04:47
htc
I’ve been using the Apple iPhone 4 since the day it was released. I ended up buying one without a contract since mine isn’t up for renewal till March of 2011. It was a pricey gadget purchase at over $500. Of course that never stopped me before ;) But let’s see if I’m still happy with my purchase after 45 days of living with this smartphone.
Hardware Specifications
Operating System: iOS 4
Memory: 16GB or 32GB versions available
Display: 3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch retina display, 960-by-640-pixel resolution at 326 ppi, 800:1 contrast ratio (typical)
Wireless: UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz)
GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi (802.11n 2.4GHz only)
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR wireless technology
Digital Camera: 5.0MP, Video recording, HD (720p) up to 30 frames per second with audio
Battery: Rechargeable lithium-ion, Talk time: up to 7 hours on 3G, up to 14 hours on 2G, standby time: up to 300 hours
Internet use: up to 6 hours on 3G, up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi
Video playback: Up to 10 hours
Audio playback: Up to 40 hours
Size: 4.5 x 2.31 x 0.37 in (115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3 mm)
Weight: 4.8 ounces (137 grams)
Package Contents
iPhone 4
Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic
Dock Connector to USB Cable
USB Power Adapter
Documentation
Hardware
I really like the updated physical design of the iPhone 4. It’s thinner and sexier in my opinion. I really like the way the display and back surface go from edge to edge without a bezel for dirt and dust to collect. This phone feels like it has been carved out of a solid block of glass. I love the feel of it in my hand. It’s really solid and easily passes the gadgeteer squeeze test. This baby doesn’t flex, creak or crack when I squeeze it and there are no rattles when I shake it.
Here it is next to my iPhone 3GS. You can’t tell much of a size difference looking at them from above…
But from the side, the difference is very noticeable. The iPhone 4 now has a stainless steel band around the sides. This band is the antenna of the phone. I’m not going to go into the whole deal with the antenna problems with this phone. I’m sure everyone is sick of hearing about this issue by now anyway. I’ll just say that I’ve been using my phone without a case and have not had one dropped call in the 45 days that I’ve been using the phone. That’s not to say that everything is peaches and cream with my call quality though. I’ve been an AT&T customer for years and my call quality has pretty much sucked for all of those years. It’s not unusual to have clicks and the occasional outside call that bleeds in. The number of bars go up and down for no apparent reason. I’ve had this with any and all GSM phones that I’ve ever used. Phones will go back and forth from 1 bar, to full bars and all bars in between, while sitting in the exact same spot. So go figure.
On the left side of the phone, you’ll find the mute switch and volume buttons. I like the individual volume buttons and find them easier to operate than the rocker switch that the previous iPhone versions used. The buttons are raised and have good tactile feedback, making them very easy to find and press with your thumb while in a call.
The right side is the new location for the SIM card slot. Good old Apple decided to go with a micro SIM card, which means that you’ll (I’ll) need an adapter if I wish to use the same SIM in a different GSM phone. Grrrrr. I still haven’t ordered an adapter.
Along the top edge, you’ll find the on/off wake/sleep button, 2nd microphone and headphone jack.
The bottom edge has the main microphone along with the dock connector and speaker.
The front of the phone has the familiar home button, speaker and a front facing VGA camera that can be used for the built in FaceTime application, as well as for self-portraits.
The previous iPhone had a great display, but the new iPhone 4′s retina display is just plain gorgeous. It’s true, you can’t see the individual pixels at all. Screen sensitivity remains the same. It’s still easy to scroll, pinch and zoom using your fingers. The iPhone remains my favorite finger friendly display.
FYI: the display is still difficult to see in direct sunlight…
One the back you’ll see the 5MP camera lens and the new LED flash next to it.
Here are a couple sample pictures taken with the iPhone 4. You can click them to see the original sized image. I’m pretty happy with the image quality of this phone. The colors are vivid and the images are sharp. I’ve always been pretty impressed with the cameras in iPhones, so I don’t notice much difference except for more pixels.
The iPhone still does great with macro shots. That’s one of my main criteria for a mobile phone camera and the iPhone passes the test.
It also does a pretty decent job of capturing video. My Flip UltraHD video camera doesn’t get used anymore because the iPhone 4 does such a good job. The only thing to keep in mind though is that even though the specs say that it will record at 720p, if you upload to Youtube via your iPhone or email the video file to yourself, it will compresses it first. The resulting 568 x 320 resolution video looks pretty bad (see first video sample below). If you want the uncompressed video off your iPhone, you can import the video into iPhoto (on a Mac), or use a free iPhone app like Pixelpipe to transfer the files. Check out the samples below.
Hardware Specifications
Operating System: iOS 4
Memory: 16GB or 32GB versions available
Display: 3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch retina display, 960-by-640-pixel resolution at 326 ppi, 800:1 contrast ratio (typical)
Wireless: UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz)
GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi (802.11n 2.4GHz only)
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR wireless technology
Digital Camera: 5.0MP, Video recording, HD (720p) up to 30 frames per second with audio
Battery: Rechargeable lithium-ion, Talk time: up to 7 hours on 3G, up to 14 hours on 2G, standby time: up to 300 hours
Internet use: up to 6 hours on 3G, up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi
Video playback: Up to 10 hours
Audio playback: Up to 40 hours
Size: 4.5 x 2.31 x 0.37 in (115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3 mm)
Weight: 4.8 ounces (137 grams)
Package Contents
iPhone 4
Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic
Dock Connector to USB Cable
USB Power Adapter
Documentation
Hardware
I really like the updated physical design of the iPhone 4. It’s thinner and sexier in my opinion. I really like the way the display and back surface go from edge to edge without a bezel for dirt and dust to collect. This phone feels like it has been carved out of a solid block of glass. I love the feel of it in my hand. It’s really solid and easily passes the gadgeteer squeeze test. This baby doesn’t flex, creak or crack when I squeeze it and there are no rattles when I shake it.
Here it is next to my iPhone 3GS. You can’t tell much of a size difference looking at them from above…
But from the side, the difference is very noticeable. The iPhone 4 now has a stainless steel band around the sides. This band is the antenna of the phone. I’m not going to go into the whole deal with the antenna problems with this phone. I’m sure everyone is sick of hearing about this issue by now anyway. I’ll just say that I’ve been using my phone without a case and have not had one dropped call in the 45 days that I’ve been using the phone. That’s not to say that everything is peaches and cream with my call quality though. I’ve been an AT&T customer for years and my call quality has pretty much sucked for all of those years. It’s not unusual to have clicks and the occasional outside call that bleeds in. The number of bars go up and down for no apparent reason. I’ve had this with any and all GSM phones that I’ve ever used. Phones will go back and forth from 1 bar, to full bars and all bars in between, while sitting in the exact same spot. So go figure.
On the left side of the phone, you’ll find the mute switch and volume buttons. I like the individual volume buttons and find them easier to operate than the rocker switch that the previous iPhone versions used. The buttons are raised and have good tactile feedback, making them very easy to find and press with your thumb while in a call.
The right side is the new location for the SIM card slot. Good old Apple decided to go with a micro SIM card, which means that you’ll (I’ll) need an adapter if I wish to use the same SIM in a different GSM phone. Grrrrr. I still haven’t ordered an adapter.
Along the top edge, you’ll find the on/off wake/sleep button, 2nd microphone and headphone jack.
The bottom edge has the main microphone along with the dock connector and speaker.
The front of the phone has the familiar home button, speaker and a front facing VGA camera that can be used for the built in FaceTime application, as well as for self-portraits.
The previous iPhone had a great display, but the new iPhone 4′s retina display is just plain gorgeous. It’s true, you can’t see the individual pixels at all. Screen sensitivity remains the same. It’s still easy to scroll, pinch and zoom using your fingers. The iPhone remains my favorite finger friendly display.
FYI: the display is still difficult to see in direct sunlight…
One the back you’ll see the 5MP camera lens and the new LED flash next to it.
Here are a couple sample pictures taken with the iPhone 4. You can click them to see the original sized image. I’m pretty happy with the image quality of this phone. The colors are vivid and the images are sharp. I’ve always been pretty impressed with the cameras in iPhones, so I don’t notice much difference except for more pixels.
The iPhone still does great with macro shots. That’s one of my main criteria for a mobile phone camera and the iPhone passes the test.
It also does a pretty decent job of capturing video. My Flip UltraHD video camera doesn’t get used anymore because the iPhone 4 does such a good job. The only thing to keep in mind though is that even though the specs say that it will record at 720p, if you upload to Youtube via your iPhone or email the video file to yourself, it will compresses it first. The resulting 568 x 320 resolution video looks pretty bad (see first video sample below). If you want the uncompressed video off your iPhone, you can import the video into iPhoto (on a Mac), or use a free iPhone app like Pixelpipe to transfer the files. Check out the samples below.
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