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First day thoughts on iPhone 4

by Mel Martin Jun 24th 2010 at 8:00PM

The day has finally come. After 2 1/2 hours in the reserved line, I was able to walk out with the iPhone 4 up and running, albeit without contacts, music, videos or my app collection.

Getting it home and synced was uneventful. iTunes detected the new phone and dutifully restored everything. A couple of reminders, however: First, some passwords won't survive the sync. I had to sign on to Pandora again, enter my email passwords once more, and tell my Navigon app that I did indeed purchase traffic and panorama view maps. Tapping their icons re-loaded them, but the panorama maps don't display properly just yet, while the regular 2D and 3D maps work just fine. Hopefully this will be part of a Navigon update that includes multitasking. Oh, and your Bluetooth devices will have to be re-paired as well.

Speed increases are pretty obvious and very welcome. I could easily discern the extra speed in bringing up web pages, long playlists and even the address book.

My old case is too big for the new phone, so I'll have to get something else. I looked at the Apple Bumper cases in the store, and thought they were fairly useless. I like having the back of the phone protected from scratches, and the Apple case just wraps around the edge of the phone. No thanks to that one.

I haven't seen any of the problems with reception that some have mentioned. I've put my clammy fingers everywhere on the antennas and can't get a signal dropout. On the other hand, I don't see that this new iPhone gets any better reception than the old one. There is a place in my neighborhood where the signal always drops out, so I checked that one, and bingo! It still does.

I like the look of the phone a lot better. It just seems more contemporary, having sort of a B&O look to it. It's amazing how something as nice as the 3GS can look out of date in only a year.

I tried to make a video using the new iMovie app, but it was a minor nightmare. I would choose a theme, and it would never register. It wasn't obvious to me how to get background music, although I figured it out eventually -- you have to double tap on the clip. Apple needs a complete tutorial on this thing. It is amazing that you can edit video on a phone, but it didn't seem simple to me, and I'm pretty experienced in video editing.

Summing up, I like the phone. I like it a lot. It seems a big jump from the 3GS, although many of the new iOS 4 features work fine on the 3GS if you update it.

I expect this phone to be a major hit for Apple. As of today, I think it is the best smartphone you can buy. At the price, it is very competitive. I think the only drawback that remains is AT&T, and that's not going away anytime soon. As far as I'm concerned, it's your move, Android.

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The day has finally come. After 2 1/2 hours in the reserved line, I was able to walk out with the iPhone 4 up and running, albeit without...
 

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Alyssa

For all of you out there that do not like the bumper case because it doesn't cover the back there is a pretty cool case made by griffen that has the "bumper" but the back is clear hard plastic. Got mine today and love it!

June 25 2010 at 9:27 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Alyssa's comment
Alyssa

Oh it's the griffin slimfit case. I got it at best buy.

June 25 2010 at 9:29 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Brooke

I'm surprised not to have heard more complaints about the feel of the phone. The 4 may be technically thinner, but that's measured at the thickest point. At the edges, where I hold the phone in use, the 3GS is and feels thinner. And, of course, smoother -- I don't like the feel of the squared edges. I already gave my 3GS to my son who, after holding each, said he liked the feel of the 3GS way better ...

Reception: I took the early talk with a grain of salt, but I have the issue big time. Not just displayed bars (who cares?), but real world dropped calls at my home, where I use it a lot and never dropped calls before. FYI, I hold the phone in my left hand -- just lime in the Apple ads! -- so the fleshy part of my rhumb is all over the lower left corner. No way I'm changing that habit.

My bumper arrives today, so we'll see. I want a case like the bumper to give a lip to the glass so that it can be laid flat without contact to the glass. If than fixes the reception issue, I'll keep the phone, though it still irks me ...

June 25 2010 at 9:18 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Brooke's comment
Drew

You're not alone. In my opinion, the iPhone 4 is significantly higher-quality feeling (I thought they took a big step back going from the iPhone to the iPhone 3G), but much less ergonomic. It's thin and compact, but uncomfortable to hold in my hand, and even less comfortable to carry in my pocket compared to the 3GS.

The screen is amazing, the cameras are nice, and the jury is still out on the reception issue, but I definitely do not like the new shape.

June 25 2010 at 1:30 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Grant

I too in & out in about 2 hours @ Orlando North location, but only got water. Most impressive is battery reserve, after 10+ hours of playing with it, making movies(2), surfing net, texting, trying most of my 74 apps, etc...by time i finally had enough and called it the day.... Still had 69% power left!! LOVE IT! iMovie SUCKS - cannot figure it out... HELP!!!

June 25 2010 at 6:33 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jason

So, let me get this right -

Best smartphone money can buy, does the new iPhone come with a set of blinkers so you can't see the wood for the trees, look around, without that screen it matches all of the current 2009/ early 2010 phones in spec, nothing special.

This reception issue is bad, you have to put a rubber case on it to use it, wow, that sucks. I had a 3g and never put a case on it, no reception or scratching issues and no pee stains on the screen either.

Apple rushed this out, there are lots of issues, no hdmi output, still no external mem card storage, only a 5 megapix camera and you can video call only over wi-fi to another person with an iPhone4, well that corners the market then.

Overall, NOT impressed, mediocre phone, design issues, bits missing (they will be on next years phone) - so I will take my money elsewhere.

June 25 2010 at 3:47 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Cristopher Boyer

I'd love to chime in on this, but somehow the ball got dropped between Apple and AT&T - despite my orders being supposed to show up today, but they were sure happy to take m money.

Neither ATT nor Apple has any idea when my order is going to arrive. I spent hours on the phone with both for hours, and got nowhere. Frustrating to say the least.

June 25 2010 at 2:25 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
edgardro

I just check this one on the store and is amazing device.
just wait a few days for the crow and then go and grab one your self and check

June 25 2010 at 12:19 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Kswiss

I wouldn't worry about scratching the back. I took a knife to a returned phone tonight at the store, for 5 minutes...not a single scratch

June 24 2010 at 11:54 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
jordancowdery

The bumper does protect both front and back of the phone from lying directly on a flat surface hence avoiding scratches. Again, on a flat surface.

June 24 2010 at 11:53 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
GSport

My previous iPhone was the "3G" not the "3GS"...

June 24 2010 at 11:34 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
GSport

Picking up my iPhone 4 today was stress free! In the morning I called my local Radio Shack to verify that they had received their allotment of iPhone 4's. They said yes but could only sell them to people that were on the request list. I told my name was on the list and that I would pick up my phone during my lunch break. When lunchtime arrived I punched out and headed to The Shack. I was the only customer in the store! They gave me $100 for my fair conditioned 8GB iPhone 3G and gave me a free case for only $100 out of my pocket! It was the best customer service I have ever received!

This is my second iPhone purchase (the 3GS was my first) but it was the first time I have ever purchased a high demand electronic device on the day of it's release! It went smooth as silk! I was in and put of the store in a flash and made it back to work on time!

RADIO SHACK ROCKS!!!!!



June 24 2010 at 11:28 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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