Overview of IPhone 4 (SG ver)
iPhone 4 (A humble brief review based on my 1st Gen Singapore batch review)
IPhone 4 is no stranger to anyone to review about it now days. This may be Apple’s most successful launch yet? Despite some bumps along the way. We’ve already heard and seen overseas Telecoms like overseas AT&T’s signal issue with the famous death grip! But Apple is doing its best — with new features like a super-fast A4 CPU, a new front-facing camera and five megapixel shooter on the back, a completely new industrial design, and that outrageous Retina Display. Read on.
Hardware
The redesigned housing is suppose to allows for a much larger lithium-ion battery with an improved the battery life which i dont know anything about the size as i am not going to pry open to prove it right? On top of it, the new phone has those two cameras (front VGA and a five megapixel with LED flash at the back), a new second microphone used to combat background noise while on calls which i cant tell the difference. A gyroscope on top of the standard accelerometer, a light sensor on the front panel and a proximity sensor. Similar to the 3GS, an AGPS chip and compass are bundled within the unit.
Of course, the big internal story is Apple decided to made the stainless band around the phone as a big antenna and so far all GPS, WiFi, and Blue-tooth antennas radio signals is coping well. I guess you might have heard alot of constant dropped calls from iPhone users on AT&T’s network. Well in my normal usage, so far no call has been drop and signal is still standing strong of 3 bar at least or is it because of Singapore reception coverage?
External design
The most notable change with the new iPhone4 is the industrial brick design. Apple seems to have completely rethought the design and to differentiate the phone between 3G/3Gs in terms of look and feel. The iPhone 4 is made up of three basic parts: two pieces of smooth strengthened glass on the front and back. Follow by a stainless steel wrap around band on the phone which is suppose to improve connection on a larger scale making the whole package seem tighter and denser.
The face of the device is made up of extremely strong glass which Jony Ive says is “comparable in strength to sapphire crystal, but about 30 times harder than plastic” although i don’t really believe it 
. Front-facing camera are embedded in the glass above the display, with the familiar home button at the bottom. On the left side of the phone you’ve got a redesigned new volume buttons and mute switch. On the right side is for the Micro SIM slot and new noise-canceling microphone. Along the bottom is the speaker, microphone and the 30-pin dock connector port. Do note that only the 3G and above power supply cable works (at least it happen to me). The backside of the phone is made from the same kind of ultra-strong glass as the front, interrupted only by the new finally five megapixel camera, its LED flash companion.
Overall, the iPhone 4 is a classy smartphone in the market right now. Apart from the phone looks, the materials feels good in your hands too. Most people were freaking out about dropping or losing the phone when i show them the phone but i didn’t regret my decision purchasing it at all as i have faith in it.
Internal design
Apart from design transformation, the iPhone specification is all refine inside as well. Apple has decided to use similar A4 chip used in the iPad compare to Samsung ARM Cortex-A8-based CPU used in the 3GS. I could feel the differences while multi-tasking, games and browsing. In particular, graphics seemed to render faster, and overall responsiveness.
I suspect that the iPhone 4 has 512MB on board, a big step up from the 256MB in the previous model. As far as internal storage goes, nothing is change in comparison to iphone 3Gs in either 16GB or 32GB capacity. But i recommend getting the 32GB since the using the 5mega-pixel camera and 30FPS 720p video recording, memory will be a concern soon.
Impressive display
You should know that the new iPhone 4 has an new improved display as well. Calling the LED back-lit, 960 x 640 IPS screen the “Retina Display” due to its high resolution and pixel density. With the same 3.5-inches as the older models, the new display has an insane 326ppi pixel density along with an 800:1 contrast ratio. but we can tell you this: to our eyes, there has never been a more detailed, clear, or viewable screen on any mobile device. It is more noticeable from web browsing and photo viewing.
Not only are the colors and blacks deep and rich, but you simply cannot see pixels on the screen. But in general use, the screen is free of jaggies of any type, unless you’re looking at a last-gen app that hasn’t had its artwork updated. Text rendering is incredibly clear and clean and impressive. Even when you look at higher-res graphics or watch 720p video on the phone — the detail in moving images is particularly striking. What’s nice is that most apps with text in them will benefit from this tech whether or not they’ve been updated, as long as they’re using Apple’s font rendering.
Because Apple is using IPS and LED technology for its screen, the iPhone 4 is mercifully visible in full sunlight, and performance in low light and at extreme viewing angles are favorable. Overall, you simply won’t find a better display on a phone but the Ultra-OMLED might be the next choice.
Cameras
Taking a look at the higher-res main camera. Apple’s mention using a newer backside-illuminated sensor that’s more sensitive to light in addition to upping those megapixel — and we must say, pictures on the iPhone 4 look stunning. Our shots looked good right out of the gate, with few problems when it came to focusing or low light. With the flash on, we managed decent if somewhat blown out results. A4 and iOS 4 combo have considerably sped up the time it takes to snap pictures. Otherwise, you have options for a 5x digital zoom, basic on / off / auto settings for the flash and HDR function. It’s the simplest i have seen in all phone camera, for even my last Nokia E71 has more options to select. I was impressed by the 720p video capture, though there are stability issues with the lens and the all-too-familiar usual CMOS issues. The shot looked crisp and mostly artifact-free. Adding iMovie to the mix for a instant on phone editing is a nice touch too.
At the front, the VGA camera is nothing worth mentioning. It does a fine job of capturing your face during video calls, and worked surprisingly well in low light although Apple is kinda of late in this area in comparison to market trend.
Software
Along with the iPhone 4 comes iOS 4, the re-branded iPhone OS which boasts loads of new features, most notably a very Apple-ized version of smartphone multitasking, a video calling feature dubbed FaceTime, folders so you can organize your apps, enhanced Mail, and lots of other upgrades like a new version of its popular iMovie just for the iPhone 4.
Multitasking
Apple’s argument has always been that multitasking causes an undue amount of battery drain from phones, and had to be approached with caution, lest we all end up with juice-less phones at mid day and i have seen my colleagues charging them in office.
- Fast app switching: Fast app switching is essentially like toggling between “paused” applications. This combined with Apple’s new app switcher (double tap the home button to bring up your most recently used apps) destroys that annoying iPhone feeling of going in and out and in and out. It can be annoying trying to turn them off to save on battery but once you get used to this system, it becomes a habit. So no complains.
- Background GPS: GPS apps can keep running in the background… for obvious reasons. This one will drain your battery if you’re not docked. So turn it off if you want to save on battery life span.
FaceTime (that works with Wifi only)
If you didn’t know, the only one way to do FaceTime calls is via WiFi only. which means that the opportunity to make these calls is pretty limited and useless for now. It is fun for a while when you talk to someone, at least for me. (provided the other party is using iphone 4 too)
Folders
Apple has decided to included something like this in iOS 4, and the implementation is good enough. but it would have been nice to store more than 12 items at a time. So far i have been doing house keeping while i have seen many folders of the same name differentiate but xx1, xx2, xx3. 
Mail improvements
I have not been using previous iphone so i have nothing much to mention on the OS. But the new tweaks to the iPhone’s Mail app have major improvements in a unified inbox and threaded messaging. It works for me as i have the tendency of reading and download emails on the move. however, the same subject header is require to be classified under the same thread messaging.
Battery life
Most importantly, the battery life on the iPhone 4 has been outstanding thus far, exceeding my expectations for a almost 2 day normal usage with 3G turn off. The battery life seems markedly improved in the iPhone 4 and i have been a happy user for now.
Impression
I felt that the iPhone 4 is the best smart-phone in the market for now. The combination new hardware, amazing display, upgraded cameras, and major improvements to the OS system make this an extremely formidable package. I have been a anti-iphone person for years as i felt that it is just a fashion niche where by everyone just drool over it because it is Apple. But when it comes to the total package — fit and finish in both software and hardware, performance, app selection. With all of the little details improvement, it has finally won me over! Some people might just prefer the Android or Symbian OS including me.
