LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Apple says that the larger screen will make it easier to check and send e-mails, as well as view Web pages with the phone in your hand.

The iPhone 5 starts at a very reasonable $200 with a two-year mobile contract. Pre-orders for the device will begin tomorrow, Friday.

The iPhone 5 is 18 percent thinner and 20 percent lighter than the current version. The phone's four-inch screen, measured diagonally, compared to a 3.5-inch screen on previous versions of the phone. It is the same width as the iPhone 4S, but is taller. The iPhone 5 is made entirely of glass and aluminum.

Some are already anticipating a backlash with the new phone. The iPhone 5 comes with a different-sized charging cord, meaning speakers and radios designed to work with the old iPhone cord won't function seamlessly with the new iPhone. Apple has created an adapter, so the old devices aren't useless.

Apple calls this new cord "lightning," and says it is 80 percent smaller than the previous iPhone cord.

Apple has also announced an update to its mobile operating system, iOS 6, which accommodates the larger iPhone 5 screen.

The system adds another row of icons to the phone's home screen and includes a new, 3-D version of digital maps. A feature called Passbook lets people pull up airline tickets or payment apps from the locked home screen.

In addition to the new phone, Apple has also unveiled a new line of iPods, including an iPod nano with a 2.5-inch touch-screen. retailing at $150, the nano is able to pause live radio. Apple headphones have also been updated. Called Earpods, they have better audio quality and a new look.

Apple, along with other tech companies are rushing to get their products our in time for the holiday season, where they will battle it out for consumer dollars in an increasingly crowded mobile-device market.

The late Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone six years ago on a stage just one block away in the Moscone Center.

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