Most helpful customer reviews
307 of 329 people found the following review helpful.
The best mobile phone yet (unless you leave the country)
By Shoot Me
UPDATE!
Since the time of my original review two exciting things have happened to the iPhone 4:
(1) Apple has introduced the iPhone 4 for Verizon who have a reputation for dropping fewer calls than AT&T. Verizon also differs from AT&T in that you cannot use both data and voice simultaneously on their CDMA network. But would you need to? Also they are currently offering better plan options than AT&T such as unlimited 3G data for $30/mo for existing VZ customers and new switchers. This may be a limited-time promotion though!
(2) GreenPois0n released a JailBreak for iOS 4.2.1. That means now you can get HDR photography and AirPlay features on a jailbroken and/or unlocked iPhone! It means you don’t need to buy an old used iPhone 4 running 4.0 in order to modify it. More options for more people in more places.
Please consider these new developments when reading my original review below.
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This is the best mobile phone I have ever owned. I held off on buying the iPhone for the first three generations because it is locked to AT&T in the USA and you can only acquire apps through Apple’s proprietary App Store. This sort of closed platform was a real put-off to me (and still is), but when it came time to buy a new mobile phone (my old one was dying) I knew there was only one choice. So I bit the bullet and got an iPhone 4.
It’s damn near perfect. I can’t speak for the small percentage of users having the infamous antenna problem because it has not affected me, and I strongly suspect the press is blowing that issue out of proportion to drive traffic to their websites or whatever. Don’t pay too much attention to that though because even the best technology is still not perfect. The iPhone 4 is not perfect, but it IS the best technology in the mobile phone market today. Apple takes great care to ensure that its products will be intuitive and user-friendly. Compare the touch functionality of the Droid to that of the iPhone and you will know what I’m talking about. Apple also owns the patents on such unique technology, so don’t expect the Droid to surpass the iPhone anytime soon.
With this 4th generation model we have seen more new features introduced than ever before. First of all, the Retina Display is a pleasure to use and once you use it you will come to view all lower resolution displays as sub-standard. The resolution bump in the outward-facing camera as well as the introduction of a user-facing camera is what really sold me on this product. The boost in battery life assures that you will no longer need to worry about your iPhone’s battery dying half-way through the day – unless you do a LOT of gaming on it! It utilizes the A4 chip, same as the iPad, so it’s plenty fast. It is thinner and lighter than previous models, the volume controls and vibrate switch have been made more durable, it has a built-in gyroscope, supports FaceTime video chat and on-the-go video editing via the iMovie app.
Consider whether to buy the 16GB version or the 32GB version. Since I have a large iTunes library I chose the 32 and am glad I did. Calculate the sum of your photos, music, and your videos, then leave some room for apps and that should give you an idea of which model to buy. The 32GB version is roughly $100 more.
For international customers:
It is important to consider that the iPhone 4 is sold as a locked device in most countries. That is to say that if you plan to use it on an unsupported network you will first need to Jailbreak the phone and then unlock it. This is a convoluted process and currently can only be done on models running iOS 4.0 and no later. Furthermore, running firmware updates on a jailbroken iPhone will “brick” it, rendering it useless. In other words it’s a huge pain in the ass. If you have any plans to use this phone overseas you need to be aware of that. If you even suspect that you may move abroad within the next two years DO NOT buy this product! You will be charged an Early Termination Fee by your service provider and then you most likely still will not even be able to use your iPhone abroad. This is the reason I give the iPhone 4 only four stars instead of five. On a trip to Japan I asked SoftBank if they would be able to connect my American AT&T iPhone to their network – after all it is MY property that I own and have paid for. Their answer was that since the serial number is for a U.S. phone their system cannot even register it. They couldn’t accept me as their customer even if I wanted to pay them.
So there you have it, folks. The iPhone is a lock-in deal, and a slap in the face to those who travel or move overseas. Buying an iPhone in the United States with “no contract” doesn’t mean you can use it as you wish – it just means you will pay more. It is still locked to AT&T. If you want an unlocked iPhone you must purchase it in Australia, France, and possibly New Zealand, Italy, or Belgium. I don’t know for a fact which countries are offering unlocked iPhones – all I know is that there is a huge difference between “unlocked” and merely “no-contract”, so pay attention to what you are getting and do your own research on this matter.
The one nice thing Apple has done for its international customers is make the interface available in a vast number of languages – something Microsoft still can’t manage to deliver without special installation procedures (even on its primary operating system: Windows).
Whether you speak Spanish, Korean, Japanese, or Hebrew, the you will feel at home using the iPhone, or any Apple device for that matter.
The mystical white iPhone:
From the beginning we have been promised a white iPhone option as well. For whatever reason Apple has delayed production of the white version. We can only assume that there was a logistical reason why these white phones could not be manufactured to Apple’s standards and were delayed as a result. Whether this option will still be offered at all is a matter of debate. I personally don’t care. If you love the color white, just buy a white case. Having a white border around your iPhone’s screen would probably be more distracting than the black anyway.
More about the 3G plan:
Once upon a time AT&T offered an unlimited data plan. Those days are no more. However if you are already an unlimited data plan subscriber (i.e. an existing iPhone user) then you are “grandfathered in” and may keep your existing unlimited data plan for $30/month. The plan offered to new iPhone customers is a measly 2GB for $25/month, so if you have an unlimited data plan then by all means keep it!
On a final note, the App Store is one of the features that makes Apple’s mobile devices unique and great. Here are a few apps worth checking out:
- Dropbox (View the files that are synced with your computer from anywhere.)
- DropText (View and create plaintext notes that instantly sync with your computer.)
- iBooks (The best way to read books – the selection is growing every day.)
- Galcon (Über-addictive Real-Time Strategy game.)
- Google Earth (It’s just cool, what can I say?)
- AT&T MyWireless (Track your voice and data usage.)
- Flashcards Deluxe (Highly customizable study tool.)
- NanoStudio (Mobile Digital Audio Workstaion! Sounds amazing.)
- MobileMe iDisk (MobileMe is way overpriced, but if you use it this app will make your experience better.)
- Angry Birds (Everybody seems to love this game for some reason. So you should buy it, I guess?)
- Archetype (If you like First-Person Shooter games this is for you!)
- Pandora Radio (nice for users on an unlimited data plan – streaming net radio anywhere, customized to your tastes!)
- The Apple Store App (This was just recently introduced. It is basically a way of optimizing your Apple Store experience. Recommended if you prefer shopping through retail to shopping online.)
Sorry this review has been so lengthy. If you have read it through to the end you are a trooper and I commend you! My goal was nothing more than to give a detailed and insightful overview of what the iPhone 4 experience will bring you.
I wish you all the best.
45 of 59 people found the following review helpful.
The greatest invention since the transistor!
By Ghenghis
I had the 8GB 3G model and thought that was great, until I got a demo of the iPhone 4. Man is this version is light years ahead of the original model.
With a 1Ghz CPU, and 16GB of flash memory, this thing is a portable office/entertainment center par excellence. I’ve had this phone for 3 months without a single problem, the display is nice and sharp, the apps load very fast, and I now have over 130 apps to perform just about every duty you could possibly think of with absolutely no impact on performance. And on the ATT 3G network, I average download speeds of around 1.8Mbps, and over 1M upload speeds….and how do I know that, cause I got an app that tells me that’s how. BTW, the display is the equivalent of a 960×640 on your desktop so what you see is essentially a high res yield and page loads are superfast. And resident memory, after a full days use I just checked and still had 120Mb of Ram available. On the 3G model that number was usually down around 4Mb by the end of the work day and had to be refreshed.
I was in the computer/design/manufacturing business for 20 years, and this is by far the most amazing piece of technology I have ever seen or imagined. Even the battery life is 3x better than the previous model, and thats a good thing cause its integrated but a full charge should yield and entire days work of calls, emails, surfing the web, SMS messaging, and play. I no longer need my laptop cause there’s nothing I cant do with the iPhone, and that includes sending faxes, editing Excel or Word documents, and even printing. A flash for the 5MP camera, two(2) HD video cameras, and even real time video conferencing over a wireless network, and Bluetooth that unlike the 3G model is actually compatible with everything you throw at it, including Garmin GPS….just amazing. This thing even has 2 mics with noise suppression so calls are clearer on the other end. Man, Apple hit this one out of the park.
BTW, with all the apps, music, and videos I’ve got loaded on this thing I’ve still got 10GB of flash memory remaining. I cant imagine why anybody would need more storage, and the 32GB model isn’t any faster and doesn’t have any more features. You’ll need iTunes on your desktop to get the most out of this phone and iTunes can be a little intimidating at first but its worth the trouble, and all the instruction you need can be found on the web or Youtube for transferring photos, videos, music, apps, etc.
Update 12/09/10: I’ve been reading up on the “antenna problem” with the iPhone 4 and have this to say….. It is easily cured by slapping on a hard case or shell on the phone, which eliminates the issue I see some people complaining about. I have personally never experienced this issue because I left the AT&T store with a protective shell on my phone which virtually everybody I’ve ever seen with an iPhone has anyway. Very simply you CANNOT replicate the reported “death grip” problem with a shell around the outer frame. Cant be done. And BTW, I don’t know if its due to network improvements or what but lately I’m getting 4Mbps download speeds so if anything I’m happier with my purchase now than I was 4 months ago but I live in Florida and cell sites are plenty down here, if you live in California or New York you may not be so fortunate. Zero complaints, and that’s something most smartphone users of other OEM products can’t say.
Also, amongst the disinformation you’ll read about the iPhone here on Amazon one guy states “the screen is easily scratched and the back is easily shatterable.” Utter nonsense. First of all, ALL cell phones are “shatterable”, and the iPhone screen is made from Gorilla Glass, a proprietary Corning product that quite simply does not scratch. You can read up on this on the web but after a while you will feel comfortable dropping your phone in your pocket or purse with your keys, power tools, pistols, whatever. I’ve dropped my phone a couple of times and it has not shattered and the screen is still perfect after 4-5 hours of use per day.
I caution you to beware negative reviews on here that are filled with bad English and are authored by individuals who have written only one review (on the iPhone) and posted it in several locations on Amazon’s site. Its easy to pick these out, and many have no doubt been written by the same person.
And finally, the Wall Street Journal did an article on the iPhone 4 recently that concluded the following 1) AT&T network is 46% faster than Verizon for iPhone users, 2) many reported problems with poor service and dropped calls are an AT&T network problem, and not associated with the iPhone, and 3) call quality is better on Verizon’s network vs. AT&T. There are pros and cons to both carriers but bottom line is…..IT AIN’T THE PHONE! I’ve posted a link to the article under “Comments.”
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
wow
By milloer427
I am very impressed with how easy the iphone 4 is to use/learn. I did my homework before my purchase. I compared user reviews, phone specs, data plans,network issues and everything else you can imagine on every phone out there today.
I am also impressed with the warranty and replacement guarantee. Also the free updates make the phone well worth the purchase price and the investment. The camera is amazing! Depending on carrier you can get these phones very reasonably priced. Don’t let them sell you more phone than you really need!
Also the apps are great. Some folks would have you believe you have to purchase all your apps this is not true. If you have time to look, most of the apps you really need or want can be found for free. Long story short…. Love this phone.
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