The number one thing that makes the iPhone such a winner is all those apps. Apps let a smartphone become smarter, and granted all the major players in the smartphone world offer apps. You should note that Apple has more apps. for you to download then Blackberry, Android (Google), Palm/HP (WebOS), Nokia combined. One thing you need to know if you don’t already own an iPhone is that the majority of apps. are free. This fact is one that often shocks people who look at my iPhone and comment on all the apps on the phone and makes the remark “You must have spent a lot of money on apps.”
Here is a list of a few of my favorite apps.
Facebook, does this app. even need an explanation? I think not.
Dropbox is a web (cloud) based file storage system that gives you full access to files and allows you to access them anywhere you go.
SoundHound, a great app that will figure out the music that is playing and give you info like artist, title, and album. It will also link you to YouTube to watch the video as well as the iTunes music store to buy the song. Very cool, very powerful.
PhotoShop Express will allow you to do quick and impressive edits to photos. From changing colors to cropping, to adding boarders and more. It is one of the simplest apps out their, plus it is free!
Another free app is Urban Spoon, a Vegas style slot machine that helps you choose local restaurants with a spin of the wheel. It uses the iPhone GPS to locate where you are and then points you to restaurants in your area that meet your requirements. Whether it is Food type, Price, or locations. Trust the spoon to point you to a great place to eat.
Echofon / TweetDeck / Twittelator – Best Twitter apps out today. All feature full and rich interface and make sending out “tweets” simple.
Last is a very addictive game called “Plants vs. Zombies” it is not easy to describe in a few words. You are planting plants to fight zombies as they try to attack your house. Simple game but tons of fun. Great for everyone!
When it comes to accessories I will not be so specific to give out brands and such, rather the accessory types.
The number one thing is a speaker system, regardless of you listening to the music you moved from your computer or the music that can be heard from streaming music apps, it is a pain to listen to on the iPhone’s speaker. So get a good sounding set of speakers and if you find a pair that have the iPod dock built in then you can recharge the phone at the same time. Staying on the topic of sound, a good pair of headphone would be a very nice add on. Yes you do get a pair of Apple headphones in the box, but after a month with them they will go from a white color to a off-white and full of dirt. Plus sound of a better headphone can really help you enjoy the iPhone. The last accessory is a case, although I don’t use one, many people do love to trick out their iPhone with a cool case. A case will also help protect the iPhone from bumps or drops.
Their you have it, 4 Days of the iPhone 4. In conclusion I will state if you are going to buy a smartphone then the iPhone is the best choice for most people. If you currently own the iPhone, iPhone 3 then this upgrade to the iPhone 4 will be a welcomed change. But if you are like me and had the iPhone 3GS, you may not be so sure if you should upgrade. The benefits listed in the past three days of posts lead me to believe it is well worth the upgrade. I do realize it is not for everyone, and to spend the money to change a year old phone. Thus I leave it to you to make the decision.
For day three I decided the battery would be the first think I tested. Before I went to bed I set up the iPhone 3GS and the iPhone 4. Both started with full batteries and Wifi was on for both. Data was turned off on the older 3GS, but not for the iPhone 4. I thought by doing this would balance the scale since the new iPhone has a better battery. I hypothesized that I would find both phones with similar battery levels by morning. Also, I left the same 3 apps open on both phones, and after a refreshing 8 hour sleep I woke to find the iPhone 3GS’s battery was down to 72% and the iPhone 4 was at 84%. Through the night I did get 10 emails and a lot of “tweets” which both phones displayed in the morning. I knew the iPhone 4 had a bigger battery, but I suppose I didn’t realize how weak the older 3GS’s battery was.
I moved on to the HD Video next. On the phone the video looks sharp and is very clear. I was able to do basic edits directly on the phone as well iMovie is an Apple app. that allows for more rich features so if you want to edit and add titles, music, etc. it would be a great app. to get. I found myself wondering what it would look like once I looked at it on the computer screen. One of the nice parts of the iPhone is how it seamlessly integrates with social media. With the ability to upload to YouTube from the camera app. and how simple it is to post a video to Facebook or Twitter. The downside is that HD video can not be uploaded directly from the phone. You’ll need to use a computer to upload the HD footage. Below I have posted a short video I took from the phone and uploaded directly to YouTube.
As mentioned yesterday the software bug that I have noticed, it is not the much spoken about antenna or the proximity sensor, but the ambient light sensor. This sensor dims the screen when you are in a dark space (like a movie theater or outside at night). From what I can see, the sensor does not work well when compared to the older 3GS version. On the iPhone 3GS the sensor would dim the screen within seconds, on the iPhone 4 it does not dim at all. A small issue for me, but still a pain in the butt when sitting at the movies and checking my email.
Tomorrow I look at some of my favorite apps. on the iPhone, as well highlighting a few popular accessories that can help enhance your iPhone experience. After all you’ll want the iPhone to fit in with your lifestyle and accessories are a great way to do that.
I woke up on this the second morning of owning the new iPhone 4 to the built in alarm. I was shocked by how loud this tiny little speakers sounded, I estimate it is at least 25% louder then the previous iPhone 3GS. As the day progressed I had a chance to make a FaceTime phone call using the iPhone 4′s front facing camera. Apple requires you to make the call using WiFi so it was a bit of a pain in the rear to have to find a WiFi hotspot but I did. I assume Apple will soon allow FaceTime over the 3G network. With that being said the experience of FaceTime was one I will not soon forget. FaceTime was easy to use, fun, and the quality on my end was remarkable and totally useable on a daily basis. I only hope that more devices use Apple’s open standard of FaceTime in the near future. Right away, I assume the next iPod Touch will have the FaceTime build in with the same front facing camera as the iPhone 4. (Should be released in early September 2010)
One of the reasons I decided to get an iPhone 4 was the improved rear Digital Camera, now featuring a 5MP sensor and a built in LED flash I knew it would allow me to share better quality pictures with all of my friends and family. As well allow me to capture images that I would be able to be printed if needed I was very impressed. As for the front camera it does not impress me in the same fashion as the rear camera does but I must say it gives pleasing images that are very similar to the iPhone 3GS. An interesting feature that the iPhone cameras have is built in Geo-Tagging (it uses the iPhone’s GPS to keep track of where the photo was taken)
Below you will find sample images from the rear camera as well as the front camera. It should also be noted the LED flash can be used as a flashlight ( and There’s an App for that). Final thoughts on the camera, great with good light (day or indoor), very nice when ambient light is present and when that LED Flash kicks in. Poor images with no light, very grainy even with flash. Therefore, like most cameras use it in the correct settings and you won’t be left disappointed.
During Day 3 testing I plan on trying out the HD video, discussing the battery life, and left you know about the first software bug I have found.
Background: I took the plunge and bought what has been described by many users and critics as a defective product, the new iPhone 4 from Apple. I had to give the idea of buying the iPhone 4 some thought, but once I did buy it, I found myself hoping that I would not be disappointed by it. After all a lot of people are asking me for my thoughts on this new device. People want to know whether or not they should buy/upgrade to iPhone 4. So I opted to buy one and test it out for myself and thus allow me to give people an informed opinion.
The screen is so sharp to look at, both text and images are super clear that it made me almost forget that I was wanting to test it for signal issues and dropped calls. The first impressions of the new iPhone are summed up with one word “Wow”. Although it feels heavier then the 3GS iPhone (it is not, both are 4.8 ounces), but it also feels like the weight is in the right place to use this phone. Unlike the 3GS this iPhone sits in my hand comfortably, and feels solid! After syncing my data with iTunes the new iPhone was ready to use. (Apple deserves a lot of credit for shipping a phone that is charged out of the box)
I tried out the phone feature without using any case or bumper looking to drop calls and checking for the signal to deplete, both didn’t happen on Day 1. In fact the “Death Grip” that is much talked about all over the Internet was not causing me any issues. I did loose a bar from time to time, but it was not different on any other of the older iPhones I had used. I am using this phone on the Rogers Wireless network which has offered me wireless service over the past 10 years, I only wish the Internet speeds would be faster. I plan on testing with both Bell and Telus in days to come, provided that PR from each of the companies gets back to me.
After one day, my thoughts are the following; great display, super fast, and no signal issues. Tomorrow I plan on testing the video call feature known as “FaceTime” as well as doing some test images using both the front and rear cameras. So far I can’t find any reason why someone would not want to buy/upgrade to the iPhone 4. Stay tuned for Day 2 tomorrow.
So, the iPhone 4 has been out for over a month and no one can doubt that it is a best seller. In fact, most stores that carry Apple products are out of stock on a daily basis. I find myself being asked the question “should I upgrade or not”. This in fact is a question that I am personally asking myself. Since I have a iPhone 3GS and it has been working perfectly for me for the last 13 months, why would I upgrade now? The answer is not an easy one. Once you set aside the hype and desire that Apple evokes we can look at features and needs. Yes the iPhone 4 has a better processor, thus making it a lot faster. It also has an amazing display (far superior to my 3GS), and yes it has a front facing camera that allows for FaceTime (video calls). With all these things being accounted for, the real question is do the new features outweigh or at least counter balance the fact that when the phone is held a certain way, it does not work? In my opinion the answer is maybe, well I know maybe is the safe answer and certain people believe that you should not buy a product if it is not 100% perfect, while others share my opinion. The opinion that almost all manufactured products are never going to be perfect from the start is a fact of life. In all industries we see that products go through testing and most of the time this gets rid of all and any issues, other times testing does not show a high enough error rate to warrant any action. Examples of both these outcomes can be found in the pharmaceutical and automotive industries. As well computers are never bug free; just ask Sony after they recalled millions of notebook batteries due to randomly blowing up. Microsoft Corp. who produces one of the largest consumed products in the world “Windows” has been plagued with bugs and fixes for them for 15 plus years. Regardless, Apple nor any other company is not perfect and therefore a maybe answer to the upgrade question is valid.
My end feeling is that if you can wait 3 to 4 months and let Apple continue to tweak its software and hardware then you should! If you need a new phone right away then the iPhone 4 will be a great choice as long as you remember not to use the death grip. You can also count on Apple to have great customer service and be able to resolve most of your issues for the first year after your purchase date.
