Jun 03, 2011 12:46 PM
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Its been a year plus since I have written a review on mouthshut. Not because it lost its charm or due to lack of interest but genuine reason of me settling into a career. And the iphone 4 is that kind of product that urged me to return and let my fellow MSians know exactly why its worth a purchase.
I like apple. I love their innovation and technological brilliance. But not enough to convince me to switch to one. No that'd be too much trouble. That said I was one of the initial iphone haters. I mean itunes to put stuff into my phone?!! No way! Cant put in an mp3 as ringtone?!! Cant choose your own background?! I just couldnt deal with the control issues of apple.
Now what actually made me get an iphone? esp this close to the launch of the iphone5? Well I have to give credit to android actually. Sure its the fastest rising OS with tons of free apps and the ability to do what ever one wants with their phone. But what I see is apple flattery. EHH? you ask? well it is an imitation afterall. They are playing catch up with something apple created. Kinda like pepsi and coke. And I give serious points for originality. And the apps! God dont get me started on the apps. Have any of you seen the quality if apps on the android? Most of the free stuff are cheap knockoffs from the apple app store.
Ok I am getting of of topic here. Let me get started on the iphone 4 then. The phone looks deadly. I mean the all glass surface on both front and back, the sheer thinness and the surprising heft for its size makes it scream 'Premium' quality. It really is one good looking phone. Then you switch it on and lay witness to the best screen you have laid eyes on yet!! Retina display rocks! The touch interface is the smoothest, if not the best. Every single touch or graze is registered and the reaction to it instantaneous. The call quality is excellent on both sides thanks to noise cancellation and an excellent ear piece. The OS is simplistic and the included apps basic yet useful. The phone has only 1 speaker which can confuse some people as there are 2 grillls at the bottom that looks similar. Apparently the right side one is the microphone. That being said the sound quality for a mono speaker is tremendously good. Not the loudest, but the clarity is definitely worth noting. Smsing is a breeze and the web browser is slick. You rarely register that flash doest play on this thing. And thanks to the excellent screen, ebook reading is now ridiculously easy. Its simple and I have personally finished 4 books so far in the 1 and half month time that I've had this phone.
Well now that I have covered all the basics of the phone let me get to the part why this phone stands apart among tons of other smartphones. The apps. Pretty much everything you can think of.. . ' there is an app for that ' (hope u guys have seen the commercial on tht) These amazing apps turn your phone into so much more. I swear I use the iphone more for entertainment and getting things done rather than use it as a phone. Yes sadly I have to admit that most of the apps are indeed priced and you would have to create an US account to access the whole deal as some of the apps are just not available in the Indian App store. What I personally did to get around the situation was the create an US account and put my payment method to none and then went on purchasing all my favs apps thru the itunes gift cards. You can opt for someone to get it for you from abroad or just get the or from this website https://itunesgc.com or just plain walk into a store nearby where you know its being sold (mostly grey markets. The will charge you more than the actual value of the card.. like a service fee but this usually isnt much). So far I have downloaded more than 70 apps and the quality of these are indeed hard to believe! I hope some of you have seen the infinity blade game on the iphone 4 and if not please google it. Thats the kind of graphics you get on it!! Its mindblowing! Actual pc and console games such as call of duty, fifa2011, assasin's creed etc etc actually plays great on an iphone that too in HD quality!! I do wish if I could keep talking about the apps but that will need a whole new review page.
The fact that your phone can function as an Ipod is an added advantage. Videos look crystal clear and stunning on the iphone. Before I forget, the camera on the iphone, the 5 megapixel one is spectacular. This is apparently because of backlit illuminated sensors and larger pixel size so that it can honestly replace your point and shoot camera. I am yet to take a bad picture with it! and Video recording is in 720p and the output is nothing short of brilliant! The front facing vga cam is only 0.3megapixels but it does its job well. I have personally tried video conferencing via skype and oovoo (both free apps) thru wifi and the result was indeed great. The apple inbuilt facetime is the easiest of the lot but that would require the person you are calling to have an iphone 4 too. And it doesnt work over 3g only via wifi. Battery life is excellent with a shockingly large standby time. I have to charge it everyday but then again My phone is pretty much in use all the time either in my hands or my friends and relatives who keep playing the numerous games.
One of the few issues that still bother me is itunes. I love the way how everything can be accessed on one software but at the same time I cant plug it into some random computer and put in files. So whichever computer I use I have to make sure itunes is installed in it and that is indeed a negative point. and no you still cannot play mp3s as your ringtones. There are ways to counter it but still it should have been a lot easier. In iphone 4 you can multi-task and change your backgrounds thankfully!
So in conclusion I have to say I have never been this happy with a phone.. ever! It has its negatives but the positives far outweigh it and drowns em out. So if you want a phone that is so much more than phone and keep you constantly occupied and if u have the cash to blow look no further. It is obscenely expensive but once you start using it, it would feel worth it. Mine is a 32gb black version running iOS 4.3.3 version. If I have missed anything above pls do let me know.
