The iPhone 4

iPhone 4 package is simple, similar to iPods and many other phones on the market. The phone comes with white headphones, Apple traditional, what’s up handsfree wired with data cable (the iPhone has a special connector, do not expect a mini-or micro-USB) and an outlet adapter USB output, connect the same cable that you called before.

Overall, having regard to the contents of the package Spartan and that the phone uses its own connector for charging and data transfer, you should buy compatible car charger if you need, or some other data cables, in case want to take one in the office or to another computer.

iPhone 4 construction
The phone is very well done. It have well-defined forms, much less rounding than iPhone 3G and feels solid in your hand. I like the side volume buttons, so big, round and well separated and are on this model. Gently press them by hand, but are more rare accidental presses. Above them is a manual switch, again very well defined, which enables and disables the phone’s sound effects (ringtone sites and other warnings, including the camera shutter sound).

On the right side of the phone is the micro SIM slot. Warning, it’s a micro SIM, a card lower than the one you have now (normal SIM card). When you buy an iPhone, make sure you have passed the first mobile operator and you asked a micro, otherwise you can not make phone calls. To enter the microSIM is really need a clip or something equally thin. Cap that protects the microsite can only be removed with something long and thin as a paper clip.

The only button on the front of the phone is the Home button. That was the iPhone since the first generation, so it remains.

The glass is continued until the side where the phone is very good edge with aluminum tape on the side. Do not see the connections, do not feel the finger, there is no area to pressure to “squeak”. It’s well made. However, it’s glass. If you dropped it’s a great chance to break. Rear glass is absolutely useless in terms of use (and even the appearance, where he could be replaced with something else), but doubles your chance to break somewhere. Normally you will fly with a pouch, complete or not, silicone or leather, so the rear glass is really unnecessary.

As size is very close to a HTC Desire, even has the same thickness. The camera phone is better placed in the corner, so you can take right hand without covering the lens.

iPhone 4 hardware and performance

The screen is superb. Any font, any shape, any detail is how finely drawn and displayed on the screen perfectly. Is a significant technology innovation and is superior to any other phone on the market.

The difference with the iPhone 3G is huge. Placed side by side, the iPhone 3G screen seems to be much lower than iPgone 4 screen. If this aspect of screen quality is great importance to you, then you can make the step from 4 3GS no regrets, the gain is significant. Moreover, the screen is seamlessly integrated into the phone and did not feel that is 2 millimeters below the glass cabinet.

Otherwise performance and daily use phone menus is not something that can be easily measured and expressed. It moves well, I never thought that would delay or transitions from one display to another screen, but the speed of scrolling and transition of the software are limited. I would have liked to move faster from one screen to another and quickly display different animations and different options on the On / Off switch. I am sure that the phone could do everything much faster, but unfortunately these animations was Apple’s programmers frozen in stone. Perhaps Steve Jobs would say that is part of the Apple experience, but these are nice animations and transitions in the early days of pressing a button, but not anymore after this the test period.
True speed of the phone can be seen in several applications. Zoom in photos is made immediately through multitouch, phone filming and editing of 720p and make movies with iMovie, there are many complex games as graphics and mathematics and all running smoothly.
Multitouch is very good and I do not expect anything else from Apple.
WiFi signal is strong enough to ensure a smooth your data under normal conditions.
The battery life is more than other smartphones. Of course, this is due to the operating system architecture and limitations imposed by Apple, so I do not know if it’s something to praise. If you’re a fan of Apple and you can overcome these limitations, the battery will thank you generously.

iPhone 4 interface

iPhone 4 comes, as is customary, with a lot of foreign languages available for selection, while other phones only include 3-4.

I felt the lack of physical Back button, such as the Android Market. In all programs installed and all the native interface of the phone through many menus, often with 3-4 pages deep. To return to the previous page you must click the back button usually found in the upper left corner of the screen. I do not like that. It’s basically the farthest place to push for a user who keeps the device in his right hand, plus you fly with your hand to press the screen. Then, after you hit him 3-4 times and get the first page of the application you must click the Home button (the physical, the bottom of the phone) to exit the menu and that to return to the main screen of the phone. I found this inefficient.

As an example, to activate your WiFi go into Settings, click on Wifi and open the page of the menu where the chicken WiFi On a new touch. If you want to choose a particular network, there are other presses. To exit, push button on the screen and then back home. You want to enable Bluetooth? You go into Settings, enter the General in the Bluetooth, you activate, press the Back button a couple times and then Home.

That would be the first frustration. The second is the lack of a real multitasking. Whatever one says, no matter how improved multitasking IOS 4 that the notification system, Android is not comparable. Notifications for various programs appear as messages in the middle of your screen, “You were disconnected from Yahoo Messenger. Press OK and go to the next. By comparison, the Android open notification window and see at a glance all the warnings that you send your phone. You go where you want, ignore those that do not interest you, quickly check the status of a transfer or a program. That means effective, especially on a small device like a mobile phone, and I do not I could adapt to the iPhone.

There is not a real multitasking. For me “real” multitasking … ALT + TAB. Leave a program, go to another, go back to find him first and just as I left, everything quickly and easily.  The Android software can run simultaneously navigation, Twitter, Yahoo, and somewhere in the background a WordPress blog to check new comments. Move quickly between them just by holding the Home button and selecting an icon from the list used last June. On the iPhone I could not do that.

AppSTORE and Software

AppStore is a huge store and Android Market software is far behind in this chapter. Everything is available directly from the phone, you should not connect the PC to copy and install software. Just create an account if you have not already.

Credit card required? Yes. Even if you plan to install only freeware, you can not reach them until you show that you have a credit card.

The store is gigantic, is divided into categories, they are grouped by Top Paid, Top Free, and others. These lists are generated according to the country where you are.

Email software can be used to connect to the net a lot of online services. We quickly set up my Gmail account and I had problems, and the whole interface is easy to use.

The music player (iPod module) is considered very good, very easy to use music management and I don’t needed something to test it.
The calendar is a normal one, allowing views and contacts, week and month.
Photos software is simple and effective. Images are available in the form of roll film, an idea borrowed from Sense HTC interface. Quickly navigate from one to another is easy zoom, rotate when turning the screen.

Utilities software provides you with a watch, a compass, calculator and voice recording.

iPhone 4 conclusions

Good parts:
- great screen.
- more software available in the AppStore.
- allows a form of multitasking.
- fast and efficient.
Bad parts:
- front and rear glass
- connecting to iTunes and AppStore require a credit card, a potential problem for peoples without one.

If you want a smartphone to do all, but without the power-user and without complex requirements, iPhone 4 may be a good choice. If you are like me and are interested in maximum efficiency and freedom to do what you want with a phone that you gave a lot of money, then go on Android phones.