IPhone 4 : An Overview
Apple has usually been able to run alone when setting the standard in the world of smartphones. In recent years, however, other companies have caught up with their own research and development of handsets and put some pressure on Apple. The iPhone, Apple’s bread and butter, continually receives updates to keep the company ahead, and it has been released as the iPhone 4 to an eager public.
The iPhone 4 features some changes on the inside from previous models. Replacing the Samsung-based Cortex CPU in the 3GS, iPhone 4’s predecessor, is Apple’s own A4 chip. Those in the know will recognize this as the same chip found in the iPad. While the iPad boasts 1GHz of speed with the A4 processor, the iPhone 4 doesn’t quite reach those heights. This is not to say the phone is slow by any means. It renders graphics quickly and navigates smoothly. Users who are looking for a high performance phone have nothing to worry about.
Those quickly-rendered graphics are displayed on a 3.5 inch screen with 960 x 640 pixel resolution. Combine that with a mind-numbing 326 ppi pixel density and you have a display that is absolutely second to none. The incredible resolution makes up for any shortcomings in size, and it has even earned the name of Retina Display. It is so named due to the claim that it presents graphics in more detail than the human eye is able to distinguish. It may seem like overkill to present clarity that the user can’t see anyway, but at least consumers need not worry about a less than stellar display. In fact, many testes of the iPhone 4 have stated that the Retina Display easily provides the sharpest images they’ve yet seen.
With a display so sharp, one would hope that Apple has improved on the rather weak 3 megapixel camera found on older models. They have, as the iPhone 4 features a 5 megapixel camera with a backside-illuminated sensor that is more light-sensitive. The LED flash is one of the smaller sizes and can blow out some photos, but the iPhone takes terrific photos in low light and without a flash.
Finally, Apple has decided that it is time to produce a phone that allows multitasking. Though not backgrounding in the strictest sense of the word, the iPhone lets some APIs that imitate backgrounding to run simultaneously. Critics will cry foul, but for regular, everyday users, it is just fine. Until now, Apple has stated that their smartphones would suffer battery drain by performing multitasking. The iPhone 4 has cleared up any potential issue here, as it has been known to produce almost 40 hours of normal use in some tests.
The iPhone 4 has placed Apple at the forefront of smartphone technology once again. Featuring a Retina Display unmatched in the industry and improved performance over older models, Apple’s iPhone 4 is a standard setter. Customers will be thankful for the efforts.
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