New iPhone 5 Unveiled At Apple Event In San Francisco

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Apple unveiled a "thinner and lighter" iPhone 5 during an event in San Francisco Wednesday.

As expected, the screen is taller than on the iPhone 4S, making room for another row of icons.

It will also come with the capability to connect to the fastest new wireless data networks, both in the U.S. and overseas.

That's another feature that was widely expected. Some competing phones in the U.S. have had this ability for a year and a half.

Just hours after the new iPhone was announced, people outside the Apple store at 59th Street and 5th Avenue weighed in on the device. There already seemed to be great demand for the new iPhone, but not everyone seemed on board, WCBS 880's John Metaxas reported.

WCBS 880's John Metaxas reports from outside the Apple Store at 59th Street

"We are hooked on Apple, that's the problem," one person told Metaxas.

One man said he will not be first on line to upgrade his phone.

"Let the other people do the queue and you come one month later and you just buy it," the man said.

Others outside the Apple store could hardly contain their excitement over the announcement.

"I have to get it, I have to. It's just a must. I need that, I need that. I got the iPad, I got the MacBook, I got the iPhone, I need to have the iPhone 5, it's a must," a man told Metaxas.

"I just got the old like about four months ago, so I'm not that rich," said a current iPhone user about possibly upgrading.

Thanks to new technology that eliminates a separate touch-sensing layer in the screen, the phone is 18 percent thinner and 20 percent lighter, said Apple marketing head Phil Schiller. In addition to more apps, the new model has "Ultrafast wireless technology" and vertical pixels that add a fifth row of icons to the home screen, according to CNET.

The iPhone 5 is the thinnest and lightest phone Apple has ever made: 7.6 mm thin, 18 percent thinner than the iPhone 4S and the world's thinnest smartphone. Its 112 grams, 20 percent lighter than the iPhone 4S. It has a 326 PPI Retina display. The new screen on iPhone 5 is 4 inches, 1136 by 640 pixels with a 16 x 9 aspect ratio, according to Wired.com.

"A phone should feel great in your hand," said Schiller.

Are you planning to buy the new iPhone 5? Sound off below in our comments section...

(TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)