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"Great, but a few things...."
4.5 starson by bsarrianPros: That screen, the camera, the UI, the Styling, New Battery, Cell Reception
Cons: Those cameras, The UI, Cell Reception
Summary: The minute you pick up the iPhone 4 (I'm going to call it 4), you know its high quality stuff. It's this thin, expensive feeling hardware. It's weird to hold it, because you're not used to this such build-quality. Now, the cameras on the 4 are interesting. Taking pictures is so quick, and I can press the button 4 times in a row with half a second between, and get 4 (fairly) clear photos. Video is pretty nice too. It rolls a bit (meaning things get skewed if you turn too quickly), but when just walking, it's fine. My only gripe with the new camera is that I can't change the white balance, add a tint, black and white, etc. I just want to edit the photos, without having to get another app to do it.
The iPhone UI is, well it just is. Nothing particularly spectacular pops out. It's super fast, thanks to the A4, but otherwise it's what I've had for the last 3 years. Multitasking is nice, but not all apps work yet. Folders is good, but only 12 apps? And hooray for background wallpaper. The one thing I really like about Apple in general, is they fixed little things, and the fixes shave just a little time off. For example, adding a contact is very quick. No more switching pages to add a name, going back, switching pages to enter the number, etc. It's all on one page, and works. I've found that all of the phone it seems.
The battery is splendid. It lasts quite long too. Although I'm not getting 24 hours, I did get 18 last night, with video playing from youtube, and going to my twitter and e mail client.
Cell Reception is improving, trust me. I get 2 bars on my 3G, and get 4 on my 4. It's improving. If they could just ease up on the dropped calls...
THE BOTTOM LINE: If you want a (very, very) full featured phone, that just works, quickly and beautifully, get a 4. If you want a phone that will last at least a day with you doing what you always do, get a 4. If you need a phone that has a high megapixel camera, get something else. If you want a phone without dropped calls, get a new carrier.
But I think once you see this for yourself, and play with it, and use it, you will just want it. Isn't that the way it is with all Apple products, though?
- 5 replies to this review
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Yes, switching carriers will solve your crappy iPhone radio issue - so will a different AT&T phone.
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Here is a good example of the quality of the video camera, can you tell what was filmed by a iphone 4 and what was by a normal hd camcorder?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4evljtX5PYk -
"But I think once you see this for yourself, and play with it, and use it, you will just want it. Isn't that the way it is with all Apple products, though?"
Not really, when using Apple products I notice the lack of options and rigidness. iOS is boring...no desktop, widgets, have to connect it to your computer for basic syncing and very little customization. -
I have to agree with the reply by "csoccer1".
megapixels don't mean anything, if your image processor or the lens are lacking a good quality of capture. Also, the way the pictures are saved makes a huge difference.
You should compare a 6 megapixel Canon camera to a 10 megapixel HP camera, you'll definitely see that the megapixel is not the only factor involved in a good photo camera. i do think that my iPhone 4 HD camera will replace any flip camera.
on the video Skew issue also, you can see that with any consumer camera. .. -
I don't get your megapixel argument. In many reviews, the iPhone's 5 megapixel camera has been stated to take much better photos and videos than the 8 megapixel Droid X and the Evo. Again, the race to the most megapixel's on cell phones is actually hurting consumers. Those who buy into the whole "OMG 12 MEGALPIXELS, MUST BE BETTER!!" mentality are usually getting less detail, more noise, and worse video, unless the camera actually has a large enough sensor to capture the light needed to take sufficient photos and videos with such a high megapixel count. In Gizmodo's iPhone 4 camera test, the author states that the camera is good enough to replace his point and shoot camera, as well as his Flip HD.
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