iPhone 4....A review

Okay....I have been dying, literally DYING, waiting for this phone to come out....so I may be just a tad biased. I'm not sure. But I do know one thing- I am BLOWN away. People have asked me "what the big deal is" and even called me names like "FREAK" (how rude! and yes, I know you are reading this and laughing Ms. AFFEI) because I have been so excited about this phone...but the excitement is totally justified....I promise. :-)

I have only been up and running for about an hour...but out of the box, the impression of the phone is: 1) Sleek and 2) Thin and 3) Decidedly Apple iPhone. I don't know how to explain that last one- it is just true.

Activation was SUPER easy- if you run into any problems, just re-start your computer and start with a fresh session of iTunes- it took less than 2 minutes, literally. Then the syncing takes a while longer depending on the amount of data you have before you start. Mine didn't take that long since I was upgrading from the older, 3G version that only held 8 gigs. Troy's took even less time because he has like nothing on his phone. While it is syncing, you can immediately notice a difference in the screen- it is like looking at crystal clear glass with amazing HD color. It is beautiful. I promise.

I turned on my wi-fi after I got it up and running (total time was less than 30 minutes I think) and I cannot even explain how fast the wi-fi is running. Like crazy fast. Like "I can't believe it really just did that thing that fast" fast. Crazy fast, I promise. Things are zipping right along, downloading at the speed of light, posting pictures and comments so fast, you double check to make sure you really did it....it's that fast. Significant improvement from my 3G phone.

FaceTime is an interesting little situation. WAY cool- and super easy to use- but WHOA- I was shocked to see my "end of day, worn out, been sitting in court all day and then walked across downtown to the parking lot in 100 degree heat to my car, and already washed off my make-up, face" staring back at me in High Definition when I hit the button to initiate the FaceTime call. I immediately said, "Oh HELL NO! Make it STOP!" It isn't for the faint of heart, that's for sure. Some of you blog readers who are impossibly cute and don't look a day over TWELVE even at our current age won't have a problem with this feature nor will the person on the other end of the line. People who have been working at CPS for 11 1/2 years and are aging by the second instead of the year....re-apply make-up (lots of make-up) before using FaceTime. Helpful tip number #104.

The screen that I alluded to in the activation/syncing stage is really beautiful. Everything is fluid, clear, bright, colorful....the screen is gorgeous. The apps look gorgeous. Texting is prettier. It is truly a beautiful beautiful beautiful screen. Troy referred to it as 3D when he first saw it because it really seems like the icons are standing out, floating on the screen. I have never seen a phone (or electronic/techno device) with a screen like this. It's crazy pretty. :-) Everything runs seamlessly, smoothly, etc. Like I said, it's crazy pretty!

The battery life we have all heard so much about and speculated as to its' merits....well, I have only been live now for (well, probably 2 hours now since I keep getting distracted writing this post) and the battery is still almost completely fully charged. I have taken about 10 phone calls, played 15-20 turns on WWF, organized all of my apps into folders, downloaded a few new apps, posted on FB, checked my email, taken video, and a few pictures. So, I'm loving the battery life right now (I'll keep an eye on this one though). For reference, I am on wi-fi, not 3G, at the moment.

I haven't tried out multi-tasking yet and I know a lot of apps are still trying to catch up to make it actually functional with the new phones and/or new OS. I gave up navigation in my car when I turned in the Lincoln for my Ford Fusion and I am thinking buying one of the apps sold on iTunes instead of getting a Tom-Tom or Garmin is going to be the way to go...especially with multi-tasking.

This last little tid-bit is applicable not only to the iPhone 4 but also to anyone who got the upgrade to iOS 4 as well. The making of folders for your apps is AWESOME. I have heard lots of people are complaining already because you can only put 12 apps in each folder....but it worked out fine for me and I am LOVING that all of my apps are now on one page (the home screen) instead of on 7 different pages.

If you are still on the fence about deciding whether or not to upgrade...I say, DO IT! You won't regret it! And the price isn't going down any time soon....they offered this one at a great price for the new edition to the iPhone line-up.

Happy texting (in HD!!!)! :-)

RD