Apple’s latest iPhone 3G S smartphone was announced at the WWDC conference yesterday featuring major speed improvements, a 3-megapixel camera, a new voice-dialing function and a gorgeous compass app.

The iPhone 3G S (the S stands for speed) looks much the same as the current iPhone 3G, but has undergone a major internal overhaul – boasting up to 2x improvement in web page and app load speed. HSDPA data speeds have been increased to 7.2Mbps from 3.6Mbps and the new 3-megapixel tap-to-focus camera also supports 30fps VGA video recording with an easy and intuitive editing feature. Full cut, copy and paste support is built-in and available throughout.

Battery life has also been significantly improved, powering 5 hours of 3G talk time and 9 hours of WiFi use. One of the standout features of the iPhone 3G S is the new voice-control interface that can handle a myriad of the handset’s functions, from simple voice-dialing to controlling and requesting track info from iTunes. A surprising addition, but perhaps this feature should have been anticipated, as it was introduced – albeit in a semi-nascent form – on the latest iPod Shuffle.

Check out Apple’s excellent walkthrough video for a full rundown of the iPhone 3G S, which will hit Stateside on June 18th at $199 for the 16GB and $299 for the 32GB model. A launch in 80 different countries is set to follow in August.

Sources:
Apple.com
Via: Engadget and Electronista