Apple introduced the iPhone 3G S during its World Wide Developer Conference keynote presentation on Monday. The new iPhone model maintains the same form factor as the current iPhone 3G, but offers faster performance and a 3 megapixel digital camera.

The iPhone 3G S camera can capture video, supports auto-focus, offers white balance adjustment, and auto-macro support for close-up shots, too. Users can tap on objects to tell the camera what to focus on, crop captured video.

Apple's iPhone 3G S

According to Apple's Phil Schiller, the "S" in iPhone 3G S stands for "speed," and he claims the new model loads applications and Web pages between two and three times faster than the current iPhone 3G.

The iPhone 3G S is 7.2 Mbps HSDPA-ready, which means users can take advantage of faster data transmission speeds once AT&T completes its 3G network upgrades.

The iPhone finally gets voice control support, too. The 3G S model will let users hold down the phone's Home button for a few seconds, then displays a wave form to indicate it is ready to accept voice commands. It will support dialing phone numbers, play music, and more.

As expected, the iPhone 3G S includes a built-in digital compass that shows which direction you are headed and rotates when you change direction. It supports true north and magnetic north orientation, and automatically orients Google maps to the direction you are facing.

The iPhone 3G S adds Nike+iPod support, too. Users will need to purchase the Nike+iPod sensor (US$19) for their shoe, and their iPhone will automatically pair with it.

Visually impaired iPhone users can take advantage of the new VoiceOver feature that speaks what appears on the combination iPod and smart phone's display, the new Universal Zoom feature that magnifies the screen, and the new White on Black feature that offers high contrast. iPhone 3G S also offers mono audio support to force stereo audio into mono for users with limited or no hearing in one ear.

Battery life for the new iPhone clocks in at nine hours Web surfing, five hours for talking on the 3G network, and 12 hours talk time on 2G networks.

iPhone 3GS will be priced at US$199 for a 16GB model, and $299 for a 32GB model. The current iPhone 3G 8GB model dropped to $99 today, and will continue to be available as a "more affordable" model.

For buyers that don't qualify for upgrade pricing, however, "affordable" is a term that doesn't apply. The 16GB iPhone 3G S will cost $599 without subsidies, and the 32GB model will cost $699. The 8GB iPhone 3G will set shoppers back $499. 

The new iPhone 3G S will be available on June 19 in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, France, Italy, and Spain.