iPhone 4

 Apple, Geek  No Responses »
Jun 242010
 

I was up at 6AM this morning and out of the house by 6:30. I treated myself to a McDonalds breakfast (so good yet so awful) and then headed off to the phone shop in Tesco. I was half expecting there to be a large queue. I knew there wouldn’t be as many as the Apple Store at the city centre but at least 5 or 6 people. Instead there were two friends and that’s it.

After waiting until around until 9:00 (during which we were told they had phones but no SIMs but were driving to Northampton to steal their’s) I left with a shiny new 32GB iPhone 4. I got to work a couple of hours late and promptly downloaded iTunes to my work PC and activated the phone. I was able to play around with the core applications but couldn’t really take full advantage of the new bits and bobs (how did the original iPhone owners last a whole year with only the preloaded apps?). Since getting home I’ve synced all my playlists and apps and have the phone pretty much as I want it.

What do I think?

It’s pretty damn stunning I have to say. Opinion is mixed on the new design. An iPhone 3G owner at work likened it to an old Sony Erricson. Jordan also thinks it looks weird. I, however, quite like it. I think it’s sleek and after holding it and having it in my pocket all day the 3G/3Gs form factor looks bulky.

I’m not going to go into a huge review at the moment but I’ll mention my two favourite features so far. Firstly, the screen is amazing. The pixel density (326ppi!) really makes for readable text, even in tiny sizes. Pictures, icons and the graphics in Firemint’s Real Racing (one of the only games to be updated to use the new display resolution) are far clearer than any screen I’ve ever come across. I’m currently looking at my Macbook Pro’s LED  backlit screen that has been praised by many for its clarity and quality and it frankly looks shit in comparison.

The other feature I’m very happy about is the improved camera. I basically stopped taking pictures with my 3G. There wasn’t really any point. They were always blurry or too dark. The iPhone 4 has a 5MP camera but importantly it has the same pixel size as the 3Gs’s 3MP camera so there is no increase in noise in low light. The few photos I’ve taken look a hell of a lot better than my 3G. It also has an LED flash. I’ve taken a few pictures with the flash and it’s surprisingly bright. I half expected it to be a measly torch that wasn’t much help to anyone but when it flashes you’ll know about it.

The camera is also capable of 720p HD video recording. You can even edit movie clips with mobile iMovie. Now that is pretty crazy. I can edit HD video on a phone… a phone! A few months ago I was considering picking up a Flip Video recorder but now I have a comparable camera but with editing capability in my pocket at all times. I haven’t managed to play around with it yet but the videos taken with it I’ve seen online look pretty good.

Maybe I’ll do another post in a month as I did with the 3G detailing what I’m liking and what I’m liking not so much. Now excuse me, I’m off to have a few laps on Real Racing.

Phone envy

 Apple, Geek  No Responses »
Jun 042010
 

A few of my friends own the HTC Desire Android phone. From what I’ve seen of it it looks like a pretty amazing phone. Who would have thought, even 5 years ago, that we would have a phone powered by a 1GHz processor?

Today one of these friends posted this on Twitter -

when you think have brought the right HTC and then this http://techland.com/2010/06/03/htc-evo-4g-review-everything-and-the-kitchen-sink/

Now anyone interested in technology knows that their brand new, top of the range toy is going to be old news in a very short space of time. It’s just the way things are. But the pace at which Android phones are progressing is hugely impressive. HTC seem to be bringing out an updated model precisely every 6 minutes night and day.

Whilst this speedy march of tech is by no means a bad thing I do think it leads to buyers remorse in the more fickle consumer. Of course these people are going to feel this way no matter what but at least it used to be the case that they would buy a phone and have bragging rights for 6 months or so. It’s not even close to that now. I can see this making the now almost ubiquitous two year contract seem like a really long time even to the average consumer. I suppose this just highlights the importance of research. Don’t buy when a new product is imminent (although as I mentioned this seems to be all of the time) and make sure you get the best product you can afford so you aren’t left behind during that long two year contract.

Of course, these are just the thoughts of an outsider. My current phone is an iPhone 3G. I am planning to upgrade to the 4th generation model in June. I was slightly tempted by the Desire but I’m hoping that the new iPhone will at least match it technology wise. I have also invested heavily in games and apps from the App Store so I would have spend a fair amount just to replace the functionality I get at the moment. I will also be safe in the knowledge that my phone will be top dog (relative to other iPhones of course) for at least a year.