I spent a good part of the day on July 3rd playing and setting up a brand new 16GB iPhone 4 for my wife. The feel of the phone reminds me a lot of the Sony Ericsson T610 (thats a good thing). Here are a few of my first impressions of this latest iteration of the iPhone.
Speed
The iPhone 4 is really snappy. The camera is very fast at taking pictures thanks to the A4 processor upgrade that’s in the iPad and the memory upgrade from 256MB of RAM to 512 MB of RAM. It’s very quick to change between apps or keep an app running in the background. Some apps like the Bloomberg app visibly load up faster as well when compared to the iPhone 3GS.
Aesthetics
The iPhone 4 is a very good looking device. You can’t expect any less from Apple (beauty over brains, even). However, I miss the aluminum back of the iPhone 2G. I know apple says that the glass is the same used on space shuttles but it still scratches, as reports have shown. The aluminum back gives it a sturdier feel and I’d love to see it make a reappearance on the next iPhone. I expect the iPhone 4 to scratch up a lot, especially when placed in a purse without a case or in a pocket with keys and change.
Some people say the Apple Bumper takes away from the beauty of the iPhone 4. To some degree, all cases diminish the look of a phone. However, if you get a nice Green Bumper from Apple, it does add a bit of a funky look to the iPhone 4.
Antennagate/Antenna/Signal Problems
There’s been too much said all over the place about the signal problems with the iPhone 4. Feel free to read some of the more scientific and unscientific tests that have been run. In my limited and completely unscientific experience, putting a case or a bumper on the phone all but eliminates the problem. Unless you grip the phone very tightly without a Bumper or case, you probably won’t see the signal problem. And since Apple is giving away bumpers for free till the end of September, I’d recommend you grab one. You can see the Apple press conference from July 16.
Retina Display/Screen
iPhone 4 Screen Capture
iPhone 3GS Screen Capture
The new Retina Display on the iPhone 4 is pretty awesome. There is no comparison with any other phone on the market right now. I’m sure there will be an Android phone out soon enough that trumps the iPhone’s display but for now, this phone is the clear winner.
Camera
Though the 5 megapixel camera in the iPhone 4 doesn’t have as many megapixels as some of the other phones out there, it’s still pretty amazing. It eliminates the need to carry a basic camera with you on weekend get-a-ways or just daily life and still get very nice pictures. However, that being said, I have found a slightly bluish/whitish tinge in the pictures taken with the iPhone 4 when compared to the same picture taken at the same time and place (to eliminate lighting issues) with the iPhone 3GS. I’m not sure if this is a problem with the camera on the iPhone 4 or a defective iPhone that we got.
Picture Taken with iPhone 4
Picture Taken with iPhone 3GS
Earpiece/Speaker
The speaker on the iPhone 4 sounds slightly louder and clearer than the iPhone 3GS. You can easily take a call over the speaker, listen to music or a podcast in areas with limited noise. If you’re in a place with lots of ambient noise, switch to the earpiece or a headset, as with any other phone.
Multitasking
The “multitasking” on the iPhone 4 works pretty well. It’s not true multitasking as you’re used to on a computer but it does help in switching between applications pretty quickly. However, I’ve found that IOS 4 probably requireds a completely separate blog post so I won’t dwell on this much. I just can’t wait to get iOS 4.x on the iPad and get some usefulness out of iOS 4.x.
iMovie
iMovie is more or less a waste of money. It is so limited in it’s functionality and ability to do basic editing that I’ve given up on it completely. Perhaps a future version will be greatly improved but this particular app is a waste of money and should be avoided.
Conclusions:
- If you’ve never owned an iPhone or smart phone, get the iPhone 4. You’ll be amazed at what you can do with it.
- If you’re the owner of an original or iPhone 3G, do consider upgrading. The technology has changed significantly and though iOS4 will run on the iPhone 3G, I can’t imagine it giving a great experience with the slower processor and less available memory.
- If you’re an iPhone 3GS owner, you can probably skip this upgrade unless you definitely need the HD camera.
- Antennagate has been greatly exaggerated, though some people have had serious problems with bar drops. Apple has tried to make the experience better for people by offering the free bumper. Personally, I’ve seen the iPhone 4 with bumper consistently having a better signal than my iPhone 3GS.
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