iPhone 4 discussion

[Amin]

Anyone have theirs yet? How do you like it?

 

[antithetic]

I was lucky to get one for pre-order/delivery which arrived a day early and was able to avoid any launch day hassles.

There are some reports of yellow spots on the screen and reception problems on how the phone is held. My phone doesn't exhibit either of the two issues. I was able to stay on a call going through a weak/dead spot on the way home in fact.

Coming from the iPhone 3G and 2G before that, it is new experience again. No longer do I have to wait for the phone. The screen is simply brilliant. Other things such as the improved camera/video... FaceTime(!!!)...make the upgrade even more worthwhile to me.

 

[Gusnyc]

Hi Amin!
I received mine on the 23rd (one day before the official rollout). It is really neat. A big jump ahead from the 3GS. The form factor is striking. It is REALLY thin.

The highlight for me is the screen, you have to see it to believe it. IPS like the iPad. The contrast is wonderful, the resolution is incredible. Pictures look like a great printed book. Now I wish the iPad would come with the same resolution.

The reception is much better than the previous models. It is true that is you touch a specific spot of the lower left the signal indicator start to go down, but I never had a dropped call or reduced quality, even with no bars showing. I wonder if it is a software problem. I live in lower Manhattan, one of the worst areas for ATT, but this phone is really making a difference (for the better). In any case I think Apple should fix the signal indicator because it feels weird.

Call quality is definitely improved. It sounds better and the addition of the noise canceling (like the nexus one) help to cut the unwanted noise. The speakerphone was also improved.

Facetime is very cool. I wasn't expecting to be something that I would use (I don't like video chats that much) but I've been doing quite a few facetime calls. It is much better than sitting on the computer.

The camera of the iPhone 4 is fan-tas-tic. The pictures ares very sharp and saturated. It is almost like having a P&S in your pocket. The video is OK, not great. Sharper than before, but since there is no stabilization, things get a little jittery.

As you can see, I am ver happy with the iPhone 4. I think it is a big leap for the platform.

Gus

 

[john1027]

I was lucky enough to have received one on a pre-order. I am happy with decision to upgrade and in my case the switch-over went smoothly with no issues. The new retina display is very good and much sharper. The camera app is much better than it was. I am finding the battery life to be improved as promised. I like the new o/s ability to create folders for the apps that hold up to 9 apps in each one. I went from 5 screens down to 2. You can also now import PDF files easily into the device where they can be stored and read in the iBooks app. That is a great feature for compiling your own reference material and converting anything to a PDF format if you use a mac is a seamless process. Gus hit many of the other good points. I read last night that 77% of the new 4g sales are to existing iPhone users, which bodes well for Apples business model.

 

[Gusnyc]

Hi John, just a little tip. Each folder can hold up to 12 apps. You will see only 9 mini-icons, but when you open the folder it will show the 12 apps .

Gus

 

[photoSmart42]

I don't have the iPhone 4, but I updated my 3Gs to OS/4, and I've noticed some distinct improvements for photo taking. The zoom is nice, and the time it takes to capture the image is now incredibly fast - a lot more like a DSLR than a P&S.

 

[Streetshooter]

I uploaded the new firmware and like many, the 3G is in bad shape. I hear they are readying a fix in a short time.....my 4.0 phone will be here in a week as I 'm not in a rush....

 

[peterpix]

What a deal!

Traded in my 3g at Radio shack and they gave me $200 credit against the cost of the $199 phone! Also got a $20 credit for accessories so I got a case and a special screen protector, applied with water and gives the screen a less slippery feel plus if scratched it is self healing.Just got it yesterday afternoon so haven't used it much but the flash works for night portraits. Whoopee!

 

[CalebPhotographer]

Don't confuse pixel density with resolution..

 

[pete_t]

Compared to my 2 year old iphone 3G the iPhone 4 is much more responsive and faster. The new screen is superb and the difference quite surprising, just how sharp images are. Text display is also much clearer and looks like well printed text, not pixels. Multitasking is implemented very well and it's generally quick to cycle through apps, not that it wasn't that slow to switch between them on the older phone. This does work well though and now makes it much more practical to hop to another app to look something up and return.
The new mail inbox is better and allows all mail accounts to be viewed in one list, but if you only have one mail account then that's never been a problem.
The camera is as good as many P&S cameras but not quite up to my GF1...
I went out to get the iPhone 4 after upgrading to iOS 4 on my 3G - it was really slow, buggy and frustrating. My advice would be to stay with iPhone OS 3, don't upgrade on a 3G. The 3GS should be different as it's faster hardware.
Overall I like the iPhone 4 a lot, there's lots of improvements that improve the overall experience. But I didn't really need it until I had started to use it

 

[pete_t]

... a special screen protector, applied with water and gives the screen a less slippery feel plus if scratched it is self healing.

Never been one for such accessories, had my old 3G for 2 years and front face still has no scratches despite living in my jeans or jacket pocket, often against keys or coins. The rear of the case was not as pristine though!

 

[john1027]

Hi John, just a little tip. Each folder can hold up to 12 apps. You will see only 9 mini-icons, but when you open the folder it will show the 12 apps .

Gus

Gus,

I know I read that 12 was the magic number but I was having difficulty getting beyond 9. I will give it a try again. It is very likely operator error on my part as it was late at night and I probably had a little too much wine at that point! Thanks for putiing me back on track!!

 

[Djarum]

Its an interesting time in the Cell market right now. HTC, Motorola, and apple all have new fancy phones coming out.

Maybe in 10 years there will be phones out there that have a mFT sensor in them....

 

[LisaO]

I've had mine since 8:36 on release day. I really like it but I'm too tired to write anything about it tonight.

 

[Jim]

As it seems everyone here has got one and are very happy about it, I'll play devils advocate and say what I've seen.

I've had a 3G for 18 months now and I'm due an upgrade. I suppose you could say that I've never been 100% happy with my iPhone. The hardware itself is great and as a phone and an internet tool it's great. But it's full of niggly little problems that I just can't get over. Connection problems, dis-connection problems, laggy, slow performance to name a few.

So yesterday I walked into the carphonewarehouse to see what my options are, I told the salesman that I was open to iphones or Androids. The first thing he showed me was this losing signal problem on the iphone 4. He wasn't holding it in any strange way, just as you would if you were left handed, or held the phone to your left ear (which I do) and slowly but surely the signal strength went down, until there was no signal. The screen was nice, and the speed is obviously quicker and it's generally a better machine than the older iphones, bar the signal problem.

Then he showed me the HTC Desire, nice phone I thought but nothing eye catchingly amazing.

Finally he showed me the Samsung Galaxy S. This phone really caught my eye. It's slightly bigger than the iphone, but it also has a much bigger screen. It's obviously been designed to look like an iPhone. All I can say is that some thing about that phone really did it for me. The salesman really raved about it, it's light, the HTC desire has the fastest connection speeds of any phone and the Samsung is supposed to be only slightly slower, they have flash support which is really lacking on the iphones. It just seemed like a great phone.

I don't want to put anyone off the iphone 4, I'm sure it's a great phone, and I still haven't decided which way I'm going to go. All I can say is that in the 2 shops I went into nobody was raving about it, infact they all seemed pretty disappointed with it.
Some things they told me.

Apple are unlikely to ever fix the signal problem and have infact released a press released telling as much and telling people to buy a case for it or hold it in the other hand. That's not good enough in my opinion for a phone to have such a fundamental flaw.
It's not HD video as claimed but "Higher" Definition.
It's not an 8MP camera, that's the combined pixels of the front and back camera.

 

[tomrock]

My wife and I each got the new iPhone the day it was released. We both had 3Gs phones before that.

It's a great upgrade and we're both very pleased. As has been said, the screen is *amazing*, it's much faster and Facetime (video calls) are a lot of fun.

We're both happy with the upgrade.

 

[Amin]

I tried the iPhone 4 in the Apple Store yesterday. The hardware really impressed me. The display is amazing, and with this model, Apple has perfect the art of making buttons that have good travel and firm tactile response. I didn't love the new ergonomics. The old rounded-back design felt better in my hand than the new, sharper one. No big deal to me since I tend to use cases.

As a recent Android convert who switched from an iPhone 3GS about a month ago, spending 15 minutes with iOS 4 reminded me of many of the things which I have come to appreciate about Android, but I'll leave that alone for my blog .

 

[antithetic]

I have a Droid Incredible which is provided by my work. It's easy for me to see the positives and downsides of both platforms. They simply try to do the same things but with different approaches.

I love the notification system in Android (tho not as polished as HP/Palm's WebOS). It's leap and bounds beyond the system-modal dialogs that the iPhone currently uses. Then there are some aspects of Android which show it's unpolished legacy roots. All of these quirks can be addressed over time.

I think whatever platform one chooses, make sure it's the latest/greatest hardware for it that is within your budget. The OS' on these devices are going to see some great improvements over the next year or so.