iPhone 5. Some were slightly disappointed that the big announcement turned out to be the iPhone 4S.

Of course, that disappointment didn’t seem to hurt sales very much. Apple just announced that pre-orders of the iPhone 4S topped one million—in the first 24 hours alone. This trumps the previous single-day pre-order record of 600,000 held by the iPhone 4.

The iPhone 4S features a new dual-core A5 chip, an 8-megapixel camera, 1080p video recording, and iOS5. Another new feature is Siri, an “intelligent assistant” that uses voice commands.

For an interesting take on what Siri may mean for the home control market, see David VanWert’s blog here.

There’s still time to pre-order an iPhone 4S. If you’d prefer to see it in person, the new smartphone will arrive at all 245 Apple stores this Friday, October 14. If you plan to buy the iPhone 4S at the Apple store, that purchase will include free Personal Setup service and a quickie tutorial on ways to customize and use the product.

Available in black or white, the 16GB iPhone 4S is priced at $199. The 32GB model will retail for $299, with the 64GB model costing $399. All prices require a 2-year service plan from AT&T, Sprint or Verizon Wireless. Each plan is sold separately and varies by provider.

Rachel Cericola - Contributing Writer

Over the past 15 years, Rachel Cericola has covered entertainment, web and technology trends. Check her out at www.rachelcericola.com.