With the iPhone 4S on the market it's only natural to question whether you should buy that or the older model iPhone 4. I didn't have this option when I purchased the iPhone 4 because the 4S wasn't out at the time, and by the time you purchase your iPhone there will probably be about 10 other newer versions out. Of course I'm kidding but apple do tend to release a new iPhone every year.In this review I am going to be looking at the iPhone 4.
What's in the box?
If you're already a customer of Apple then you will know that most of their products come with the bare minimum, the iPhone is no exception. Inside the box you will receive:
- The iPhone 4
- USB Connector Cable
- Power Adaptor
- Mini Sim Card
The answer of this question ultimately comes down to your preference. Personally I haven't yet tried the iPhone 4S so I can't comment on how good that device is, however from looking at the phones specifications and user reviews for the extra money you would pay for the 4S I think personally I would prefer to save some money and stick with the iPhone 4.
Blackberry users thinking of making a switch should note that iPhone's now come with something called iMessage, and basically it's a free way of communicating with other iPhone users just like Blackberry messenger.
The iMessage feature really isn't that big of a deal to me as my network provider already gives me unlimited texts in my price plan, but if you haven't got unlimited texts and you have a lot of friends using an iPhone then this feature will save you a ton of money. iIMessage also allows you to send images to your friends free of charge.
Processing Power of the iPhone 4
If you have done your research into mobile phones then you will know that some mobile phones have dual cores, without getting two technical the more cores you have the better processing power your phone is going to have. There are other factors that come into play such as the clock speed of these cores but like I said for the purpose of this review I won't get too technical. The iPhone 4 only has a 1GHZ single core processor whereas the newer model phones such as the Samsung Galaxy 2 have 2 cores. This however shouldn't put you off as the iPhone will handle all the tasks you want it to. I have only ever found the phone to go slow when you are running multiple apps simultaneously.
iPhone 4 Phone Design
iPhone 3 and 3GS users will be used to their sleek looking device with the curved plastic back, and I must admit I loved this design, so when the iPhone 4 came along with its rectangular and flat design I was rather put off and thought initially that it was borderline ugly.
Without a phone case there is no question that I still prefer the feel to the 3GS over the 4 but with a case I find the iPhone 4 easier to grip and it feels like a much more solid mobile phone.
The iPhone 4 is much different from its little brother the 3GS its much more compact but still weights 137g, so you get a much smaller yet compact device that feels solid. The side of the phone is stainless steel where the front and back are made out of some type of reinforced glass.
I have seen one review website saying that one of their employees has dropped this phone out of a low level window and nothing happened to the phone, now sorry I don't believe this at all. Maybe they wrapped the device in bubble wrap first and then tried it, but otherwise this device will crack. Having said that if you drop this phone from your pocket to the ground then you shouldn't receive any problems, but just to make sure I would recommend getting a cheap case off eBay or somewhere like that.
iPhone 4 Camera
I have never used an iPhone camera previously to owning this iPhone 4 so I wasn't sure of the quality that the phone would produce. On using the camera I very much like it, I think the quality of image is great the colors are realistic and the built in flash is pretty good but can sometimes overexpose the image. I often find myself using the built in flash as a torch with the iTorch4 app. The HDR mode is also pretty cool and what this mode does is take 3 different exposure levels and blend them together to give a cool looking image.
The high definition video recording is also something I wasn't expecting from a mobile phone and I was surprised when I saw that the iPhone 4 had it. Once again the quality is excellent and Apple has done a good job with implementing this into such a small device.
The iPhone 4 has 2 cameras built into it and I probably should have mentioned this earlier. One of the cameras faces outwards and this is the camera I discussed above and one of the cameras faces inwards. This camera is useful for the face time application. This application is like a webcam that allows you to talk to other iPhone/iPad users. Face time allows both parties to see each other and communicate. The camera that is used for this isn't as good as the main camera in my opinion and often gives a darker and grainier picture.
iPhone 4 web browsing
Before owning the iPhone 4 I owned a blackberry curve 8900 and web browsing on that mobile phone was painfully slow and quite often didn't even work. In fact I would say the Blackberry 8900 web capabilities were nonexistent. Upgrading to the iPhone was amazing. Now you may already browse the web with a different mobile phone and it probably works well for you, but when you have a device that never works and transfer to a device that is very quick and simply works I assure you it is amazing.
The iPhone 4 displays websites in high definition and this is because of the "retina display" the phone has. I have no idea what a retina display is, I simply know that the images on screen are always sharp and crisp.
The iPhone 4 is also very quick when using the internet and this is because it has 3G and WiFi connection capabilities.
The one problem that I do have with the iPhone is that it doesn't support the use of Flash files. This means that the iPhone doesn't display any flash movie and seeing that YouTube is full of flash movies then it becomes a problem. One way around this is the YouTube app for the iPhone. YouTube have started to convert their movies so that they will work on the iPhone, but because of the amount of files on their website this is going to take time. The YouTube app works fine but I find that often the videos that I search for don't appear in the way they would if you search online. An example of this is if you searched for "The Beatles" then you would get a ton of song covers before any of the songs performed by The Beatles.
Battery Life
As I mentioned above, previous to owning this phone I owned a Blackberry 8900 and although that phone was rubbish the battery life was pretty good. I could easily go a day and half without charging it, with the iPhone this isn't the case.
If you listen to music, write on Facebook/Twitter, check your emails and play on your apps then you are going to drain your battery down. The iOS 5 update also uses up more battery power again, but don't be alarmed, I use my phone all day and have never run out yet, although I have come pretty close.
The iPhone 4 will generally need to be charged at least once a day if you're a heavy user like me.
iPhone 4 conclusion
The iPhone 4 is a great touch screen mobile phone that has great internet and media capabilities. The best thing about any iPhone is the wide range of applications that are available to download for it. Being a student I get to commute a lot and because of this I often use my iPhone and my Kindle to keep myself amused. The wide range of apps available allows me to pass the time without thinking of the traveling I'm doing.
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