So, Apple's Cupertino Let's Talk iPhone press conference has been and gone and there's no sign of the much rumoured iPhone 5. There's no teardrop design. No larger, edge-to-edge screen. And certainly no "two new handsets" as many analysts predicted.

Instead, we get an aesthetically identical iPhone 4S, although it must be said that while its external appearance may underwhelm, the innards are very much improved.

The camera is now 8-megapixel, with a f/2.4 aperture and a better CMOS sensor. There's 1080p video capture, face recognition and Siri voice control that has a touch of the science fiction.

It features the same A5 CPU that keeps the iPad 2 whipping along at a decent lick, and the graphics processor is promised to be seven times faster.

However, should this have been Tim Cook's first major announcement? He didn't even talk through each of the new products and software upgrades.

We know it's unfair to suggest, but the absence of Steve Jobs was never more apparent than at the non-iPhone 5 launch. And that may be the most lasting memory.

Ho well, there's always next June.

What do you think? Do you reckon that the iPhone 4S is a bold enough leap forward to justify the lengthy delays? Let us know in the comments below...