For some two days early, but for me, it’s just one. Wasn’t anticipating it’s arrival originally and so I had plans, but fortunately I didn’t have to sign for the package so there it sat when I came home.
What can I say about this phone? Jumping from the iPhone 3G to number 4, the improvements are incredible. Particularly, the speed of it all is amazing. 3GS users might not notice a huge improvement, but my slow, outdated by two years phone just slugged along. It worked well for the most part, but when it came to more graphic intensive apps, I actually had to take them off my phone since I couldn’t see myself playing with such lag. The iPhone 4 completely destroys in the speed field. Web pages load faster than the 3G making my Opera app a little less useful as Safari is speedy even in terms of its navigation. Of course, all my old apps run so damn well that I don’t know how I lived with my 3G for so long.
Visually, both design and screen are wonderful. The design does make the older models feel like toys, though I do admit that it is a bit harder to hold. Perhaps the curved nature of the back in of the past models had a useful purpose. But don’t expect me to go back anytime soon. The higher resolution screen is also beautiful and the ‘Retina Display’ really works like advertised. I can’t see pixels unless it’s an old app that hasn’t updated its graphics. It’s really a beautiful screen and it’s making the older models look extremely dated.
Another thing I love is the upgraded camera. The picture posted is one I took (at a damn high resolution!), and I think it’ll make an excellent portable camera for when I’m not carrying around my DSLR. I haven’t tested the 720p video recording, but from what I’ve seen, it’s no substitute for an HD camcorder or anything. Haven’t compared it to the FlipHD so maybe it could go head to head with that? No idea.
My favorite part though? Jumping from 16GB to 32GB. While it’s not the 64GB jump I would’ve wanted, I managed to fit practically all my apps and all the music and podcasts that I wanted. For the next year I should be good with space. At 16GB, I struggled to decide what to keep and what to leave off, but no more!
For the most part, I’m happy with it. Once I’ve oohed and ahhed at all the new features, there’s not much else to be wowed about since it’s essentially the same experience. Don’t get me wrong though. It’s a fantastic upgrade and there’s no way I could go back now.
