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iPhone 4 review

By Clare Hopping, 1 Jul 2010

Rating:

Price as reviewed:£424.68 ex. VAT (16GB)
Best price: £4.99

The iPhone 4 is here – but is it worth the hefty price it’s going to cost you?

In the timeline of business devices, the iPhone was a strange one to shoot up to the top of the popularity tables, because it was designed as primarily a multimedia, consumer device.

However, that all changed when businesses realised the potential of its seamless Exchange compatibility and range of apps available that make working on the move a breeze.

Now we’re onto the fourth generation of Apple smartphones.

We liked the device when we first carried out an iPhone 4 review, thought that was just a brief first look.

Thankfully, after spending some more quality time with the handset, we're happy to say that the iPhone 4 is the best yet. This is mostly down to iPhone OS 4.0, which is of course available on the iPhone 3GS and 3G (albeit without multitasking and home screen wallpapers).

The actual build and design is a nice change. Gone are the smooth curves, and in comes harsh edges, a glass rear and glass screen.

The antenna is now positioned around the outside of the iPhone 4, and this causes problems.

Sure, obtaining reception on an iPhone has never been the most reliable operation and in an attempt to rectify this, Apple planted the antenna in the edging of the iPhone. When the antenna (or bottom left hand side, to be more precise), comes in contact with a hand, it intercepts the radio signal, thus meaning you lose signal on the iPhone.

We did find that in certain areas, this had worse effects than other for making phone calls and getting online, although most of these areas were places the signal on our 3GS dropped out too.

There are two solutions to this issue: either hold the iPhone as Apple has instructed, or purchase a Bumper for the princely sum of £25. Not only does it seem particularly steep for a strip of plasticky rubber, but it also ruins the looks of the smooth, glossy iPhone.

There are rumours that the fault is a firmware bug rather than a hardware fault, and if this is the case, an update should iron out any issues. If it’s a hardware issue, there’s little else to do but to purchase a Bumper.