In the three years since the first iPhone went on sale, the mobile landscape had changed irrevocably. Most phones in the market now offer apps, internet browsing, social networking widgets and email, while the higher end phones continue to innovate around speed, features and built quality. All this just means that Apple has an increasingly difficult job in its hands; responding to the innovations of the chasing pack while turning out a new handset every year. As you can see, it is really a lot to live up to and Apple’s iPhone 4 is doing its best with the inclusion of features like the super fast A4 CPU, a completely new industrial design, an outrageous retina display, front facing camera and a five mp shooter on the back and with all this, no one will dare to argue that Apple has been sleeping at the wheel. So, now the million dollar (or pound in this case) question is that, whether or not the iPhone 4 can live up to the intense hype. We have answers for every question of yours regarding the iPhone; read on to find out.

Design:

We cannot overstate how high end the design of iPhone 4 is. The 3GS now feels cheap and chubby by comparison, and even a phone like the HTC Driod Incredible, which came out just now, looks like last generation.

An iPhone Makeover:
Perhaps, the most notable change with the new iPhone 4 is the drastic industrial design overhaul. The design engineers have completely rethought its strategy on how the iPhone should look and feel, and the end result is nothing if not striking. Though the iPhone 3G and the 3GS models simply tweaked the design of the original handset, the iPhone 4 marks a sharp departure from those previous models. As you might be aware by now, we were very fond of the look and feel of all the three previous handsets, and we have to only say that the design of the iPhone has got only better. In short, the facia and rear are glass, both the surfaces are flat, and there is a stainless steel border that circles the entire phone. Though some of you picky ones might say that it looks a bit boxy, it also has a clean, svelte and the all important look of Apple. The design aspect that we liked the most, is its flat back, because this means that the phone no longer wobbles while resting on the table. As you might be aware by now, the iPhone 4 can be got in both black and white; here again, the former one is much more preferable.

Glassy:
With so much of glass involved, the iPhone 4 is certainly very shiny and beautiful; but Glass means, there are some concerns too. Though Apple has thoughtfully offered some oleophobic coating on both front and back sides, the glass attracts smudges by a ton. And, even though Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs promises us that the glass does a much better job in resisting scratches and cracks than plastic, we will have to watch for its long term durability. The iPhone 4 has a very sturdy and solid feel and it does survive a few drops to a carpeted floor. But, we do wonder how it will withstand travelling inside a pocket with all your keys and coins. Only time has to say how it holds up to everyday heavy usage.

Dimensions:
With the dimensions of (H x W x D) 4.5 x 2.3 x 0.37 inches, the Apple iPhone 4 is just about as tall as the iPhone 3GS, but is slightly thinner at 25% to be exact and is also narrower when measured across the face. It certainly does feel smaller when compared to its predecessors, but that is not a bad thing. Apple boasts that this is the thinnest smartphone in the market, but since this race changes rapidly everyday, it might not cling on to the title for long. Putting the device on the scales, it comes in at 4.8 ounces, which is exactly back to what we had in the first generation iPhone, as both the iPhone 3G and 3GS were slightly lighter. The extra girth is attributed to the bigger battery and so, we will not be complaining about it; and the difference is barely noticeable.

Retina Display:
Sometimes, the best gift is something that you did not know you actually wanted and that is definitely the case with the iPhone 4’s display. It features what is called as a Retina Display, with a resolution of 960 x 640 pixels (326 pixels per square inch), which is four times the resolution of the previous iPhone models. The new “Retina display”; so named because it surpasses the number of pixels the human retina can process. In addition to this, it makes use of the same IPS screen that is used on the iPad, with a massive contrast ratio of 800:1. Though we have always loved and praised the displays of the current iPhone, Apple needs to give a finishing touch to it with the mind blowing AMOLED screens and TFT displays that we have seen on many Android phones like HTC Evo 4G and that is exactly what it has done.

Though “Dazzling”, “Gorgeous” and “Stunning” are the words we gadget reviewers usually use to describe the high quality and well performing smartphone displays, we are not quite sure if these words will do justice to iPhone 4’s display. Trust us, everything about this display is simply fantastic; bold colours, exotic graphics to the vividly clear text. The display can be seen reasonably well in direct sunlight and the details on the photos, applications, web pages and videos are as sharp as they can ever be. The best thing about the display is that, you cannot see any pixels on the display. This is quite remarkable, especially apparent when you hold it up next to the iPhone 3GS. All this praise does not mean that we believed Apple’s claim that the display exceeds what is perceivable by the human eye, but we must also admit that there is no denying to the fact that it looks amazing.

The iPhone 4 also has the same ambient light sensor, proximity sensor and accelerometer as in the case of the previous iPhones, but there was no change in their functionality.

Other changes:
As we had mentioned earlier, some of the other design changes include the new front facing VGA camera, new LED flash with main camera lens and the inclusion of the new noise cancellation microphone on the top side of the phone. Needless to say, they are all welcome additions as they represent new functionality. We liked the new split volume buttons as they are easier to get a grasp on than the previous volume rocker. Just above the volume controls is the usual mute switch, which has also got a little makeover from Apple. Moving on to the major changes, Apple has moved the SIM card slot to the right spine and has also switched to the Micro SIM format, similar to the iPad; this kind of the Micro-SIM set-up allows for more space for the larger battery. So, all we have to say is, just keep in mind that you will not be able to use a standard SIM in the iPhone 4.

Buttons and Ports:
Most of the remaining exterior elements of the iPhone remain largely unchanged. You will find the Home button at its usual place, below the display and the 3.5mm headset jack and power key sit up top next to the afore mentioned noise cancellation microphone. The other ports, the 30 pin connector, microphone, and speaker are placed on the bottom end of the iPhone 4. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, you will still not be able to remove the battery.

Antenna:
Most of you might be thinking that the stainless steel border is just a design feature, but it is actually more than just decorative. It actually doubles as two new antennas that circle the entire phone, minus the three small notches. Seriously, Apple’s industrial design team members have are extra-terrestrial, who else can make an antenna look so pretty? The first antenna that runs from the notch on the top of the phone to the one on the left side is for WiFi and Bluetooth. That leaves us with the second antenna, which spans from the top notch down the right side and around to the bottom of the phone, for EDGE and 3G.

Though Apple does not specifically promised that the new antennas will be improvising on the call quality or WiFi reception, their very existence itself is an indirect admission that the data and voice reception have been troublesome and needs to be addressed. Though most of the current iPhone users are blaming their network providers for their connectivity issues, please remember that both the carrier of the network and antenna of the phone play equal roles in reception. However, as we mention below in the performance section, we are still not sure if the new antennas have improvised reception. In fact, have they made it even worse? Read on to find out the answer.

Features:

iPhone 4 is everything that a new piece of technology should be. It is innovative, attractive, and ahead of its competition. In comparison, previous iPhone upgrades seem inconsequential; that is how much iPhone 4 brings to the table. With scores of new features, the iPhone 4 circles around its 3GS predecessor in bringing in the new features. While some of the features are unique to the device, the others come with the iOS 4 update.

Processor and Speed of iPhone 4:
The processor under the hood is the same 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 chip that is found in the iPad. Additionally, though Apple has not specified the RAM, we know that it is 512MB. Just within few minutes of usage, we realised that the phone is quite a bit faster than the 3GS and certainly than the iPhone 3G. Menus, applications, and other features opened in a flash. And as we mentioned earlier, the app switching in the multitasking menu and the camera shutter did not leave us waiting.

Multitasking:
Though we have always been able to multitask with the native features on iPhone like the music player, the option is now available for the third party apps too. The primary access point is a multitasking menu that can be accessed by double tapping on the home button. As soon as you get to the menu, you will see a list of applications that are running at that moment along the bottom of the display that you will be able to scroll through using a sideways finger swipe. This pop-up menu shows only four apps at a time, but you can keep many more of them in the tray. Apple has made the multitasking menu so easy. To open a running app, just scroll through the menu and tap over its icon once. And, when you are ready to end the app, first do a long press on the particular icon and tap over the tiny delete icon on the top left corner. Switching between the apps is a relatively simple task as well; as you move back and forth, you will get back to the exact point that you left. There is also a clear sense of organisation, with the most recently used app on the left side. The aweinspiring Apple experience!

As you might be aware, multitasking of Apple works a little different than on the other smartphones. Instead of having all device resources available to every running app, iOS 4 allows only seven app services to run in the background. According to Apple, this arrangement will have less of a drain on resources like battery life and memory than if it gave developers free rein. Additionally, since background apps essentially pause, it will free the system from having to juggle resources and kill stalled applications. So, here is what you will be able to do in the background. Seven of Apple’s approved processes include audio, VoIp services such as Skype, GPS location of apps such as TomTom, push notifications and local notifications, task completion and fast app switching. Local notifications are the apps that do not have to go through a server and fast app switching is possible as the apps essentially hibernate not to use the CPU. With the task completion feature, an app will finish something it is already started even if you send it to the background; it will send you an alert when it is done. Fast app switching, on the other hand, is the app hibernation process that allows you to toggle back and forth quickly and return to the same place you left.

Though some have complained about the built-in limitations, which mean that iOS 4 does not possess “real” multitasking, we think “incomplete” will be a better description. We accept the fact that you cannot run everything in the background; for instance, your Twitter feed, will not update while paused, but iOS 4 allows you to run certain features from multiple apps simultaneously. If that does not sound like multitasking, then we do not know what is. And, this would not be the first time Apple limited the set of features or takes longer with development in order to produce the most desired customer experience. You may not agree with such a philosophy, but Apple has always been honest about pursuing it. Like so many things in technology, it just comes down to what works best for you.

Even though multi-tasking came in after a long wait, we were really pleased with the whole experience. Because, everything needs to have a way of doing and Apple has presented the feature in a slick, easy-to-use manner. Its performance was simply inspiring and it did so without ever crashing or freezing the phone at any point. It did not affect the battery life in a negative way and it totally accomplishes what it sets out do. But even with all these strong points, we would not conclude that it is the Best way to multitask. Though Apple’s Multi touch is slick and save you a few clicks, but there are these other approaches like the “deck of cards” interface on WebOS that continues to impress us. A biggest advantage though will be the fact that limited multitasking results in more-efficient power management.

Home Screen Folders:
Though we love apps as much as the next person, we have become really tired of scrolling through several pages of iPhone home screens. Fortunately, that has changed with the addition of home screen folders. And this is yet another feature that the competing devices have long offered, so it is soothing to see Apple stepping up. To start with, use a long press on the home screen so the icons “jiggle”, just the way it did in the iPhone 3 and 3GS. You can then take an app and drop it on top of another to create a folder. The folder then appears as a square with tiny icons of the included app inside. Tap the folder to access the included apps and get an expanded view of the folder’s contents. Alternatively, if you want to remove an app, just drag it back to the home screen. It is good news that you are presented with a fair amount of flexibility for folder organisation. You are allowed to add as many folders as you like, change the default folder name, and add both related and unrelated apps. However, you are limited to twelve apps per folder. This not only applies to the third party apps, you can group legacy features like the Weather and Stock applications into a single folder. The overall process has been easier; we would not say it offers a huge change from the equivalent experience on Android.

Mailing:
It is a well known fact that iPhone has always been a very functional email machine, if not as efficient as the Blackberry, it came very close. But, we seldom enjoyed switching back and forth among multiple accounts to read new messages. Here comes the good news, the Apple iPhone 4 has a new unified in-box that is accessible under the “Mail” option on your home screen. A new option called “All Inboxes” has been listed above your individual in-boxes, and you will still be able to delete and move messages. In this case too, it seems to work well, but it is not vastly superior to how competing OSes handle the same process.
Some of the other e-mail changes include the capability to add multiple Exchange accounts, organize e-mails by thread, jump directly to individual in-boxes, resize photos before you send, and open attachments with a preferred app. Each and every feature is doing a good job, but here, we will discuss a couple of them in detail. E-mails in a thread will now be designated by a small number on the left side of the message header. Clicking the number will take you to a separate screen that lists all relevant messages. It is really a nice touch, and we like that you can move or delete messages in the thread. We also like the new option to delete e-mails directly from search results. For the corporate people, Apple has provided with options like enhanced data protection, mobile device management, wireless app distribution, support for Exchange 2010 and SSL VPN.

Home screen customisation:
Home screen customisation was not a feature that we expected Apple to include in this model and it was in the bottom part of our wish list. Surprisingly, the company has done a very decent job in rolling out the feature out there. It is true that you have always been able to change the standard black background using the third party apps, the iOS4 does add the native capability to the iPhone and iPod Touch. In the iPhone 4, you can find the “wallpaper” option in the Settings Menu and then choose either the wallpaper that is already available or even a picture on your camera roll. After a selection is made, you get the option to set it as the wallpaper for your home screen or the lock screen, or both. Though all of this sounds to be straight forward, there are some black spots too. First of all, remember that once you manage to ditch the standard black background, there is no way to get it back. You can only take a photo of the black wall, the night sky or a dark room, but it is hardly the same thing. As time has passed by, Apple has replaced some of the native wallpapers with new options.

Auto Correct Feature:
The iPhone has always had an auto-correct feature, that changes the words as you type; and thought they were useful to some extent, there was something incomplete about it. That is exactly why we have become fans of the latest spell check feature that notifies you of unrecognised or misspelled words with a red underline. The Spell Check feature works well when you are composing both emails and text messages, and you will also get a list of some suggested corrections. You would certainly like to have more selections, but that is quite a small issue.

Search Options:
The iOS 4 are offering few search options across various features. When you are typing a URL in the Safari browser, you will not only be getting the URL titles of the sites that you have visited recently, but also the complete web addresses. This is a very nice touch, as it will allow you to find the exact website that you want. In the Universal Search option, you will be getting Web and Wikipedia results, along with the content stored on the phone. It just takes a couple of clicks to get them going and is very convenient too. Finally, there is also a search bar for your text messages which works just like the search option for e-mails.

Game Center:
Game Center is a feature that comes later this year, which will include features like a social gaming network, the ability to invite friends to games, leader boards and achievements, and the opportunity for “matchmaking” which sets up two people to play.

Connectivity:
Apple iOS 4 has added persistent WiFi, which allows the iPhone 4 to stay connected to the hot spot even when it is in the stand-by mode. But, this could result in adverse negative effect on battery, so, we will be watching. With the availability of wake on wireless, the handset promises to wake from standby when it comes in range of a cellular network. This is not something that we were asking for, but having included, we are happy to take it. Now, there is also support for using a Bluetooth keyboard. We were able to successfully pair and used an Apple Bluetooth keyboard without any issues.

Miscellaneous changes:
As in the case of previous updates, iOS 4 also brings a selection of smaller features and interface tweaks. And these updates include a redesigned calculator icon with the same feature, the ability to send apps as gifts, alphanumeric pass codes, bigger font sizes for accessibility, enhanced iPod-out capability, and a redesigned location icon in the Google Maps application. You are also getting a new Birthday Calendar that is accessible under the main calendar app; but, we are still looking for a specific birthday event field.

Multimedia:
With the iPhone 4 too, Apple just strengthens the fact that it is the king of mobile music and video and this is one area the company beats its competitors hands down. Most parts of the new iPhone’s iPod Player remains unchanged, but we are really glad to see a few new offerings. The phone is now equipped with convenient option for creating playlists on the go. You will be able to do so in just a couple of steps and add a selection of tunes. What is more? Consumers will always welcome features when it allows you to do something without going through iTunes. Back in the multitasking menu, you will find new music player controls and a shortcut for locking the display rotation.

Apple iPhone 4 Camera:
Though Apple’s iPhone’s camera has always been decent, it lacked features found on many basic phones. And hence, the new camera with 5-megapixel resolution, the new LED flash, and the 5x digital zoom needs to be applauded. The phone is also equipped with a new backside illuminated sensor, which requires a more-detailed explanation. The biggest advantage of this feature however is its ability to record 720p high-definition video at a constant 30 frames per second. Though iPhone 4 is not the first handset to offer this capability, it delivers better on quality. Of course, we would love more options like a brightness control and colour tones, but we doubt that we will get them anytime soon.

The primary camera interface is about the same as the 3GS, with the usual shutter control, camera/camcorder switch, and photo gallery shortcut off to one side. A new flash control activates the LED on the rear face. Thankfully, you can choose from auto or “always-on” modes. In the opposite corner is a control for switching between the front and rear cameras. When you are not making FaceTime calls, you can even use the front-facing VGA camera for self-portraits. Now, we have to admit that the Image quality will not amaze, but that is not even surprising, given that VGA shooters are hardly the pinnacle of technological development. However, it is great to be able to take vanity shots.

The camera has also incorporated the changes that came from iOS 4. One of our favourite features is a 5x zoom for the still camera. While taking the photo, just tap over the display to view the zoom bar. You can make use of your finger to pan in and out, but remember that since this is digital zoom, picture quality will degrade as you zoom in. Now you also get to use the tap-to-focus feature in the still and video cameras. Though, we have never found that this feature makes that much of a difference, but it certainly does not hurt to have it.

In our tests for camera quality, we found that the camera quality has improved noticeably. Starting with the still photos, it will not be exaggeration if we said that the iPhone 4 takes some beautiful photos. The colours are bright and natural and there is no visible image noise; the shots were in focus. The bright flash has also made a positive change. As in the case of most LEDs it can make dark images look a tad overblown, but we are just glad that we can now take images in a dark room. We were also surprised to find no shutter lag like there was with previous iPhones. The camera takes the shot the instant you press the shutter. The video quality is also very impressive. All that you have to do is, keep the phone steady and you will find that you clips are just smooth and free of any pixels or hiccups. The camera also handles motion quite well, and audio is in sync with the video. You are also offered with an option to cut your videos using the nifty video-editing feature that originated on the iPhone 3GS.

In the photo gallery, you can organise all images from an event or those that feature a specific friend. However, for both of these features, you will need to have already used the face-recognition options in iPhoto or Aperture and sync with iTunes. One option that seems to have disappeared: in the initial beta version of iOS 4, there was an option in the gallery for rotating photos, but we were not able to find it again in the final version.

Face Time:
Apple boasts Face Time as one of the iPhone 4’s most-exciting features and it certainly looked good at the demo, so we are quite eager to try it. The quality of the feature is very pleasing and it is good that it is an integrated option that does not require an app. While the incoming video mostly depends on its quality on the senders side, and it will be pixelated and jerky, particularly when your friend is using the front camera, but you cannot do much about it. And that is actually expected when using a VGA camera. The video from your phone will show in the top left corner and it looks great from either camera. Additionally, you can use it in both portrait and landscape modes. Obviously, the Face Time features works only with another iPhone 4. The feature can be activated by placing a call on a Wi-Fi network and once the call connects, you will see an option for FaceTime instead of the normal “Hold” control; we have no idea where that option went. Note that both you and your friend must press the control to establish a video chat; you then can mute the call or end it directly from the FaceTime screen. After a FaceTime call is placed for the first time, you will see the phone number listed twice in your recent calls list. While one entry activates FaceTime directly, the other will place a normal cellular call.

This is not to say that the FaceTime was not without any issues. On more than one occasion, we were not able establish a connection, even on using two iPhone 4s on Wi-Fi. We even found on one handset that the FaceTime option was not there when it should have been. The switch between normal and FaceTime calls can take a few seconds, during which reception is faulty. For 2010, the FaceTime feature. There has been a lot of grumbling about this restriction, but we do not think that is a bad thing. Video chat uses a ton of data so we are sure the experience would be better on Wi-Fi than on any other network. What is also great is that because you are on Wi-Fi, FaceTime calls will not deduct from your cellular minutes. As long as Apple kills the Wi-Fi limit in the next year, we will be happy.

As fun as it sounds, the iPhone 4’s FaceTime feature is not that of an essential one. After all, video chat technology has been around since 2004 and the technology has not been a huge hit. Yet, Apple has a talent for repackaging existing features and attracting wide consumer interest.

Gyroscope:
In the iPhone 3GS, Apple has given us a compass, but the iPhone 4 raises the bar by offering a three-axis gyroscope. Like on an airplane, you will get pitch, roll, and yaw, and it is tied with the accelerometer to provide six-axis motion sensing. This is a fun app for the game developers and you will enjoy it too.

Tethering:
The iPhone has always been capable of tethering, but there had been some network issues about it. A few networks now offer the ability to use your iPhone as a modem for your PC. However, you will have to pay some extra to get it, but at east it is there.

iMovie and iBookstore:
The iMovie feature brings movie-editing capabilities to the iPhone. You have to pay a couple of pounds for the app, but it is a nice touch. Given just how much processing power is required to edit video, iMovie’s performance was impressive. It felt very smooth. Trimming a clip is a simple as tapping on it and dragging a pin right or left. Now you can shoot your kid’s dance recital, edit it together, and ship it out to friends and relatives before the dance teacher has finished the class.

E-book reader of Apple has joined hands with Amazon’s Kindle app as a gift for the bookworms. You will be able to access Apple’s iBookstore to purchase new content, and if you have an iPhone and an iPad, you can read your book on both devices with just one purchase and even sync your current page. iBooks on the iPhone 4 takes great advantage of the new phone’s high-resolution screen. Text is amazingly crisp. When we tried to flip over into PDF view, we did notice that there were some pauses when zooming in to a large PDF document. But once the zoomed-in portions of the PDF appeared, they were immaculately rendered. iBooks also gains a few new features previously unavailable on the iPad. You can now create notes and bookmarks, and see those notes, bookmarks, and highlights in the table of contents. We suspect that the notes remain trapped in line - for example, there’s no way to create cheat sheets, summaries, or other such personalized shortcuts that you could then utilize on your computer or elsewhere - but these new functions are a step in the right direction.

Call Quality:

Call quality has always been an issue with the iPhone, and unfortunately, Apple has done it again with the iPhone 4. There is even a chance that the antenna could be doing harm. . Granted, keeping your fingers away from a cell phone antenna is advisable for the best reception, and Apple is hardly the first manufacturer to offer such advice. We see such warnings commonly on handsets that have a bottom-facing antenna, but users typically do not hold such a device with their palm or fingers resting in that area. So, as you can sense, we are not happy with the reception. But, on the other end, callers reported that the call quality is excellent and they did not know we were on a cell phone. During active calls, they could hear us without any problems and they mentioned less background noise than when we used the 3GS.

Speakerphone calls were mostly satisfactory. We could hear our friends clearly, though the volume was a tad distorted at the highest levels. Bluetooth headset performance was mixed. Bluetooth headset calls were fine, but we had mixed issued with stereo Bluetooth headsets.

Battery:

The iPhone 4’s bigger battery means more juice to get you through the day. Apple officially promises 14 hours of EDGE talk time, 7 hours of 3G talk time, 40 hours of audio playback, 10 hours of video playback, 6 hours of 3G browsing, 10 hours of Wi-Fi browsing, and 300 hours of standby. The battery lasted a respectable period. We used it heavily for about 5 hours and we were still going relatively strong after a full charge.

iPhone 4 Package contents:

Inside the box, Apple has included the usual accessories, like the small wall plug, a USB 30 pin connector cable, and the standard white Apple ear-buds. And oddly, god alone knows why, you do not get the SIM removal tool that was available with the previous models. So, you have to look for a paper clip to do the job for you, and we were truly miffed that we did not get it. Apple has not given any explanation for this.

Verdict:

The iPhone4 appears to be a must-have for anyone with an original iPhone or iPhone 3G; while the former will not get the iOS 4 upgrade at all, while the 3G will not support some features. And people who have an iPhone 3GS will find this a worthy upgrade, too. Unlike the previous jump, from the iPhone 3G to the 3GS which focused on slight performance improvements, the Apple iPhone 4 bolsters the hardware’s digital imaging capabilities and its display, making it a comprehensive and measurable upgrade over its predecessor.

Apple iPhone 4 Technical Specification Details

The event:

The introduction of the iPhone OS 4.0 was held on 8th of April 2010, 10AM. As soon as Jobs was up on the stage, he said that Apple was excited about iPhone 4 and thanked the reviewers for their positive support on the new iPad. He was particularly quoting Walt Mossberg, surprise!

“After Spending hours and hours with it, I believe this beautiful new touch-screen device from Apple has the potential to change portable computing profoundly…”

-Walt Mossberg, Wall Street Journal

This was followed by a few choice quotes from some of the early reviews. The revolutionary iPad sold 300,000 on the first day and in the next couple of days, the numbers reached a peak of 450,000. This was followed by some more stats on the iBooks and iPad Apps.

Finally, when Steve moved on to iPhone, he was happy about the fact that Apple has won the JD Power award for the year 2010 and has done so for the past three years in a row. This was followed by a very interesting graph on the US mobile users and Apple’s Market share on that. iPhone seems to possess a massive 64% of mobile browser user share, and everything else added together just makes half of iPhone (Android: 19%, Blackberry: 9% and Other Phones: 8%). Apple has sold 50million iPhones to date and if we consider Touch too, the sales shoots up to 85million iPhones and iPod Touches.

iPhone OS 4.0 Preview:

The unveiling of the most anticipated iPhone 4.0 OS began with Steve Jobs saying “So Today we are giving a dev preview of the iPhone OS 4. We have been working on this for a while and it is pretty great. We will be shipping it this summer and release a developer preview today”.

Apple has included over 1500 new APIs in the OS4.0 and the developers get to access calendar, In-App SMS, Photo Library, Quick Look, Full access to still and video camera data, full map overlays and heaps more. The OS includes a framework known as “Accelerate” which is for hardware accelerated math functions. And as we had mentioned earlier, the OS sports 100 new user features: Create Playlists, Sync IMAP notes, 5X Digital Zoom, Nested Playlists, Card Dav, Tap to focus video, Places in photos, iPod Out, Home Screen Wall paper, search SMS/MMS messages, file and delete mail search results, web search suggestions, Bluetooth Keyboards, CalDav Invitations, Spell Check, Persistent WiFi and lots more.

iPhone OS 4.0 Highlight Features:

Multitasking:
Multitasking has been included the iPhone OS 4 and Steve Jobs introduced this saying
“We were not first to the party, but we are going to be the best”.

Multitasking is now available in iPhone and it is done in such a way that it does not hinder either performance or battery life. These were the two of the biggest issues that the other mobile platforms face and so, it really makes sense that Apple wants to make sure that these issues are addressed in its multitasking feature. Apple has offered seven multitasking services and so you will be able to make Voice over IP call while playing games or checking mail and just find a restaurant while listening to Pandora and more. Background location is a new part of the OS and it will work with the social apps with turn-by-turn applications.

Folders:
With this feature you will be able to organise your apps into folders with just drag and drop simplicity. With this application, you get faster access to your favourites and will also be able to browse and manage up to 2160 apps at once, which is much more than the current limit of 180 apps.

Better Mails:
Better mails means you can see all the messages from all your mails in a unified inbox which allows you to switch between inboxes more swiftly, organise messages by threads and also open attachments in third party apps.

iBooks:
iBooks have proved to be the best way to browse, buy and read books on a mobile device. Esay flips through the pages and you can browse over tens and thousands of them, out of which, most of them are free. This app even allows you to check out the reviews and read sample pages before you purchase them.

Developers:
With a rich set of over 1500 new APIs, the iPhone SDK 4 provides developers with a broad range of technologies to enhance the functionality of their iPhone and iPod touch applications. Developers can use these new APIs to make their apps more powerful, more feature rich, and more amazing than before.

Game Center:
Despite Nintendo’s claims to the contrary, the iPhone platform is becoming a mobile powerhouse for gaming. Apple wants to make it even better by adding a social gaming network. Think XBox Live but for your iPhone or iPad.

iAD:
iAd is a breakthrough mobile advertising platform from Apple. With it, apps can feature rich media ads that combine the emotion of TV with the interactivity of the web.

Enterprise:
iPhone OS 4 offers more useful features for businesses. With enhancements to security, scalability, and compatibility, IT managers have even more reasons to deploy iPhone throughout their enterprises.
These are just seven of the biggest features coming to iPhone 4.0 OS. You cannot wait for its release? Can you? So cant we!

This is really an exciting news for the harry potter fans as this game is “Official” from WarnerBros and allows you to explore official content from its latest hit movie “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince”. Get ready to transform your iPhone into a magic wand and just get ready to get into a duel.

You will be officially invited to attend the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizadry. Once you get enrolled, you get your own wand that is destined for you and then assigned with one of the four houses available by the sorting hat. Then, the game lets you learn fourteen different spells of the Harry Potter universe. The accelerometer turns your Apple iPhone into a magic wand and the spells include movie favourites such as Lumos, Expelleamus and Stupefy.

Though there is a single player mode included, you can have real fun with the game only when you opt for multiplayer mode. You can get the real Hogwarts style dual by playing against the other digital wizards. After casting a spell, each player’s magic wand ability is scored by a percentage. Later, one can even cast spells outside the classroom and find another nearby wizard by using the iPhone’s GPS capabilities and challenge the wizard for a duel. Players then take turns reciting incantations and moving their wrists in semicircles and other patterns to perform various spells on each other. And when the duel gets over, the players’ scores are calculated to see who had the most effective spells. Since the game connects to facebook, you also get a chance to boast about your wins.

Some of the key features of the game include exploring the official movie content, unlocking new content in the memory vial navigation system, interaction with the Pensieve’s 3D water effects, inserting moving footage into a wanted poster or the daily prophet and you can even save theatrical posters and images to use as your wallpaper.

The fun does not end just with Harry Potter as the iPhone gamers will also be able to enjoy Apollo 11 of Decode Entertainment. By playing this game, you would get a feeling as if you are controlling the whole of astronomy under your nose. The Apollo 11 game is basically designed to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the moon landings. The game’s goal is that, you will control the mission vehicles and also drive the rocket from lift off to oceanic splashdown.

Having all these features aside, the best news for all the gamers is that this game can be downloaded for free.

Check the Cheap, Best iPhone Deals in our website.

The Foundation added that it would integrate more features based on user request and that it would embrace contributions from programmers and developers.

The iTunes App Store has sold over 1.5 billion applications ever since it launched this application last July with a lot of developers developing tens of thousands of programs that consumers can download to increase their user experience on the iPod Touch and iPhone.

A recent announcement of Wikipedia states that web users had made contributions of over 3 million English-language articles to the Wikipedia website, which anybody can make a contribution to.

A children’s literature expert and illustrator namely Martin Salisbury exclaimed that he was taken by surprise by the ease and elegance of the translation of digital format overcoming the fear of screen and attachment to the browsing of the printed format while using this application. Martin also added that the Finger dragging operation enables the narrative to adapt to the user’s pace with no real technicalities or gimmicks because of the deployment of a simple technology.

Project Manager of the National Literacy Trust, Rebecca Green, embraces innovative and intelligent utilisation of technology describing that picture book App for mobile phones as offering exciting and interesting medium for busy parents to spend time together with their kids by reading out stories to them. She also added that sharing books paves a way for developing a passion for reading in the children’s mind from an early age and that it is one of the efficient ways to make sure they succeed in future when they get into primary education level.

A mirror image of the iPhone 3G:

The 3GS is a mirror image of the iPhone 3G, externally, you will not be able to find any difference. Yet, there is some uniqueness in the 3GS in just a few ways. Both the memory sizes of 16GB and 32GB are available in both black and white. Another difference is that, the display of the iPhone 3GS has an oleophobic coating, which is finger print resistant, hence attracting very few fingerprints and smudges. This coating also gives it a slightly more reflective look and a rainbow effect when you reflect a monitor with it. The dimensions too remain to be the same as its predecessor, but weighs a little more that goes virtually unnoticeable.

What is new in iPhone 3GS?

It is inside the set that all the changes have been made. The enhancements include an better CPU, new internal compass, more storage space, extended battery life and a very much improvised optics for its camera. On many ways the iPhone 3GS delivers on its promises but there are a few issues too. The 3G networks is not as fast as what was expected out of it and the call quality still remains to be too far from perfect.

A warmer display:

The display of the 3GS is slightly warmer than that of the 3G with a yellowish orange tint. This king of an enhancement had been made with the 3G too, when it was upgraded from 2G. This warmer effect is not anything that distracts and the warmer display is slightly soothing to your eyes even if the brightness is being bumped up.

Intuitive and simple interface:

The menu interface remains to be the same, being intuitive and simple. This becomes a little tough once you have browsed through about four menu pages. Swiping through multiple pages becomes a tedious process. Especially, if you are an organisational freak, you will find it extremely annoying to drag applications from page to page. We also hate the fact that there is no way that you could categorise the similar applications into a common folder. It would have been great if this was possible because this not only cuts down on the menu pages, it would also allow you to find your application faster.

Simultaneous release of the iPhone OS 3.0:

Another thing to make note of is that, the release of the iPhone OS 3.0, which coincides with the release of the Apple iphone 3GS Media Player cum Phone. It is a significant update that ensures 100 new features.The iPhone OS 3.0 is a much better version of the previous versions having features like cut, copy, paste, Bluetooth, MMS, tethering, video recording, landscape keyboard and many more applications. It also possess an iPhone version of the spotlight.

Features of iPhone 3G S:

As we had mentioned earlier, the iPhone3GS inherits most of its features from its predecessor, the iPhone 3G. So, let us see in detail, what is different and how. If you need a quick refresh, just check out our iPhone 3G review. To start with, let us see the features that is available in the new model alone.

Camera:

First, let us have a look at the camera. So far, iPhones camera functionality had been just good, but not great. It was having some decent photo quality but did not possess any good editing options. It did not possess even the basic editing features like white balance, a zoom or even a self timer that can be found in any of the usual VGA camera mobiles. iPhone 3GS has increased the camera resolution to 3 mega pixels and has also included the new “Tap to Focus” feature. When you point the camera towards the object, a small square appears in the center of the display and when you tap on the square, it automatically focuses on that point and also adjusts the factors like the white balance, colour, contrast and the exposure accordingly. If you want the focus to be made in some edge of the screen, then all that you need to do is tap on whichever you want to focus in the display and the square moves along with you. If you had not made a tap anywhere, then the camera focuses on the entire frame.

Tap to Focus functionality:

The Tap to Focus functionality works well. For instance, if you are focusing a particular part of an object, you will be getting a clear view on the object, whereas, if you shift away the focus from that part of the object, that part alone becomes a little blurry. Another interesting thing is that, if you focus on the brighter part of the object, the entire shot looks brighter, and similarly, if you focus on the darker part, the photo gives a dark look eventually. The iPhone 3GS still lacks a flash, making us quite disappointed.

Automatic macro setting:

The automatic macro setting that was added did not make much difference to the shots taken. Some of the close-up shots looked much better than what they looked on the iPhone 3G. But it looked even with the macro feature off, in other words we were not able to make out when the feature was working and when it was not. As far as the camera is concerned, it would be better if we have more control over it. For now, the camera of the iPhone 3GS is better than the ones that were available in the previous iPhones, but it would have been better if we have more control over the camera because, it is the camera that runs the show and not the user.

Photo quality:

On the whole, the quality of the photo taken by the iPhone 3GS looks better than the one taken by 3G, but as we has mentioned earlier, it totally depends on the shot. The outdoor shots with bright lighting conditions look good but if you are out on a cloudy day or in low light conditions, then they look less brighter with less of an orange tint. Another thing that you have to keep in mind is that, the iPhone’s camera has not been optimized for fluorescent light.

Video recording:

Another great news for the iPhone users is that, the iPhone 3GS is the first iphone to offer video recording feature, that the other phones have been offering from ages ago. What is more interesting is that, you also get a easy to use video editing option within the iPhone. The controls of the video recording feature work in the same fashion of that of the still camera. The tap to focus feature can be used here too. The quality of the recording is just VGA, but the camera shoots at 30 frames per second. This frame rate allows the motion videos of the iPhone 3GS look much better than the ones available in other mobile phones. Some colours look mutes and some videos looked washed out too, which is a curse of the camera mobile phones and is very hard to avoid.

Share your clips:

Once the recording is done, you can share your clip by mailing it or even by directly uploading to your YouTube account. The video editing tool offered is very intuitive and is great fun to use. Once you load a video clip, the clip is displayed frame by frame in a linear format along the top portion of the screen. If you want to edit, just touch either end of the border that surrounds your video. When the border turns yellow, you can shorten the clip by dragging either end toward your desired cutoff point  and the image on the display will conveniently change as you move along. Once you have made your edits, all that you need to do is, hit on the “Trim” control.

Now the disadvantages:

The video editing feature of iphone 3gs has a few restrictions too. When you trim a clip, the edited version replaces the original clip, rather than saving it as a new file. The trimming can also be done only in a linear format, that is, you cannot cut out something in the middle and stitch the remaining two ends of the video together. Apple has also offered a new feature that will allow you to quickly open a photo or a video that has been shot the last. After taking your snap or video, a small thumbnail will appear on the bottom of the viewfinder next to the shutter control. Tapping that thumbnail takes you to the photo gallery page, from where you can view your work or send it on to a friend.

Voice dialing feature:

IPhone 3GS has included the voice dialing feature, which we had long awaited. The voice control feature that has been included goes far beyond just making calls. In order to activate it, you have to hold down the home button until the voice control feature appears. As you must be already aware, the voice dialing feature allows you to make calls by just speaking the contacts name or phone number into the receiver. Once you give the command, the audio confirmation along with the name or number will be displayed. If the result is incorrect, just give undo. This feature is speaker independent and so, you will not need to train it in order to recognise your voice, you are ready to go as soon as you turn on the phone.

Functionality of the voice dialing feature:

This feature functions well and understands you accurately most of the time. Occasional mistakes are very common in most of the voice dialing applications. The performance of the voice controller will be much better when the numbers are alone used. Speaking loudly is not that necessary but in noisy environments, you will have to. Yet, it the voice dialer application is capable of filtering out most of the background noise. In case you call a contact, having multiple numbers, it calls out home or work etc. And again, if you ask  for a name that is having multiple listings in your phone book, it prompts for a choice, by showing the options on the screen.

Voice control: The complete control

The voice control can also interact with the iPhone’s iPod player and also with the iTunes genius list. You can ask it to play a song by artist name and album, and you can also request an entire play list. As the music starts playing, you can pause, skip to the next song, and go back to the previous track, using your voice. For instance, if you say “shuffle”, the player skips to a random song. Most of the time the feature works accurately, but occasionally, it gets confused with the artist’s name.

You know what is more interesting?, if you are not sure which song the phone is playing, you can ask “what song is this?” and the iPhone 3GS gives you an audio confirmation of the track name and artist. If you are amused by the song that is playing, then you can say “play more songs like this” and the player uses the iTunes Genius list to play a related song. The music that is going on dims as you speak. Ah! Great right? You will never be able to list out any other MP3 player or a mobile phone that offers such a capability.

Digital compass:

Another new feature that has been added to the Apple iPhone 3GS is the digital compass, which you can find directly on the home screen. Initially, we were a little perplexed by the addition of this feature, as it seemed to be an odd choice. However, this feature will be really very helpful when it comes to navigating through a new city or something of that sort. This feature possesses a very attractive interface that shows a large compass showing your latitude and longitude. As in the case of any other compass in the market, it continues to point on true or the magnetic north as you turn around. As far as the hardware is concerned, the compass seems to do what had promised with pretty impressive accuracy.

A great combo with the google maps:

The compass application itself, when seen as a stand alone product does not have much for us as we rarely need to know which direction you are actually facing. However, the combo of the compass and the google maps is a powerful marriage which could possibly end many of our navigational woes. With the maps, you will not only be able to locate your position via the GPS, you can also orient the map to the direction that you are facing. Once the compass picks up your bearing, it rotates the map to reflect. This may not sound like much, but if you have ever tried to walk a new city using just maps and geolocation, you will understand how useful the application is, quickly.

Accessibility features:

iPhone3GS has turned out to be the first iPhone to offer a full set of accessibility features.

Voice over:

This allows even the visually impaired people to use Apple’s voice recognition to navigate through the phone’s menus and also type messages and mails. When you drag your finger around a display and tap the button, the iPhone reads a description of the button. Want to know more? It gives you each character as and when you type the message and it will also give you auto correction choices. The voice over can even read text messages, emails and web pages too. In order to make use of the voice over, a different set of gestures has to be used. For instance, you will have to double tap in order to open an item, which also gives audible instructions. The speaking rate can also be set and can also make a selection from 21 different languages. This feature works with all of the native applications of the phone but its support for third party application varies.

The multi-touch zoom feature:

The multi-touch zoom feature that was previously working only in applications like photo gallery, e mails, and safari browser, now also works with home, unlock and spotlight applications. The enhanced zoom can be activated using the settings menu but also keep in mind, both the zoom and voice over applications cannot be used simultaneously.

Contrast:

The contrast of the display can be changed form white on black, which will allow the white text to be shown on black background. But a funny thing is that, the change in the contrast settings alters the appearance of the photos in the gallery and so, they look like negatives. It also gives a similar effect to the application icons in the home screen.

Nike + iPod:

The iPhone 3GS also supports Nike + iPod, this integrates your iPhone with a sensor that fits inside the Nike running shoes. This can be used as a pedometer in order to track the distance traveled and your speed. When the application is turned on using the settings menu, the option appears in the home screen and even the headphones included with the iPhone 3GS would show the changes. It also includes controls for using the voice control, volume adjustments, answering calls and also controlling the music and video playback.

MMS included:

Finally, Apple has included the multimedia messaging feature. Using this MMS feature, you can not only share your images, but even videos, audio files and even map locations. Finally, iPhone can also do what every other multimedia phone in the market had been doing for ages. The messaging process is very intuitive. When you use the text messaging application, a small camera icon appears next to the writing area. If you tap over it, you get the choice of taking a new picture or even send the existing shot. You can also initiate a MMS form the image gallery.

“cut, copy and paste” Feature:

As we had mentioned earlier, the “cut, copy and paste” feature has been included in the OS. This feature works across all the applications including notes, emails, messages and even text in the web pages. Just double tap over a selection of text, the options of cut, copy and paste appears. . You then can change the highlighted area by dragging the blue grab points around the page. Just tap on the paste button once you have found the area where you want the content to be pasted. If you make a mistake and paste in the incorrect place, you can shake the iPhone to undo your command. When you are using notes or mail application, highlighting can be done by pressing for a long time. This will give you two options, select and select all. While the former command highlights only the word that you are touching, the latter highlights the entire block of text. Keep in mind that when you make use of the safari browser, there are a few acclimations.

Landscape keyboard:

The landscape keyboard which was previously available only with the safari browser, now works with other applications like e-mail, messaging and notes. Though the landscape keyboard is much wider, with larger buttons, it is short too and so, it takes a little to get accustomed to it. Hence, you can make use of both your hands and have a tap dance over your iPhone 3GS.

Spotlight feature:

Another new feature that has been included in iPhone 3GS is the Spotlight. The spotlight feature make the search processes very easy. To get to the Spotlight feature, swipe your finger to the right from the first menu page. You’ll then see a keyboard with a typing field above it. As you type in a search term, the results appear below the search bar, with results grouped together by category for easy navigation.

Tethering:

Tethering is possible with the iPhone 3GS, but this will be completely carrier oriented  and dependent. Coming to the part of text messaging, the deleting and forwarding of individual messages works exactly like the email application. Once you select the edit option, tiny dots appear next to each message, hit over the dots on the messages that you intend to delete or forward and then, click over the delete or forward options. Finally, this option is available.

Bluetooth:

The addition of Stereo Bluetooth profile with the iPhone OS 3.0 is most welcome. The paring process with any of the headsets is easy and hassle free. When you are in the music player application, you will find a small Bluetooth icon just next to the player controls. Just press it, in order to route the audio to the headset. You then have the freedom of toggling between the speaker and headset. With the addition of Bluetooth in the OS, Bluetooth peer to peer networking is available for gaming. Both of the above mentioned Bluetooth features were absent in the iPhone Classic.

iPhone 3GS - a fully functional GPS:

Apple has made the iPhone 3GS, a fully functional GPS by providing turn by turn instructions. The directional services do not come from Apple, rather, they come from the third party applications. TomTom is one of the first companies to provide the offer. The services look promising. The complete interface is quite attractive and the directions are clearly audible. TomTom also offers a car kit that secures your iPhone to your car’s wind shield or dashboard. Hence, you will be able to charge too. This is a great news because, in that way, as you know iPhones are always battery hungry. It will be interesting to know how much they will be charging for the service, as you might know, GPS maps are not at all cheap. Another thing that we are curious to know is that, the amount of memory the maps might consume and how the application would integrate with the iPhone’s other features.

Difference in the iTunes:

Since the operating system has been changed, you can experience something different with the iTunes too. With this change, you could rent and purchase movies, TV shows, audio books, redeem iTunes gift cards on the phone in the iTunes App store and even use the iTunes U. Another capability that has been included is that, you can make purchases when you are inside applications. For instance, you will be able to buy additional levels of games or even renew a magazine subscription. This is a little handy as you will not need to close the application and go to the iTunes store. This time Apple has promised that the free applications will always remain to be free.

Find my Phone feature:

If you are a kind of person who is used to loosing things, then here is a happy news for you. You will not loose your iPhone 3GS as the OS 3.0 gives you a perfect solution. In case you miss it, you will be able to use a computer in order to find its position on the map. A message can be then sent to the device, instructing anybody who finds your iPhone to ring you. It plays a tone to get a passerby’s attention, and it even plays the tone when the sound is off. Presumably, however, it will not play the tone when the phone is off. But there are a few blots too, the “Find my Phone” service is available only to specific service users. If nothing works for you, then you can make use of the remote wipe function to clear off all the details in your phone. IPhone 3GS is the first phone to  introduce the remote swipe functionality to the consumers outside the enterprise setting.

Voice recorder:

The voice recorder application has a an icon of its own in the home screen and has been turned out to be better than ever before. The interface is cool and easy to use. All that you will have to do is, tap it to start recording and again tap over it to stop recording. You will be able to record even a you are using other applications and once you have completed recording, you can mail the voice clips like the way you could mail the video clips.

Call quality:

There is no difference in data and browser speeds. Improvements should be made. Coming to the call quality, it remains to be unchanged from its predecessor, the iPhone 3G. The audio quality is decent and sounds more natural. The wind noise is apparent in some cases and even the volume can be better. The speakerphone call quality is just fine, but not that great. In the highest volume, the voices distorted a little. There is not much of a change in the overall signal strength and reception.

Audio and video quality:

Though a lot of tweaks and changes were made in the iPhone 3GS, no change could be actually found with the music and video playback quality. But we have nothing to complain as it is near to perfect already. The audio is excellent, crisp and full with great volume and without any background hiss. It supports a wide range of audio formats. The video playback remains to be bright and smooth. As we had mentioned earlier, iPhone 3GS is the first iPhone that can both play and record video.

Battery life:

IPhone 3G’s one of the greatest disadvantage was its battery life, it would not last longer than a day on heavy usage. The iPhone 3GS offers 9 hours of Wi-Fi battery life, 10 hours of video playback, 30 hours of audio playback, 12 hours of 2G talk time, and 5 hours of 3G talk time. You can also find the percentage of battery charge left in the home screen.

Warranty:

Apple offers iPhone 3GS a warranty of one year.

Verdict:

So for your question should you be buying the iPhone 3GS, the answer is that, it will totally depend on the price that you are willing to pay for the privilege. If you are not owning an iPhone yet, then you could of course go with the 3GS. If you own an iPhone Classic too, you could go for the iPhone 3GS, but if you are currently owning an iPhone 3G, then it is wise for you if you think twice. Rather, it will be a better idea for you to upgrade to the new iPhone OS 3.0 operating system, that we discussed in the review and just wait for some more time. However, simple additions have made the iPhone 3GS, a great luxury.

Apple iPhone 3GS - Technical Specification Table

Date of Launch: 11th July of 2008

Model: APPLE iPHONE 3G

PRODUCT IN GENERAL:

APPLE iPHONE 3G is one mobile phone which is unique in comparison with the older version ie, the Apple iphone which was launched a year before. The APPLE iPHONE 3G is still the most expensive smart phone in the market even after the slashed rates compared to the previous one.

The new version of the APPLE smart phone do have tackled the single major compliant; the lack of 3G which is quite common among its competitors. The phone is more user friendly with its wide touch screen and the Safari web browser. Usage of the internet and the regular use of call making makes the phone more potential for all kinds of usage. This second generation iPHONE makes it truly a fantastic multimedia device.

It also includes very interesting and powerful new features in its updation. There is the GPS which is combined with Google maps and the wide display screen is very useful for satellite navigation. The audio and video downloads are greatly supported by the 3G. The new App Store helps one to browse and download an array of third party applications directly to the iPhone. These new features of Apple iPhone 3G also supports high speed 3G networks with an expanded e mail. There is an improved call quality also.

FEATURES OF THE APPLE IPHONE 3G:

• An OS X Operating System assisted with GPS
• Holds a 2 mega pixel camera
• Has a Display of : 480 x 320 pixels (3.5 inch) touch screen
• Possess a Music player (AAC, Protected AAC, MP3, MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 1, 2, and 3), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV formats)
• With a Memory: 8 G byte or 16 G byte flash drive
• Also with Connectivity to Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, USB 2.0, Wi-Fi (802.11b/g), 3.5mm headphone jack
• Options of WAP, EDGE, HSDPA
• Size: 115 x 62 x 12.3 mm
• Weight: 133g
• Quad-band (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) plus UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz)
• Talk time: 5 - 10 hours
• Battery standby: 300 hours
• Audio playback: Up to 24 hours

SPECIFIC FEATURES:

DESIGN
The front of the phone does not make much difference. There are some very minor changes with a thinner silver rim and silver mesh behind the speaker. The back of the iPhone 3G is replaced with a black plastic instead of the aluminium silver back from the older version.This also has a slightly tapered, curved edge at the back which sometimes wobbles and makes an annoying noise when kept rested on a table.

WEIGHT

iPhone 3G’s weight is altered to a wee bit of 4.7 ounces to its original 4.8 ounces.
The iPhone 3G has the entire original and plus enhanced features. So the owners of the previous iPhone can have a free 2.0 software update. The phone has the stocks and weather widgets, YouTube applications, with a notepad, threaded text facility and also a visual voice mail.

EXCHANGE AND MAIL SUPPORT
There is an excellent mail support in the new Apple iPhone 3G smart phone which makes it as said earlier very user friendly.

The process of adding a new account is very simple and is done quickly. Both the work and personal e-mail accounts can be opened simultaneously but has to be switched for usage. The personal calendar and work calendar will be alternated as per the user but the switching will be notified.

All the folders can be accessed and used in the same way from your PC to your Apple iPhone 3G.

Even if it cannot measure up to the standards of the Blackberry, e-mail syncing is making it take a good step to become a business device of the modern days.

APP STORE
The App Store which appears when you go for an iTunes selection helps you to download an incredible amount of music and other applications of softwares and games and many other downloads. You can also check for your downloads’ updates if it has any.

The download and application process is one of the easiest.

3G
Apple iPhone 3G high speed internet browsing makes it a delight to work on it. There is a dramatic change from the EDGE’s usual 100 Kbps speed to the 3G’s 300 Kbps to almost 500 Kbps speed in operation. Downloads which earlier took painful minutes were now whisked off in a few seconds.

Apple iPhone 3G’s Safari browser
The 3G experience interconnects a lot of factors like the coverage area and the number of users in the network at the time and the type of pages which are tried to access. All over the world you can expect the iPhone’s tri-band (850/1900/2100) UMTS/HSDPA will support and deliver 3G coverage.

It should be made sure that the usage of 3G will make the battery drop low and it is better to turn on to EDGE when not in use.

Apple iPhone 3G’s Assisted GPS
The GPS tracking service is excellent and a blue dot appears on the screen which locates your position. The connectivity is lost when inside buildings but it is immediately gets back when it regains the satellite connection. This also offers the user live tracking facility. We always get the general idea of the current location and the Google Maps point to point directions when using the Apple iPhone.

Apple iPhone’s iPod
The iPod functions remain unchanged from its older model but that does not have anything to complain. There is nothing or no one to match the quality of the iPhone’s music and video player. iTunes’ store of Apple is continuing to be the top destination in downloading music, video and podcast downloads.

In the iPhone 3G’s music player you can almost transfer any of musical or video data from your PC to your phone. There is a submenu for this under the main menu for this. The responsive touch screen and easy intuitive navigation helps to roll over lengthy song lists. The use of third party applications to the iPhone 3G has brought in a variety of musical applications which can be essential. The AOL radio and the Pandora can be used to stream music. This can be done through the Wi-Fi or 3G connections. An in-house Remote applications from the iPhone alters itself into a full featured remote control for the iTunes music library.

Well, even though there is a considerable list of musical files that the iPhone 3G supports like MP3, AAC, Audible, Apple Lossless, WAV, and AIFF audio files, as well as MPEG-4 or H.264 video files it does not supports the WMA audio or WMV video, and formats like DIVX, FLAC etc.

APPLE iPhone 3G’s video player
The overall impression of the video quality of the iPhone 3G is simply superb. Although, it has its own shortcomings.

It supports an iTunes movie rentals, video podcast support, YouTube, auto book marking, full screen viewing etc. The video quality is 480×320 pixels which is crisp and colorful in its 3.5 inch wide screen. There is no Flash video content and the reflective screen is not likeable with its lack of a flip out kickstand.

CAMERA
The camera lens sits in its usual location without still no flash or self-portrait mirror.

There is an improved photo quality even if there is no change in the 2-megapixel shooter. Colors look natural in interior shots with enough light. The camera cannot handle bright sunlight. There is a blatant lack of multimedia messaging and video recording which could have been improved from its first model.

ADDED FEATURES
You have a search bar which allows you to track any person with any portion of the name. You also can make use of the iWork documents and PowerPoint presentation to use but cannot edit any of the attachments. In the e-mail apps there are options for Bulk delete and move. Just you can touch and do it off. There is also a scientific calculator which has a number of buttons to use in a wide set.

PARENTAL CONTROL
Under the GENERAL tab of the MAIN SETTINGS menu you can fine the RESTRICTION selection. You can make use of this option to choose the programs to be controlled.

LANGUAGE
The iPhone 3G has a QWERTY keyboard and supports a variety of languages which you can choose and assure yourself. You can select as many languages as you want. There are about 22 languages to select from and you have a suggestion box to your right when you type in characters.

SECURITY
In case of stolen or lost phones, the enterprise has the remote wipe to erase all data in it. There is an integration with Cisco IPSec VPN for remote network access as well as new interface for entering passwords.

APPLE iPHONE 3G TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Size and weight

Ht x Wt x D 4.5 x 2.4 x 0.48 inches
WEIGHT 4.7 ounces or 133 grams
COLOUR BLACK, White
CAPACITY 16GB flash drive

CELLULAR AND WIRELESS

UMTS/HSDPA 850, 1900, 2100 MHz
GSM/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g
Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR

GPS

Assisted GPS

BOX CONTENTS

iPhone 3G with a stereo headset/mic
There is a Dock Connector to USB Cable
Have USB Power Adapter
User Manual and Documentation
A Cleaning/polishing cloth
Along with a SIM eject tool

ENVIRONMENTAL STATUS REPORT

Apple iPhone 3G has a continued environmental program and is designed with features to reduce its environmental impact
PVC-free handset and headphones with the same USB cable
It is embedded with a bromine free printed circuit boards and mercury free LCD display
The majority of packaging is made from post-consumer recycled fiberboard and bio-based materials
The Power adapter in it out performs the strictest global energy efficiency standards

DISPLAY

3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch display
480-by-320-pixel resolution at 163 ppi

AUDIO

20Hz to 20,000Hz (Frequency response)
AAC, Protected AAC, MP3, MP3 VBR,
Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV (Supported audio formats)
User-configurable (maximum volume limit)

HEADPHONES

Stereo earphones (built-in microphone)
20Hz to 20,000Hz (Frequency response)
32 ohms (Impedance)

CAMERA AND PHOTOS

2.0 megapixel, photo geo-tagging and third party application integration

LANGUAGE SUPPORT

MAIN LANGUAGES Language support for the English, French, German, Japanese, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Danish, along with the Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Russian, Polish, Turkish, and Ukrainian also.

There is also an international keyboard and dictionary support for English (U.S.), English (UK), French (France), French (Canada), German, Japanese, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese (Portugal), Portuguese (Brazil), Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Korean (no dictionary), Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Russian, Polish, Turkish, and Ukrainian.

MAIL ATTACHMENT SUPPORT

The most important viewable document types that are used in the Apple iPhone 3G are:

.jpg, .tiff, .gif (images);
.doc and .docx (Microsoft Word);
.htm and .html (web pages);
.key (Keynote); .numbers (Numbers); .pages (Pages);
.pdf (Preview and Adobe Acrobat);
.ppt and .pptx (Microsoft PowerPoint);
.txt (text); .vcf (contact information);
.xls and .xlsx (Microsoft Excel)

CONNECTORS AND INPUT/OUTPUT

30-pin dock (connector)
3.5-mm stereo (headphone mini jack)
Built-in speaker with a microphone
Built in SIM card tray

EXTERNAL BUTTONS AND CONTROLS

Apple iPhone 3G comes with a regular Sleep/wake, Ring/silent, Volume up/down and a Home buttons.

SENSORS

Accelerometer
Proximity sensor
Ambient light sensor

POWER AND BATTERY

Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery
Charging via USB to computer system or power adapter
Talk time: Up to 5 hours on 3G and Up to 10 hours on 2G
Standby time: Up to 300 hours
Internet use: Up to 5 hours on 3G and Up to 6 hours on Wi-Fi
Video playback: Up to 7 hours
Audio playback: Up to 24 hours

MAC SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

Mac computer with USB (2.0 port)
Mac OS X v10.4.10 or a later version
iTunes 7.7 or a later version

WINDOWS SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

PC with USB (2.0 port)
Windows Vista; or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 2 or any later or updated version
iTunes 7.7 or its later version

ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS

Optimal Operating Temperature: 32° to 95° F
(0° to 35° C)

Non operating temperature: -4° to 113° F
(-20° to 45° C) (when not in use)

Relative humidity should be 5% to 95% and non condensing

Maximum operating altitude varies from a range of 10,000 feet (3000 m)

FEATURES THAT 3G iPHONE OR APPLE SMART PHONE NEEDS

• Multimedia messaging
• Stereo Bluetooth and an A2DP support
• Selecting, copying and pasting text options
• Horizontal keyboard for e-mail and note making
• An Improved predictive text or suggestion column with the ability to turn it off
• A definite Integrated IM application
• Requires the Flash support to view animations and films that supports it
• Requires a more better camera and a camcorder with better quality
• Needs a unified e-mail inbox to get all the messages from different mail accounts
• There should be an inbuilt voice dialing and voice memos recorder other than the third party applications.

Design:

The Apple iPhone is the first one of the new generation of iPhones. IPhone has a very innovative design. The sleek Touch-Screen user interface is simply stunning. The 3.5″ display is brilliant and Apple has confidently designed this product with not a single button, completely trusting its phone’s touch sensitivity. Though this Apple iPhone 1st Generation is not the first phone that relies fully over the touch technology, this is the one that was launched with so much of attention and expectation. Anybody who sees you with the phone is sure of envying it. The phone comes with its dimensions as, (HxWxD) 115×16x12mm, but it would feel much smaller once you hold it, and you would feel it solid as it weighs 135 grams. The display is not plastic as you must be expecting, rather it is glass. But as with any other touch screen, this too attracts its share of smudges but you would not really care about this on seeing the beauty of its interface.

While the 3.5 inch display takes the complete advantage of the size of the phone, the 480×320 pixels resolution which produces sharp graphics and fluid movements in brilliant colours.

The left spine of the iPhone sports the volume rocker and a nifty ringer mute switch. The bottom has the jack for syncing dock and charger wire and you would also find the pair of speakers.

The interface and its working:

And here is a just how the touch screen of Apple iPhone 1G interface works. The icons appear huge on the touch-sensitive screen which again is enormous. The icons such as the camera, calendar and settings sit at the upper half of the display while the phone menu, the mail folder, safari browser and the ipod player sits in the bottom of the display. The phone icon on the screen takes you to the address book and by just tapping over the name you can make a call to that person. The photo icon makes your photo album glide over your iPhone. The fluid animation makes the task of navigation extremely simple and you can zip between them quickly. The instant responses that you get with your simple touches and the effects produced are a treat to your eyes. This might sound contrary to the reputation that the smart phones are having but sill this performance factor of the iPhone is certainly appreciable.

This Black Apple iPhone sports just one hardware menu that is present just below the display which takes you to the home screen, no matter which application you are using. This is a real handy one as you can avoid a numerous number of taps in case you are buried in some secondary menu. The iPhone does have a multi-function button on the top of its display which can be used to control the calls and phone answer. Pressing it once when there is an incoming call, silences the ringer and a double click sends the call to voice mail.

The multi-touch technology:

The phone is having a remarkable multi-touch technology. There are a lot of ways by which you can manipulate the content on the screen. The text in a message can be magnified by just pressing and holding over the selected area and without lifting your finger, you can magnify the other texts in the message. By pinching your fingers apart, you get the zoom-in effect and by just doing the opposite action, you can get the zoom-out effect. By swiping your finger left to right across a message, guess what happens? The delete option appears. Isn’t that so innovative? When you are accessing a webpage, you can navigate by just sliding your fingers and zoom-in with a double tap.

The sensors:

The motion sensor of this 8gb first generation iPhone automatically adjusts the display orientation when the phone is being flipped while using the music player or browsing. The iPhone also supports the proximity sensor which turns off the display when the phone is lifted towards your ears in order to have a conversation. But one worrying factor is the sleep time of the display which is just 30 seconds which must be unlocked using the on-screen slider. It would have been handy if there were any options to change it.

On-screen keypad and keyboard:

You may take some time to get used to the on-screen keypad. The on-screen keyboard too does a good job as tapping of messages was really quick. The software recognised the words ahead of time and was accurate most of the times. The keyboard is displayed only when the phone is held vertically. This makes you type comfortably in one hand and also cuts down your typing speed. Though it is possible to use your two hands, it might look too crowded and you might just feel uneasy after a while. The punctuations being live on the secondary keyboard are just annoying.

Tedious scrolls:

The process of scrolling was a little tedious too. Moving your finger in the up and down direction might just not help you with your scrolling. But, you do have another option, the alphabets are displayed on the right side of the screen and on choosing the starting alphabet of the album or contact that you require, you will be taken directly to that list.

The Phone Book of iPhone First Generation:

Each contact in the iPhone can hold up to eight phone numbers, email address, street addresses, occupation and department, nickname, birthday and notes. And that’s not all as you can assign them photo for caller ID and set any one of the available 25 polyphonic ring tones. Though you can not save callers to groups, you can always store your frequently accessed numbers in the favorites menu for easy access. The iPhone does lack the voice dialing facility. Only the mp3 tracks can be assigned to the ringtones in case they were the ones downloaded from iTunes.

The ipod in iPhone:

Coming to the ipod factor of the iPhone, if you have decided to get the iPhone, then its time for you to dispose the MP3 or MP4 or whatever player you own. IPhone acts as a great iPod with its 8GB built-in memory and a large screen. Listening and watching video songs is a great experience in the big screen as with any other Apple iPods. The iPhone also allows you to download songs from Apple’s fantasy iTunes. Unlike any other ipod of apple, the iPhone does not allow you to manually manage the transfer of audio and video content. With the 8GB memory, you can store up to 2000 songs. The integrated speaker is a real bonus. The sound quality of the iPhone is just similar to that of the ipod 5G. All these features in a phone are great! Are they not? Still do you have the idea of keeping your MP3 player in hand?

The call quality can be said to be as good but was not very dependable. The voices sound natural but the volume was too low most of the times. The speaker phone also suffered from volume issues. The automated calling system works remarkably at quiet rooms.

The iPhone has an integrated YouTube player which can be accessed straight from the main menu via a coloured button.

The web browser and Wi-Fi:

This Apple iPhone 1st generation 8GB Black supports the Safari web browser which is one of the best mobile web implementations that we have come across. It gives you completely satisfying experience to see the real web pages on the screen to this size. The browser just took 5 to 10 seconds to load pages and obviously the pages with heavy graphics consumed more time. The Google map feature is simply fabulous on the iPhone. The Google search is the default search engine of the phone though; yahoo search can also be used. This miracle device also has the support for the Built-in Wi-Fi. The support for Wi-Fi is the most welcome as this feature is absent in most of the smart phones.

Disappointing Camera:

The camera does disappoint you as it is of just 2 megapixels lacking autofocus and most disappointingly, even lacking the flash. This is simply unacceptable as the other top selling phones in the market such as the Nokia N95, Sony Ericsson K850i and Samsung G600, all come with 5 mega pixels along with auto focus and flash.

Connectivity:

The iPhone lets you down again when it comes to connectivity. The Apple iPhone is the only smart phone in the current market that lacks 3G. It is so puzzling that a phone that lays so much emphasis on the browsing and the music downloading facility lacks the 3G. Lack of 3G means, you can download only at 2G speeds. But yes, there is a way for you to attain higher data speeds. That is by being in an EDGE enabled area of the O2 or even being in a Wi-Fi hotspot. Whatever it may be, you would surely miss the 3G. Bluetooth2.0 is available with some serious limitations like no support for file sharing and stereo Bluetooth headsets. But this version of Bluetooth does deliver a faster transmission and longer range.

Messaging features:

Text messaging and mailing is possible with the iPhone. A text message thread is displayed as one long conversation which allows you to choose the message that you want to replay to. If you had switched to some other functionality in middle of your messaging, you can always return to the message that was left off. Surprisingly, iPhone does not support MMS. It is understandable that the photos can be sent via mail, but what if the user needs to share his photos with another mobile phone user? This does not sound to be user-friendly.

The iPhone’s mail menu has integrated support for the mailing services such as, yahoo, Gmail, AOL and Mac accounts and you can also set the phone to receive messages form the other IMAP4 and POP3 systems.
The visual voice mail feature of the iPhone works similar to that of a text message folder, where the caller name or number and time is being displayed. The message can be listened to instantly by pressing over it sans the need to call your voice mail initially.

The JPEG, word, excel and PDF documents can be viewed and read but you can not edit them.
Some of the other miscellaneous features that are available with the iPhone are the alarm clock, calculator, timer, stop watch, world clock and a notepad. The vibrate mode is available but it is too light to even feel.

Battery and OS:

With the huge screen a lot of gadgets to fiddle with, your battery gets eaten up soon. The claimed battery life is 8hours of talk time, 24hours of music and 7hours of video playback and 6hours on internet usage with a standby period of just over 10days. The battery in the iPhone is not user replaceable. This is bad as, Apple has estimated that the battery will last for 300 to 400 charges which means less than 2 years. Then again you will have to send it to Apple to replace them for you.

This iPhone runs in the Apple’s OS X operating system.

Verdict:

One of the most worrying facts of the iPhone is its cost. The iPhone is confined only to O2 with an expensive 18 month contract. You get trapped with O2 and the trap just does not end with the 18 months. Yes, as you realize, this makes iPhone the costliest mobile to have compared to the other mobiles on the mainstream market.

iPhone is such an amazing device that once you have used this device, you will find it really hard to use a normal phone again and would feel it like a cheap device. But from the above review, you may have understood that it is not a phone for everybody especially for those who are on a budget, rather you can opt for the other phones on the market that are equally good with the features just lacking the spectacular user interface that iPhone has. If you do not mind about the cost and love its looks, then iPhone is the one that you are looking for.

Apple iPhone First Generation - Technical Specifications, Features