After receiving my new iPhone 4 on Friday after the release, I was quick to set it up and get using it. Previously I had been using a Blackberry Bold, a phone which treated me well and which I loved. However, after having a 3G before the Bold and feeling the need for Apps, it was time to move back to Apple.
Initial Impressions
Apple iPhone 4 - Property of Apple
One of the main reasons I bought the new iPhone was down to the aesthetics of the phone. After purchasing a Uni-body Macbook Pro, the iPhone 4 looked very sleek and more modern than the previous models. The antenna around the outside added to the looks and the glass front and back made the phone feel very nice, but very slippy!
The way the new OS deals with multitasking was also very interesting. Apple claimed that the user would not have to care about what apps were running, but would easily be able to continue from where they left off. So after clicking the home button twice, I was able to see which apps were running. And although there aren’t many apps which support multitasking yet, it is very nice to easily switch from app to app.
Also:
- The camera is extremely good with video and picture quality being very high.
- The screen, probably the best bit of the phone. So clear and crisp.
- Playlists in iPod, I haven’t really used this feature yet but a nice idea.
- Control iPod and lock orientation – a nice feature to the left of the multitasking bar
But what’s missing…?
Although iOS4 has some interesting features, it also seems to be missing some key ones…
- Status Notifications
When you iPhone is asleep and you go to wake it up, you are presented with the lock screen. Which means in order to see how many SMS, Email or Facebook notifications you have, you must swipe in. For me, this is a massive flaw. It would be much easier to just press the home button and to see my ‘notification status’. - Close all apps
At the moment, I am slowly getting fed up of closing each app that is running. Now I know that they are not technically ‘running’ but I can’t help but feel the need to close them! Would it not be easier to have a single button which could close all open apps? I would without a doubt pay for an app that could do this. - Signal Flaw
I didn’t really want to mention the signal flaw in this blog, as it isn’t directly related to the iPhone 4. However, I am holding out hope that the flaw is software related and that Apple will release an update which focuses on the calibration of the signal and the methods used to choose which signal. - 12 Apps per folder
For me, this isn’t a massive problem. I cannot really see myself wanting more than 12 applications per folder. Having more than this would mean multiple ‘pages’ of apps per folder. - Mark as Unread
The lack of ability to mark all messages as read, REALLY frustrates me. Especially when I download quite a few messages. If Apple want the iPhone to also focus on business users, surely this feature is key to Mail? Imagine coming back to your phone and finding 65 unread messages and not being able to mark all as read. - Delay in opening folders
It seems as though there is roughly a 1 second delay from when you press the folder button to when you see the actual contents. For someone who is used to apps and folders opening really quickly on my Macbook, I find this to be a big flaw and one that should be looked at.
I hope I haven’t overlooked certain features of the iPhone or the new operating system. If you know that the features above do actually exist, please do let me know as I would love to use them.
Also, if anyone else can suggest anymore features which you think are missing from the iPhone or the new OS, don’t hesitate to comment.
Jack
