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
The Display in the Sun
As we mentioned earlier, the new glass is more reflective than the 3GS' screen. In direct sunlight the 4 is somewhere in between the usability of the iPhone 3GS and an AMOLED Android phone. The photos below should help convey that.
All of the screens were set to max brightness with automatic adjustments turned off. The EVO 4G came in as the worst of the bunch, while the iPhone 3GS was the most legible.
The iPhone 4 in direct sunlight
The iPhone 3GS in direct sunlight
The Google Nexus One in direct sunlight
The EVO 4G in direct sunlight
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Brian Klug - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
I just used the data I had in my bench for the Nexus One, but retesting with Froyo is coming soon since the OTA final update only got pushed out final yesterday. I've been holding off waiting for that final.-Brian
vlntwarrior - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
The drop in signal from cupping the device with a case on is purely a function of us being "ugly bags of mostly water."and I thought I was the only geek to randomly quote this line in normal everyday conversation
JP_Lager - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
From the article regarding the Apple Bumper Case..Third party connectors will not fit, I had the same issue.
To fix just take a nail file and file the edge so it is at a slight angle all around. Takes about 2-3 min to do, now all my third party accessories will connect and lock with no problem.
JP
Lothsahn - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
"ugly bags of mostly water""going places no iPhone had ever gone before"
Anyone else see any Star Trek references I missed?
Lothsahn
rs1 - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
"The main downside to the iPhone 4 is the obvious lapse in Apple's engineering judgment."I think you're giving their engineering and marketing departments too little credit. If anything, I would think that the antenna placement and all-glass construction were intentional design decisions stipulated by marketing, so that they could sell a $30 piece of rubberized plastic. It's quite clever, really. Completely lacking in moral sense, but clever nonetheless.
Toadster - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
just kidding! (well, maybe not)Great writeup! Keep em coming!
balazer - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
This article has sloppy use of power units.dBm is an absolute measure of power. Thus, you could say a received signal is -119 dBm.
dB is a relative measure of power - a logarithmic representation of a factor. Thus, you could say that one signal is 10 dB stronger than another, which is to say that one signal is 10 times as strong as the other. (20 dB is 100 times as strong; 30 dB is 1000 times as strong, etc.)
The difference between -109 dBm and -119 dBm is 10 dB, not 10 dBm. 10 dBm is actually much more power than the difference between -109 dBm and -119 dBm.
Brian Klug - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
The funny part is that I did it the right way the first time, and then changed it hastily. Fixed!-Brian
Janet55 - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
Nice and insightful review!My new iphone is fantastic...
The picture definition ...I'm speachless....personally I really like the grouping of apps much tidier than before and the camera zoom. And I have no signal problem yet, I have held it in the way which is supposed to drop the signal several times and only notice the signal drop once.
I showed the phone to my team at work and let them play with it...they all love it and there are a few green eyes I can assure you.
As the iPhone 4 high-definition video clips, watch video on IPhone 4 must be cool and amazing, I've been looking for a good program to Convert videos or rip DVD movies for the iPhone 4 and i think iFunia iPhone 4 Video Converter is the one which worth trying, Im ready for enjoying on the go!
I am very pleased, it's expensive but it actually feels worth it. can't recommended it enough. Gorgeous to look at and an absolute pleasure to use.
Cr0nJ0b - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
I haven't seen this widely reported...and I sort of expected this when i did the update...but my company of 20,000+ is having HUGE exchange issues related to iphone users who upgraded to IOS4. I'm not sure exactly what the issue is, but I'm guessing it has to do with ActiveSync. It puts a LOT of stress on the servers...in fact, my corp has asked us to avoid upgrading if we haven't done so yet. They also say that there is a patch on the Apple website, but it hasn't been tested, so they are asking for more time.