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Apple announced the iPhone 5 today along with the new iPod Nano and Touch. While the iPhone was just as we expected from the rumors, there were still some surprises. If you missed the keynote or the coverage, check out MacStories’ excellent overview of the new features.

I am always amazed at the innovations Apple makes with their products. It is incredible to me that the iPhone 5 is 18% thinner and 20% lighter than the iPhone 4S.

I think Apple made an excellent decision in keeping the width of the iPhone the same while just increasing its height to get a 4-inch screen. The size of the screen is a big barrier for many of the Android products - a wider screen makes it both harder to hold and more difficult to fit in your pocket.

With a year left on my iPhone 4S contract, I don’t see a compelling reason to upgrade to the iPhone 5. It is an excellent piece of hardware, but many of the innovative new features will be available as part of the iOS 6 update which will be available on my iPhone 4S.