Apple iPhone 4 Black Smartphone 16GB

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4.0 out of 5 stars The best mobile phone yet (unless you leave the country), November 3, 2010
By Shoot Me "The Messenger" (Crawling the inter-branches of the tree of knowledge) - See all my reviewsThis review is from: Apple iPhone 4 Black Smartphone 16GB (Wireless Phone Accessory)
This is the best mobile phone I have ever owned. I held off on buying the iPhone for the first three generations because it is locked to AT&T in the USA and you can only acquire apps through Apple's proprietary App Store. This sort of closed platform was a real put-off to me (and still is), but when it came time to buy a new mobile phone (my old one was dying) I knew there was only one choice. So I bit the bullet and got an iPhone 4.

It's damn near perfect. I can't speak for the small percentage of users having the infamous antenna problem because it has not affected me, and I strongly suspect the press is blowing that issue out of proportion to drive traffic to their websites or whatever. Don't pay too much attention to that though because even the best technology is still not perfect. The iPhone 4 is not perfect, but it IS the best technology in the mobile phone market today. Apple takes great care to ensure that its products will be intuitive and user-friendly. Compare the touch functionality of the Droid to that of the iPhone and you will know what I'm talking about. Apple also owns the patents on such unique technology, so don't expect the Droid to surpass the iPhone anytime soon.



With this 4th generation model we have seen more new features introduced than ever before. First of all, the Retina Display is a pleasure to use and once you use it you will come to view all lower resolution displays as sub-standard. The resolution bump in the outward-facing camera as well as the introduction of a user-facing camera is what really sold me on this product. The boost in battery life assures that you will no longer need to worry about your iPhone's battery dying half-way through the day - unless you do a LOT of gaming on it! It utilizes the A4 chip, same as the iPad, so it's plenty fast. It is thinner and lighter than previous models, the volume controls and vibrate switch have been made more durable, it has a built-in gyroscope, supports FaceTime video chat and on-the-go video editing via the iMovie app.

Consider whether to buy the 16GB version or the 32GB version. Since I have a large iTunes library I chose the 32 and am glad I did. Calculate the sum of your photos, music, and your videos, then leave some room for apps and that should give you an idea of which model to buy. The 32GB version is roughly $100 more.




For international customers:
It is important to consider that the iPhone 4 is sold as a locked device in most countries. That is to say that if you plan to use it on an unsupported network you will first need to Jailbreak the phone and then unlock it. This is a convoluted process and currently can only be done on models running iOS 4.0 and no later. Furthermore, running firmware updates on a jailbroken iPhone will "brick" it, rendering it useless. In other words it's a huge pain in the ass. If you have any plans to use this phone overseas you need to be aware of that. If you even suspect that you may move abroad within the next two years DO NOT buy this product! You will be charged an Early Termination Fee by your service provider and then you most likely still will not even be able to use your iPhone abroad. This is the reason I give the iPhone 4 only four stars instead of five. On a trip to Japan I asked SoftBank if they would be able to connect my American AT&T iPhone to their network - after all it is MY property that I own and have paid for. Their answer was that since the serial number is for a U.S. phone their system cannot even register it. They couldn't accept me as their customer even if I wanted to pay them.
So there you have it, folks. The iPhone is a lock-in deal, and a slap in the face to those who travel or move overseas. Buying an iPhone in the United States with "no contract" doesn't mean you can use it as you wish - it just means you will pay more. It is still locked to AT&T. If you want an unlocked iPhone you must purchase it in Australia, France, and possibly New Zealand, Italy, or Belgium. I don't know for a fact which countries are offering unlocked iPhones - all I know is that there is a huge difference between "unlocked" and merely "no-contract", so pay attention to what you are getting and do your own research on this matter.



The one nice thing Apple has done for its international customers is make the interface available in a vast number of languages - something Microsoft still can't manage to deliver without special installation procedures (even on its primary operating system: Windows).
Whether you speak Spanish, Korean, Japanese, or Hebrew, the you will feel at home using the iPhone, or any Apple device for that matter.

The mystical white iPhone:
From the beginning we have been promised a white iPhone option as well. For whatever reason Apple has delayed production of the white version. We can only assume that there was a logistical reason why these white phones could not be manufactured to Apple's standards and were delayed as a result. Whether this option will still be offered at all is a matter of debate. I personally don't care. If you love the color white, just buy a white case. Having a white border around your iPhone's screen would probably be more distracting than the black anyway.



More about the 3G plan:
Once upon a time AT&T offered an unlimited data plan. Those days are no more. However if you are already an unlimited data plan subscriber (i.e. an existing iPhone user) then you are "grandfathered in" and may keep your existing unlimited data plan for $30/month. The plan offered to new iPhone customers is a measly 2GB for $25/month, so if you have an unlimited data plan then by all means keep it!



On a final note, the App Store is one of the features that makes Apple's mobile devices unique and great. Here are a few apps worth checking out:
- Dropbox (View the files that are synced with your computer from anywhere.)
- DropText (View and create plaintext notes that instantly sync with your computer.)
- iBooks (The best way to read books - the selection is growing every day.)
- Galcon (Über-addictive Real-Time Strategy game.)
- Google Earth (It's just cool, what can I say?)
- AT&T MyWireless (Track your voice and data usage.)
- Flashcards Deluxe (Highly customizable study tool.)
- NanoStudio (Mobile Digital Audio Workstaion! Sounds amazing.)
- MobileMe iDisk (MobileMe is way overpriced, but if you use it this app will make your experience better.)
- Angry Birds (Everybody seems to love this game for some reason. So you should buy it, I guess?)
- Archetype (If you like First-Person Shooter games this is for you!)
- Pandora Radio (nice for users on an unlimited data plan - streaming net radio anywhere, customized to your tastes!)
- The Apple Store App (This was just recently introduced. It is basically a way of optimizing your Apple Store experience. Recommended if you prefer shopping through retail to shopping online.)