Tim Cook finally gets his chance to stride out from under Steve Jobs’ shadow, and he could not have picked a better time or device to mark his unofficial debut as Apple Inc’s CEO.
The latest generation of the iPhone — still the smartphone industry’s gold standard after four years — is expected to see the light of day this Tuesday, just in time for the holidays.
Even in a dismal economy, consumers should again line up in droves for a souped-up device that also marks Cook’s first major product launch since taking over from Jobs in August.
The so-called iPhone 5 is widely expected to have a bigger touchscreen and faster processor than the current iPhone 4, which helped the company stay a step ahead of rivals in an increasingly competitive smartphone market.
In its internal corporate inventory, Vodafone Germany has already inputted product listings for an iPhone 4S in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB capacities, AppleInsider reports.

Vodafone has the 4S listed in both black and white models, as well as 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB models of the iPhone 4 in black and white.