iPhone 4 experiences

[spike232]

I am a UK iPhone 4 user on O2, i have not had any droped calls and little degridation from holding it wrong.

I was recently in Germany and found the issue was much more prevelent, it was roaming on the O2-DE network.

So it suggests the carrier may make alot of difference on this issue.

[instant.human]

but you didn't write about why you opted iphone over android, as you have used both devices/os'es it would be interesting to see each pros and cons..

I chose iPhone over Android because I preferred the iPhone way of handling things, you know?

For instance... I had my droid and was happy with it. But then I wanted to put some music on it, I have a massive library and my very own way of organizing it via iTunes, because I had iPods from day one. So for each artist, I have a special playlist with all the Albums, EPs or Singles of that single artist.

I was looking for a way to sync my iTunes playlists with DoubleTwist and it worked, kinda, the thing was just that, when I was using it, it gave you a little list of all your imported playlists but they were in no apparent order. As I said, I have a massive library with way over 200 playlists for artists and it was a pain in the ass to scroll through that entire list, reading every single line to find the playlist I was looking for.

I found myself not listening to much music in the end because every time I bought a new album on iTunes/imported something from CD and put it in the corresponding playlist, I had to reimport everything to DoubleTwist, then look for the artists playlist in that no-order-list...

One might say that that is a non-issue but for someone like me, who enjoys organized music libraries and listens to alot of music, it really was a big downside.

Sure, I could have changed my habits and should have not expected Android to act like an iPod and coud have abandoned iTunes but as I said, I was depending on it since it took me a hell lot of time to organize everything...

Another thing that bugged me about Android was, that the apps you could download were in no way as polished and good looking as iOS-apps. That might also be something one could consider as something very minor as long as it gets the job done. But due to what I earn my money with I need a capable Facebook client, for example. But every time I wanted to reply to a message on Facebook I was kicked out of the app to the touch.facebook.com-webpage...

With all the talk about MetroUI and WP7 and it's approach to merge everything the phone does into one... thing and get away from the "press the xxx-icon and the phone becomes a mail/photo/twitter/whatever-thing and nothing more and nothing connected, I must say that with the speed the iPhone 4 brings, I prefare that concept.

I have yet to see WP7 in person and I am very excited and looking forward to that but until then, I want to press the Facebook-App icon and have a full fledged Facebook client on my phone, that does everything Facebook-related and don't like to get kicked out.

Plus, at the time I was using the droid, which was just around the release of 2.1, iirc, the Camera app was a piece of crap... It was slow and unresponsive and I know an update fixed that but yeah...

Oh and that was another thing, in order to update my Droid back then, I had to use my wifes Windows-PC because there were some bugs that really bugged me (haha.......) and the OTA-rollout for Germany was like 2 months after the USB-update was available... not acceptable for me...

Overall my Android experience was pleasing, if not sometimes eye-opening but the iPhone way, the ease of using iTunes, which I really love on my Mac, to synchronize everything... It's just simpler, easier and more seamless, IMHO.

As I said, for many those are no important points, but I said in my review that it all comes down to how you feel using the phone. And "using" for me is not only the phone itself but everything around.

If time brings something like iTunes (and please, native on a Mac), I might even consider going back, one day. But until then, I won't drop my iPhone ever again.

[leojei]

seriously? You try to be subjective? unbiased? and yet you claim to be an Apple user and had nothing bad to say about the device? Yes, you did want to start a flame war.You knew before writing anything that it would happen. You can't be unbiased and subjective if you find no flaws in a flawed device.

and yet you don't seem to feel the need to portray those imperfections? Yea. Pretty unbiased.

Why not focusing on the review iteself and leave the fact of starting a flame war aside.

I dont own an iPhone but I could totally imagine his experience with his from this review alone. This review is THAT in-depth in expressing the pros and cons of his iPhone to himself.

His experience is the subject of this review, and of course it's meant to be biased. So if you want to bash him for being biased, please don't read any other reviews from now on, as it would only upset you everytime you do.

[StaticL]

Loved this review, there seems to be a lot of love/hate (mostly hate) for the iPhone 4 here. Had the device for a little over a month now and hadn't had one problem with dropped calls and I tried to grip it all sorts of ways and I'm in Texas which can be spoty lol. The sensor while talking is quite literally my own gripe about the device so I can't wait for 4.1 update to come out. I started using the headphone for longer conversations which i prefer anyways because I usually work while I chat.

Source

[j0nnymoe]

thanks for the review, thought i am still stuck with what mobile to get next week as orange are letting me upgrade early. Im stuck between the iPhone4 / Samsung Galaxy S / HTC Desire and no idea what to go for. Currently If Orange offer me a free iphone4, I will get that. If not, Im going driod.

[Elliott]

Loved this review, there seems to be a lot of love/hate (mostly hate) for the iPhone 4 here. Had the device for a little over a month now and hadn't had one problem with dropped calls and I tried to grip it all sorts of ways and I'm in Texas which can be spoty lol. The sensor while talking is quite literally my own gripe about the device so I can't wait for 4.1 update to come out. I started using the headphone for longer conversations which i prefer anyways because I usually work while I chat.

Source

I've just about the same experience as you. The antenna issue doesn't bother me at all (and, overall, my calls perform better than they did on my 3GS), but the damn proximity sensor issue drives me up the wall on longer conversations. Hopefully 4.1 or 4.0.3 comes out with a fix soon.

Anyway, great review! I'm glad this got posted on the front page. :D

[.Markus]

Great review buddy, really helpful.

Just a question from a personal point-of-view, do you live and work here in Berlin?

If so, how's the reception on the BVG in general? Find myself loosing quite a few calls on both S & U bahn with my 3G.

Cheers buddy ;)

[instant.human]

Just a question from a personal point-of-view, do you live and work here in Berlin?

If so, how's the reception on the BVG in general? Find myself loosing quite a few calls on both S & U bahn with my 3G.

Yeah I do and I must say that in general I find it to be quite good. Well, better than expected, IMHO. The only station I get no reception at all on a regular basis is down Friedrichstra?e and Alex. ;)

As long as I am not underground, I have no issues worth mentioning.

[.Markus]

Yeah I do and I must say that in general I find it to be quite good. Well, better than expected, IMHO. The only station I get no reception at all on a regular basis is down Friedrichstra?e and Alex. ;)

As long as I am not underground, I have no issues worth mentioning.

hehe so anywhere quite central is off limits then huh? :p

Will be keeping mine on O2 though, so will any ways be different deadspots.

[qdave]

Awesome review mate. Now i really want to upgrade iphone 2g :D

[Dysphoria]

seriously? You try to be subjective? unbiased? and yet you claim to be an Apple user and had nothing bad to say about the device? Yes, you did want to start a flame war.You knew before writing anything that it would happen. You can't be unbiased and subjective if you find no flaws in a flawed device.

and yet you don't seem to feel the need to portray those imperfections? Yea. Pretty unbiased.

What a troll......

To OP: Good review dude! Have fun with your phone!

[]SK[]

I agree with the whole experience. The iPhone is still a very nicely put together phone. I love the upgraded camera and 720 video in the iPhone 4. I currently own the iPhone 4 and came from an iPhone 3G. However I am looking to move jobs which will mean I will have to hand my iPhone 4 back. On the back of this I am looking at personally buying a HTC Desire instead of an iPhone 4. I feel certain that the iPhone is a better product but where I live the signal for 3G is always on 1-3 bars. If I pick the phone up off my desk it will loose 3G. If I want to use any data on the iPhone whilst its in my hand I have to use WiFi (I have never had a dropped call either btw). I also feel I need a change and look forward to playing with android. Although as much as people say its customisable, to get to the real nitty gritty stuff you have to root the device. Being an iPhone user for almost 3 years I never felt the need to jailbreak the device. The app store was the sole reason for this. The apps are just so much better and well thought out than anything on the market. Android has great potential and in the future should be the better OS however for now its still playing catch up to what is still a revolutionary device.

[.Markus]

SK[' date=29 August 2010 - 20:24' timestamp='1283106260' post='593087892]

I agree with the whole experience. The iPhone is still a very nicely put together phone. I love the upgraded camera and 720 video in the iPhone 4. I currently own the iPhone 4 and came from an iPhone 3G. However I am looking to move jobs which will mean I will have to hand my iPhone 4 back. On the back of this I am looking at personally buying a HTC Desire instead of an iPhone 4. I feel certain that the iPhone is a better product but where I live the signal for 3G is always on 1-3 bars. If I pick the phone up off my desk it will loose 3G. If I want to use any data on the iPhone whilst its in my hand I have to use WiFi (I have never had a dropped call either btw). I also feel I need a change and look forward to playing with android. Although as much as people say its customisable, to get to the real nitty gritty stuff you have to root the device. Being an iPhone user for almost 3 years I never felt the need to jailbreak the device. The app store was the sole reason for this. The apps are just so much better and well thought out than anything on the market. Android has great potential and in the future should be the better OS however for now its still playing catch up to what is still a revolutionary device.

Have you considered switching the provider, as you're based in UK?

[]SK[]

There are a good 5+ providers in the UK and I would like to try the iPhone on the Vodafone network. However my choice to go for the HTC Desire was mainly price driven (see below). As I said I really like the iPhone 4, its just my cup of tea. Kids (relatives) as soon as they come over to our house all just want to play on the phone due to all the great games it has to offer. I do have the Apple case for the phone although I took it off as it makes the phone feel big in my pocket. Yes that case does help with 3G issues. I think my mind is made up though about the Desire though for now.

HTC Desire on Vodafone

300 Minutes

3000 Texts

£540 over 24 months

iPhone 4 on Vodafone

300 Minutes

3000 Texts

£720 over 24 months

£169 up front cost for the phone

Saving of £348 if I go for the HTC Desire. As much as I love the iPhone I just can't face that my hard earned cash is ending up in Steve Job's pocket. This is the sole reason why I dislike Apple :(

[thejohnnyq]

I have upgraded from iphone 3g to HTC HD2 (unlocked) then upgraded to iphone 4G (unlocked). What i missed was the Unified Messaging, and the multi Activesych clients, (i have 4 Exchange servers that i need to pull mail from), and some of the apps. The HD2 was nice, but since i have gotten use to the iphone and the interface, my only issue I have is that my provider doesn't support the freq that the iphone supports, yet.

[cyrl]

I honestly loved your review!! It's simple and appealing to read. Biased or not I simply love the iPhone 4 because I do own an iPod touch and I love it!!! What's holding me is that it's not available in my country.

[Humanreflect]

Great review! thanks !

[Shadrack]

IF you don't live in the US, that is. Because over there, the Antenna issue really seems to be BIG. But other than that - it's just a great phone.

Not in all areas. I haven't had any issues what-so-ever with the antenna issues and AT&T in my area. On the contrary, even at 1 bar the data speed is awesome. America is a large country and AT&T varies from place to place. If AT&T sucks in your area (over-crowded network, or just **** poor coverage), iPhone 4 isn't going to help you with that.

Thanks for the review!

[dazhu]

I received some antenna issues(SINGAPORE user) as well, even with the free Apple Case given. Oh well...

Guys, remember to check for the normal stuff such as buttons and dead pixels. I got a dead pixel smack right in the middle of the screen. It is hard to identify it with the default lockscreen wallpaper and the homescreen wallpaper. :angry: Even if I am entited to a change, I get only a refurbished set :pinch:

[rajputwarrior]

thanks for the review, thought i am still stuck with what mobile to get next week as orange are letting me upgrade early. Im stuck between the iPhone4 / Samsung Galaxy S / HTC Desire and no idea what to go for. Currently If Orange offer me a free iphone4, I will get that. If not, Im going driod.

my advice would be is if you have an ipod, and you see yourself still using that ipod after you get a phone that's not an iphone. then get an iphone. droids or any other phones media player doesn't even compare to what the iphone has. I'm not saying they are bad phones though, newer HTC phones and the new samsung are all great phones.

i think getting an iphone just for the reason you have one less thing in your pocket (you could say two because it does gaming really well too) is worth it all on it's own.

[busyanuj]

thanks for the review! it was quite informative.

[GuJu]

the part with the how much the quality of the iphone apps vs android's apps really helped me seal my choice with going with the iPhone 4 in the future. Currently I use iPhone Frist gen.

[+Matthew S. Subscriber²]

I just got my iPhone 4 this past Wednesday and love it so far. I upgraded from a 3G. The antenna issue is really a non-issue and all depends on your provider and the area your in. Some areas like Georgetown, ON I can reproduce the "death grip" to a point and others like Grand Bend, ON or Brampton, ON I cannot. Mind you I'm on fido...

[buckboii]

prettty good read.

informative and entertaining.

thanks.

[GuJu]

Upgraded from a first gen iPhone I got 3 years ago.

What a big difference for everyday usage.

No loading times, no waiting for EDGE to load a page.

FaceTime is awesome as my family all got iPhones.