The Apple website summed it up this way…”Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius…his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.”

Indeed, the world has lost an amazing human being. Steve Jobs has passed away at age 56, after years of suffering through pancreatic cancer, and a liver transplant in 2009. He had just resigned as Apple’s CEO in August, and turned the company’s leadership over to Tim Cook.

Some mainstream media are comparing the contributions of Steve Jobs to Thomas Edison or Leonardo da Vinci, whose inventions and innovations created a huge impact on modern culture.

Consider Steve Job’s lifetime of achievements, which brought form and function together in elegant consumer products. He made technology cool, and more importantly, he made it work.

1976: Apple Corp. founded with Stephen Wozniak
1977: Apple II personal computer
1980: Apple III
1984: Macintosh personal computer & Mac OS graphical operating system
1985: NeXT Computer Inc.
1986: Pixar Animation Studios
1998: iMac desktop computer
2001: iPod media player & iTunes software
2003: iTunes online digital media store & Safari web browser
2005: Mac mini, iPod Nano & iPod Shuffle
2006: MacBook & MacBook Pro notebooks
2007: iPhone & iPod Touch
2008: iPhone 3G & MacBook Air ultra-thin notebook
2009: iPhone 3GS
2010: iPhone 4 & iPad media tablet
2011: iPad 2 & iPhone 4S

ABC News has assembled a short video tribute to Steve Jobs’ life and legacy.

CNN has a well produced collection of video clips and MacWorld highlights
with Steve Jobs introducing some of Apple’s coolest products…

New features of the iPhone 4S include…

A dual core A5 processor that delivers up to seven times faster graphics and is more power efficient, extending battery life.  Talk time is up to eight hours, with nine hours of Wi-Fi browsing on a full charge.

Twin Antennas; iPhone 4S is the first phone that switches between two antennas to transmit and receive, so call quality is better. It also doubles the maximum HSDPA data speeds to 14.4 Mbps.

An eight-megapixel camera provides better resolution with flash, or what Apple is calling an improved backside illumination sensor. Apple also claims that the update will allow users to print out 8 x 10 photos.

All new optics allow for 1080p HD Video recording, and you can edit video right on the iPhone.

An updated operating system, iOS 5 features a number of important updates, including the messaging center and camera, which you can access right from the screen lock.

Retina Display makes for a sharper display, so the new iPhone 4S has the highest resolution screen ever.

Siri is an personal assistant that you talk to like another person, use it to make calls, send messages or set reminders. It will even read your messages back to you!

iCloud stores all your data in the internet cloud; that includes your music, photos, contacts, calendar events, mail, documents, and even apps.  iCloud syncs your data to all your wireless devices, which is pretty handy for backups.  You can also use the FindMyiPhone app on iCloud to locate your lost phone, remotely set a passcode lock, or initiate a remote wipe to delete your data.

FaceTime will make a video and voice calls between iPhones, iPad2, iPod touch or Mac over WiFi connections.

iPhone 4S will be available in both black and white versions, with a list price of $199 for 16GB, $299 for the 32GB, and a new version with 64GB of storage for $399.  You can pre-order the iPhone 4S starting Friday October 7th, and the device will start shipping on Friday October 14th in the U.S., Canada, Australia, the UK, France, Germany, and Japan.

Starting October 14th, Sprint Nextel, the number three wireless provider in the U.S., will join AT&T and Verizon Wireless as the three major wireless carriers authorized to sell the iPhone.

Official Website Apple.com

Apple’s YouTube video says the release date is April 3rd, which is the word across the web.

The Wi-Fi version ships first, followed by the 3G model sometime later. Apple will be accepting pre-orders for both starting this Friday, March 12th.

Steve Jobs has said the iPad won’t support iPhone tethering, but there’s alot of people looking for just that option.

Engadget has a review that highlights several shortcomings; no camera, no multitasking, and still no Flash!

The iPad looks sleek and sexy, but I can’t justify the cost between $500 and $1000 when I can do the same things on my iPhone, albeit on a smaller screen.

Happy Owl Studio is making some good looking cases. They’re giving away an iPad on April 15.