Apple drops iPhone prices: 8GB 3GS free, iPhone 4 now $99

No big surprises here, but the iPhone 4S' older siblings are getting drastic price reductions. An 8GB 3GS is now free on contract, while the iPhone 4 is now only $99 with a carrier agreement -- that one bill get you an 8GB iPhone 4.

Sprint iPhone officially announced

Regardless of whether Sprint dropped $20 billion, or just the right combination of phrases to the right combination of people, Dan Hesse finally (finally!) has an iPhone to call his own. Despite The Now Network's stellar lineup of Android devices (and that increasingly valuable Everything plan), Sprint's been struggling to gain postpaid subscribers for as long as most can remember. Granted, the prepaid arm is doing alright, but without Apple's cash cow sitting on its shelves -- well, let's just say the company's shareholders are apt to be pleased with today's turn of events. As with AT&T & Verizon, Sprint customers hankering for the 4S' dual-core A5 processor, 8MP camera and Siri personal assistant can place their pre-orders starting this Friday, October 7th, with the phone officially landing a week later, on the 14th.

Apple brings Siri voice control to the iPhone

You've heard the rumors, and Apple has now confirmed that it will be bringing Siri voice control to the iPhone -- and, yes, it will still be called Siri. That will let you use natural language to perform tasks like asking for a weather forecast or getting directions, setting an alarm or making a calendar appointment, and searching Wikipedia and Wolfram Alpha for information. Described as a "humble personal assistant," Siri will work with English (including UK and Australia), French and German initially, and it'll work with all built-in apps and over both 3G and WiFi. It'll also be a beta to start with, and Apple says it "gets better" as it learns your voice.

AirPlay Mirroring coming to iPhone 4S, not just for iPads

That snazzy AirPlay Mirroring feature Apple showed off at WWDC earlier this year is back for an encore, and now it's strutting its stuff on the iPhone 4S. Previously we saw AirPlay piping an iPad 2 to the big screen by way of Apple TV, but the upcoming iOS 5 features seems to have broadened it horizons -- letting Apple handsets get in on the HDTV mirroring love. AirPlay not your thing? Don't worry, you can still score high-def mirroring action using a wired dongle. Skip on past the break for a peek at the accessory that will make your next $2,000 Halloween costume that much easier to build.

iPod touch still maxes out at 64GB / $399, available in white October 12th

While the iPhone 4S takes the headlines with its dual antennas and upgraded processor, we also have a new white iPod touch joining the family. Pricing for the "#1 portable gaming machine" (Apple's words, with some numbers to back them up) still starts at $199 for the 8GB version, going up $399 for a 64GB. All will be available in black or white October 12th. There's no hardware changes to speak of, so hopefully all those sweet iOS 5 upgrades are enough to hold you. Check out the full details in our live blog or in the press release, conveniently available after the break.