iPhone 4 Review

I purchased the iPhone 4 shortly after its release in Summer 2010. I have obviously been so quick to review this device, the iPhone 5 is upon us! My philosophy for reviewing items is you have to live with them. Well boy have I lived with my iPhone 4! As I write this on it, I do marvel at how good the hardware is. I’ve dropped this extremely expensive device on occasions too numerous to count, so luckily it is designed well.

Apps

I have a very large collection of paid apps, two-thirds of which have been impulse buy, maybe I’ll need them someday types. It’s a very expensive platform to get involved with, for sure - but the quality of some apps has been far better than their desktop counterparts - the one that springs to mind is Tweetie (now Twitter for iPhone). Some unforgettable games that take great advantage of the platform have sprung up - my favourite by far is Cut the Rope. Another is Angry Birds. None of these or any games I’ve played have made really good use of the iPhone 4’s sensors of which there are many - Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Compass, Camera etc. Sure I’ve played driving games but I always feel stupid using the iPhone as a mock steering wheel. If you’re an app junkie like myself, check out AppAdvice (yes another app) for nice and easy reviews. I’ve also found Lifehacker hive five series for iOS help inform me when there’s a number of popular apps for a platform.

Camera

One of the best features of the iPhone 4 is without a doubt the camera. It’ll obviously never replace an SLR and my compact point and shoot HP Camera is still better but that’s all negated by the ease of use of iPhone camera. It’s with you all the time and has the best sharing tools (and quick editing tools) of any camera out there. Great Camera related apps include Flickr, Instagram, Toonpaint and the included Photos app. I’ve shared more photos directly on a one-to-one basis than ever before, usually after I take the picture with my iPhone - someone requests it and I mail it or upload to Flickr or Instagram seamlessly. It’s definitely the future of photos, the past was hovering around a device or printed photos.

Conclusion

People still are in awe of the iPhone 4 and personally I don’t think that’s justified or justifiable any more. Yes its beautiful hardware and software, but the competition has caught up to Apple. It’s still the best out there as far as I can see, but by that measure it’s also far too expensive. I’ve used mine for App development and even still, as a power user, I think the price is the single biggest turn off. iPhones do hold their value, which is a relief, should you wish to switch platforms or upgrade to iPhone 5. So my recommendation? If you have iPhone lust - buy one - but be ruthless and be willing to sell it on within 12 months to get something better… that something is up to you!