Apple's iPhone 4: Thoroughly Reviewed
by Brian Klug & Anand Lal Shimpi on June 30, 2010 4:06 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Apple
- iPhone 4
- Gadgets
- Mobile
Sidebar: Luxa2 H1-Touch, a Great FaceTime Stand
Not too long ago I visited Thermaltake while I was in California. Thermaltake recently spun off a brand called Luxa2. This brand would focus on more lifestyle products, leaving Thermaltake to the typical PC stuff like cases and powersupplies.
One of Luxa2’s first products was the H1 Touch, an iPhone/iPod Touch cradle. The idea was to be able to hold your iPhone while you’re in the kitchen so you could read recipes or emails without potentially dumping a bunch of flour or oil on your phone. When the 4 was announced, Thermaltake was quite pleased - the H1 Touch would be perfect for FaceTime.
Indeed it is.
The iPhone 4 sits comfortably against a cushioned black pad that holds the back of the phone very well. There are six rubber feet that hold the outside of the phone, they move as one and allow you to maintain a snug fit. The 4 isn’t falling out of there. The only problem here is that one of the feet obstructs the volume up button, so you’ll have to take the phone out of the H1 to increase volume.
The cradle can tilt and rotate, making it far more flexible than the Apple dock for FaceTime. If you are planning on putting in some hours with FaceTime, I’d say the H1 (or perhaps the new H2?) is a must have. It sells for $29.99, the same price as Apple’s dock. It isn’t technically a dock but the connector is still exposed and the cable still works, it’s just not as neat as Apple’s solution. Way more functional for FT though.
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Charlie22911 - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
The EVO does not really bring anything new over previous highend phones like the HD2, Droid, or Nexus One aside from the front camera. Android phones are a dime a dozen.- Former Droid owner
JAS - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
Had AnandTech's review concluded that the iPhone 4 is a terrible product, would you complain that the reviewers have a bias *against* Apple?I've read the review a couple times and see it as nothing but fair.
g5isalive - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
I registered just to thank you for finally getting to the meat of the iPhone reception issue. Absolutely the best evaluation I have read.k.alexander - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
Hear, hear! I did the same. I have not read through the full review, but the page on the antennae issue is by far the most thorough and thoughtful think I've seen from looking all over the web. Great Great Work!mczak - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
Looks like a glaring omission, however I'm not convinced yet it would actually improve matters a lot. The bumper case not only insulates but also adds distance between your fingers and the antenna.I think it would be an interesting experiment to actually try this out, with some duct tape as insulative coating for instance...
btw I think that bumper case is _vastly_ overpriced. For that price I'd expect it would at least properly work with the dock connector, but as is that's not really good value...
kmmatney - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
It works with an "Apple" dock connector - just not with third party connectors that make the connector too large. I'd probably just file down my cheap third party connectors before paying for an overpriced Apple accessory.MurderMostFowl - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
In the signal Attenuation chart.... Is that iPhone 3GS "open palm" figure correct? 0.2 dB... I would think that kind of reception wouldn't be possible. since it is better than the other two devices by a massive amount ( remember dB is not linear )it must be an error, no?
eyk03 - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
This review is just phenomenal, I love it. So much more objective and in-depth than the 27 word reviews that Walt Mossberg or David Pogue deign to fart out.spunkybart - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
Finally someone sits down and does some tests!I love, love your use of the Star Trek "ugly bags of mostly water" line, lol!
I found it very interesting that your first thought was that the external antenna should have been coated -- that could have been a very easy thing to have done during manufacturing, so it sounds like Apple totally messed up on that decision!
InterHmai - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
This was an incredibly well detailed review, thanks for all the hard work!