Reviews iPhone 4 Two

iPhone 4 - 25 Important Facts

Steve Jobs calls the iPhone 4 “the most beautiful thing we’ve ever created.” Here are some reasons why.

1. The iPhone 4 has a bigger battery that will allow 40% more talk time, totaling as much as 7 hours, or: 10 hours browsing WiFi; 40 hours of music; 300 hours of standby; or 6 hours of 3G browsing. 

2. The glass front and back is scratch-resistant and highly durable.

3. The band of metal surrounding the edge of the iPhone 4 is part of the phone’s antenna.

4. The iPhone 4‘s A4 chip was designed by apple and is the same one that powers the iPad. 

5. The “Retina Display” screen produces 326 ppi (pixels per inch), four times as many as before (e.g., 3GS). The perception of the human retina from 11 inches is about 300 ppi, so the iPhone 4 provides excellent clarity.

6. The improved graphics provide crisper text in web pages, books, and emails at any size as well as clearer images in photos and movies at any angle. The pixel density of the Retina display is so high that you eye cannot detect individual pixels. There are 4 times as many pixels as on the earlier iPhone models.

7. The new camera system on the iPhone 4 includes a 5 megapixel camera on the back of the phone along with a back-side illuminated sensor. This will provide a far better photo quality in many conditions which previously was not possible. 

8. The iPhone 4 will store as much as 32GB.

9. The Gyroscope in the iPhone can be utilized along with the phone’s accelerometer to provide 6-axis motion sensing.

10. The iPhone 4 has a front camera, back camera, and LED flash. The cameras allow one of the iPhone4’s most attractive features, FaceTime, which allows you to share live video messages with other iPhone users. 

11. No special accounts or screen names are necessary. Start a video call by finding your friend’s name in your contacts and simply tapping on FaceTime. If you are already on a voice call then just tap FaceTime to switch to video and an invitation will pop up on your friend’s screen.

12. FaceTime works in both landscape and portrait modes, and the front camera is set up for FaceTime so the proper field of view and focal length gives the other party a proper view at arm’s length. You can also use the back camera to share whatever you are seeing with the other party. A simple tap switches between the front and back camera.

13. The iPhone 4, unlike earlier models, allows you to run multiple apps and switch between them quickly, without slowing down what is happening on the foreground app or causing an excess drain on the battery. 

14. The new multitasking user interface also avoids having to wait for apps to reload, and instead you can continue just where you left off. Since the apps can remember where you left off you can resume reading, playing a game, or whatever else you were doing.

15. The multitasking user interface allows you to listen to audio as you surf the internet, check your email, play a game, or engage in some other iPhone 4 activity. This can increase your overall productivity if you are trying to keep track of a sports game while working, for example.

16. While using an app you can receive a VoIP call or Skype call. While the call is in progress you can use your phone to check emails, search the web for something, or engage in other iPhone activities.

17. GPS apps will also keep running in the background and will constantly update your position. Thus you can get spoken directions, turn by turn, even while you are listening to music because the volume will automatically lower for the directions. This also is ideal for locating friends in social networking apps even when not actively using the app.

18. Multitasking also allows you to get news updates, sports scores, and other items right when they occur and without having to open the app that is doing the notifying. When a particular task is taking a long time, for example uploading pictures, you can use another app while you are waiting.

19. The iPhone 4 will record HD video (720p at 30fps) that can be edited with iMovie for iPhone which utilizes multi-touch gestures. HD video recording using the backside illumination sensor provides high quality video in low-light situations. You can also brighten up the scene using your built-in LED light.

20. Basic editing of the video can be done in the Camera app allowing you to make a finished movie from your clips using iMovie. Edit and combine video clips and use transitions and themes as well as photos and music.

21. When you are shooting video that has subjects in both the background and foreground you can tap on whichever you wish to focus on and the camera will also adjust the exposure to match the lighting.

22. The VGA-quality camera on the front of the iPhone 4 allows you to see yourself as you record. Thus you can make sure you are in the frame if you wish.

23. You can send shoot and send video to a friend as you are text messaging or talking. Or send it to YouTube or your MobileMe Gallery. The video can also be sent to your Mac or PC.

24. The iPhone 4 is 24% thinner than previous iPhone models.

25. The iPhone 4 became available to the public on June 24th with about 1.5 million phones sold on the first day.

Reviews iPhone4 Complete iPhone Analysis and Review

As the fourth generation of the famous iPHone, the iPhone 4 has proven to be one of the Apple companies greatest successes yet. The phone succeeds the iPhone 3GS and was formally introduced to the world on June 7, 2010 at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2010 which took place at San Francisco’s Moscone Center. 

One of the most popular and attractive features of the iPhone 4 is the video calling feature called FaceTime. The phone provides 512 MB of eDRAM and uses a 3.5 inch (89 mm) crystal display with LED backlighting. The resolution of the display is 960 by 640 pixels, and the phone’s operating system is called iOS 4 (though the number 4 is in the name of the phone as well as the operating system, the iPhone 4 is incompatible with 4G networks)

The iPhone 4 has a stainless steel frame that also serves as an antennae. The outside of the phone consists of two panels of aluminosilicate glass that has been chemically strengthened creating a substance that Apple claims is 30 times harder and 20 times stiffer than plastic, creating a more durable and scratch resistant casing. Aluminosilicate minerals are comprised of silicon, oxygen, and aluminum. 

Two of the primary differences from the earlier iPhone 3GS are the stellar resolution provided by the Retina Display technology as well as the newer Apple A4 processor.  The embedded FaceTime video conferencing application is also a new feature that was not available on previous iPhones.

The iPhone4 was released in the United States as well as France, Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom on June 24, 2010. All pre-order suppliers had sold out of the device, with the first day of pre-orders garnering 600,000 orders, the largest Apple has every had for one day for any device. About 1.5 million iPhone 4‘s were sold during the first day of regular sales.

While the phone has been receiving positive reviews overall, there have been a few glitches including some dropped calls and lost signal strength. Apple advised customers to avoid holding the phone by its lower left corner during calls to avoid this problem. Another option is to put a case on the phone.

Although this issue currently remains unresolved, the cause may be a grounding of the signal when touching the antenna with an bare hand while also standing on the ground. There have also been some complaints about screen discoloration, and Apple also had to push back the release date of the white model phones until the second half of July due to manufacturing difficulty.

Another change from the previous iPhones is the adopting of two circular buttons instead of the rocker volume switch. The redesigned structure of the iPhone 4 is more in line with the iMac and iPad designs creating a uniformity and general utilitarian theme.

The new iPhone 4 shares the same general layout of the iPhone 3GS though the back panel curve and the band between the phone’s front and back are flatter. 

The iPhone 4 is also smaller, measuring 2.31 inches (59mm) wide and 4.5 inches (110mm) high and .37 inches (9.4mm) deep. The iPhone 3GS, in contrast, was 2.44 inches (62mm) wide, 4.55 inches (116mm) high, and .48 inches (12mm) deep. Thus, the new iPhone4 only about three-fourth’s the thickness of its predecessor, leading Jobs to called it the thinnest smartphone available.

The stainless steel frame of the iPhone 4 also serves as the phone’s antennae with the lower and right bands serving as the antenna for UMTS and GSM connectivity while the band’s left section serves as the GPS, Wi-FI, and Bluetooth antenna.

The LCD capacitive touchscreen of the iPhone 4 features LED backlighting and an remarkable pixel density higher than any previous smartphone made by any manufacturer. With 326 ppi (pixels per inch) on the 3.5 inch display, the width of each pixel is just 78 micrometers. The phone’s contrast ratio is 800 to 1. Apple claims that when the phone is held at a distance of 12 inches from the eyes, the Retina Display exceeds the amount of detail that the human eye is able to perceive, and so the iPhone 4 has the best display image possible. 

These claims have received some criticism by others who claim that the human retina actually has a higher resolution and thus a better image will be possible in the future, particularly for those people who have very good eyesight.

Another difference of the iPhone 4 from previous iPhone models is the second camera. One of the cameras is on the bottom of the phone just to the left of the speaker (a VGA camera) and faces forward, while the other camera is on the top of the back of the phone and also features an LED flash. This rear-facing camera can record HD video at 30 frames-per-second in 720p and also has 5X digital zoom (not available on the iPhone 3GS). The cameras both have a tap-to-focus feature that is part of the iOS 4 operating system for video recording as well as for taking still photos.

One of the most talked about features of the new iPhone 4 is the gyroscopic sensor that allows 3-axis angular acceleration around three different axes. This will have significant applications for game developers as the phone will be able to caluclate the roll, pitch and yaw, a feature previously not available. The earlier iPhone 3GS had an accelerometer, as does the iPhone 4, and they new gyroscope will complement the accelerometer. The gyroscope  can sense the phone’s vibration shock, shake, acceleration, or fall by sensing linear acceleration along any one of the three axes.

Combined, the data received through the gyroscope and accelerometer can tell how fast and far the phone moves, and in what direction. The three axes of the accelerometer in combination with the three axes of the gyroscope can sense six axes movement through space.

The Samsung company manufactures Apple’s new A4 chip, which was designed by Intrinsity and runs at speeds up to 1GHz. The A4 chip is comprised of a PowerVR SGX 535 graphics processor and a Cortex-A8 CPU (central processing unit). This A4 chip is the same chip that is used in Apple’s popular iPad device. The iPhone 4 features 512 MB of RAM, and the increase from previous models provides the new multi-tasking feature as well as better overall performance.

On the right side of the iPhone is an ejectable tray that contains the Micro-SIM card, in contrast to the Mini-SIM cards used in the previous iPhone models. Flash memory is used to store the iPhone 4’s data, and this memory is either 16GB or 32GB, and is not located on the SIM. The only external data port on the iPhone4 is a 30-pin dock connector, as was the case in the iPhone 3GS.

The new FaceTime video conferencing feature of the iPhone 4 can be used with either the back camera or the front camera, and it works over a Wi-Fi connection. FaceTime can only be used with another iPhone 4.

iPhone 4 Review: Coverage and Reception - Reviews iPhone4 continued

One of the nice features of the iPhone 4 is the placement of the noise canceling microphones that allow you to hear clearly most of the time, and those who you call also usually receive a pretty good sound experience that is generally considered to be superior to that achieved by previous iPhone models. 

The speakers seem to be clearer than most other phones, even when turned up very loud, and so it will serve well as a conferencing phone. The one sticking point, as has been widely reported in recent weeks, is that the phone can lose its signal when held in the left hand. 

Due to the placement of the antenna in a stainless steel band that runs around the edge of the super thin iPhone 4, it has led to this problem. This encircling band also serves as the receiver for GPS, Bluetooth, and other radio receivers. Unfortunately when the palm of the hand is placed over the lower left corner of the iPhone 4 - which is where the palm naturally sits when the iPhone 4 is held with the left hand - the bars fall fairly rapidly and there is a strong probability that the call will be lost.

This was also the case with the iPhone 3GS yet it didn’t lead to calls dropping even when there were very few bars, but in some speed diagnostics tests using SpeedTest.net the iPhone 4 did not perform so admirably. 

The good news is that if you use a Bumper - a rubber encircling case around the iPhone 4 - then it basically solves this problem of loss of signal and data. Your other option is to not hold the phone so as to touch this area of the iPhone 4. 

Other than that, Apple has not announced any fix to the issue. The other good news is that it doesn’t always happen, and in some tests the iPhone 4 would not drop a call even when the tester made their best attempt to press their palm down on this area of the phone. 

Some have complained that this flaw in the iPhone 4 means that you can only browse the web using your right hand but this really is not the case. 

Nonetheless it is somewhat embarrassing for Apple which is usually known for its perfectionism, and it can be quite an annoyance for some iPhone 4 owners in some situations.

Reviews on iPhone4 Continued - FaceTime - iPhone 4 Review

The new iPhone 4 features the well-received video calling feature called Face Time. Finally we can show grandma her little grandchildren as they act in the school play half way across the country, or Romeo can look into Juliet’s eyes as she misses him while he is away on a business trip. 

The FaceTime video calling features is quite easy to use, including the ability to just call someone from their profile on your phone, or even when you are well into a regular phone call with someone you can switch the call to FaceTime so suddenly you are face to face. 

Perhaps you want to start out using the front-facing VGA camera, then just press a button and you can switch over to the rear 5 megapixel camera. If you want you can move the small pane showing your face around the display. The FaceTime application on the iPhone4 has greatly improved video and audio, yet this really isn’t anything new or revolutionary since we’ve all been doing it on Skype for some time now. 

Video chatting on the mobile phone is coming of age, however, and the iPhone4 is ushering in that era, though it is somewhat of a chaperoned ushering since FaceTime can only be used over Wi-Fi which greatly increases the likelihood that the person you wish to talk with may not be available at the precise time you would like to chat.

The video quality doesn’t vary to remarkably when switching between the two cameras, and realtime tests (review iPhone4) have shown that this video quality still at times leaves much to be desired (e.g., grainy rather than crisp). 

As a side note those of you who are very fashion conscious and obsessed with personal hygiene can purchase an extra iPhone 4 and use the FaceTime application to broadcast the back of your head to yourself and make sure your hairdo is well coiffed.

Printed/Authenticated August 3, 2010

What is so great about FaceTime on the iPhone?

The iPhone camera on the face of the smartphone and located just left of the speaker slot works with the companion iPhone application known as FaceTime allowing you to begin a video call by simply tapping on the Face Time button on the display screen.

If the person you are talking with has an iPhone 4 then the two phones can quickly and easily begin a video chat via Wi-Fi. Once the video chat begins you will no longer be using AT&T minutes because the phone call will be dropped and the video chat via Wi-Fi will take over. Reviews iPhone 4 continued.

Switching Views in FaceTime

Another button allows you to change the camera being shown to the camera on the back of the iPhone 4, and thus the person you are talking to can see what you are looking at. Another tap on the button changes the camera back to a view of your face.

The ease of use of FaceTime is one of its main appeals, as it uses the phone call to identify the users and begin the session, avoiding any software downloading, logging in to an account, or other inconveniences common on previous attempts to make this instant video feature available to the mass public through mobile phones (e.g., android phones). 

iPhone 4 Does it Best - iPhone 4 Reviews

The iPhone 4 is still the only player in the market to have really made this a seamless, convenient experience without delays or glitches. Some Android phones are coming very close to perfecting it, but not yet. 

By the time they do Apple will likely make the experience even easier. Since a phone call isn’t even necessary and you can begin FaceTime right from your Contacts list, it is possible that the FaceTime application will soon be available for the iPod Touch. 

In addition, the Apple company intends for FaceTime to be an open and free industry specification to encourage other handset vendors to add video calling features to their smartphones even if they are not iPhones.

Apple FaceTime Drawbacks

The one current drawback of FaceTime is that it can only be used over Wi-Fi, which means that you need to find a wireless access point to use the application. This may be due in part to AT&T’s concern about its network being overloaded by too much video which requires a lot of bandwidth. 

Nevertheless the FaceTime feature will make a lot of families who are separated from each other have a much nicer experience keeping in touch during the time away.

Reviews iPhone 4: The Camera Sensor

The experience is also improved by the iPhone 4’s physically larger and higher quality camera sensor with 5 megapixels (1936 by 2592 pixels), and the backside illumination that adds sensitivity and has only recently begun showing up in consumer grade devices such as the iPhone 4 and HTC Evo 4G, having previously only been seen in high-end scientific instruments.

The new camera sensor is much better than previous iPhone models at handling ranges of dark and light in images, and the color is of a higher quality and more vibrant with better detail.

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