THE iPhone4 has arrived and although Apple won't say how many have been sold here, scenes on launch-day rivalled those in the US, where 1.7 million were sold on the first day.
Controversy has raged over how the signal status bars on the iPhone4's screen dropped down when users held it in a sort of gorilla grip at the lower part of the phone.
The iPhone4's antennas are the stainless steel bands that form the phone's frame. So, did the drop in bars mean the phone would drop calls?
Signal strength is subjective; dependent on the network, the topography, traffic on the network and distance to cell. A drop matters, but how much? When I got a review iPhone4 I gripped it just where it might hurt. In the CBD I started with five bars and lost one. At home in the eastern suburbs I started with three bars and dropped to one. But I could still make calls. I repeated the experiment with my iPhone3GS. I started with three bars and, applying the gorilla grip, dropped to two, walked behind my shed and dropped to one. So the 3GS antenna is not as efficient as that on the iPhone4. But, again, I could still make a call.
Putting each phone into a silicon case seemed to fix the problem.
But this phone may change the minds of people who have not so far used an iPhone. The design is beautiful and the finish impeccable: clean, modern, angularly sophisticated, toughened glass front and back, stainless steel on the sides. It makes other phones, including the 3GS look clunky and dated. It feels good in the hand.
One of the show-stopper features of the new phone is FaceTime, which allows iPhone4 users anywhere in the world to connect with one another by video call over Wi-Fi and the internet. I have used it, office to office, and it works fine.
The phone has two cameras. There are two microphones, the one you speak into and a second on top of the phone used to reduce background noise.
The display is beyond question the best by far on any phone. By comparison my 3GS looks almost bleary, though in its day I thought it great.
