Apple Unveils iPhone 5 In San Francisco; In Stores Sept. 21

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple is holding an event in San Francisco during which it is announcing a new iPhone, capable of faster data speeds and sporting a taller screen.

Apple says the new iPhone 5 will be in stores in the U.S. and several other countries on Sept. 21.

The other launch countries are Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and the UK.

A week later, the phone will be available in 22 more countries, including Italy, Poland and Spain.

In the U.S., pre-orders will start on Friday, Sept. 14.

The phone is thinner and ligher than the iPhone 4S, yet has a taller screen.

The phone will cost the same as the iPhone 4S did when it debuted, starting at $199 with a two-year contract in the U.S. Meanwhile, the price for the iPhone 4S will drop to $99 for new contract signers, and the iPhone 4 will be free.

It will work with fourth-generation, or 4G, cellular networks, something Samsung's Galaxy S III and many other iPhone rivals already do.

Apple Inc. also plans to update its phone software and will ditch Google Inc.'s mapping service for its own. The two have become rivals as Google promotes phones running its Android operating system.

In anticipation, several gadget makers refreshed their lineups last week, hoping to beat Apple on the buzz. Nokia Corp. and Google Inc.'s Motorola Mobility division announced five new smartphones between them, while Amazon.com Inc. updated its Kindle Fire tablet computer and announced new stand-alone e-reader models.

Sales of Apple's iPhones are still strong, though the company lost the lead in smartphones to Samsung this year.

Samsung Electronics Co. benefited from having its S III out in the U.S. in June, while Apple was still selling an iPhone model it released last October. A new iPhone will allow Apple to recapture the attention and the revenue. Analysts are already estimating that Apple will sell 8 million to 10 million iPhone 5s before the company's quarter ends Sept. 30.

That said, the iPhone has been trailing Android phones in sales. On Tuesday, Google executive Hugo Barra declared on his Google Plus social networking page that 1.3 million Android phones are added each day, with 500 million devices activated globally. As of June, Apple has sold 244 million iPhones since the first one came out in 2007.

Apple's event Wednesday is taking place at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater, where Apple has held many product launches.