iPhone 4 First Impressions

Name: iPhone 4
Brand: iPhone
Rating: 4.2 (1 reviews)

Abe Olandres July 7, 2010 · 2 min read

Listen to article

vivo Y31d pre-order now available in the Philippines DJI Osmo Pocket 4P gets an early preview ASUS Chromebook CM14 announced ASUS ROG unveils Strix OLED XG34WCDMS, Strix XG129C monitors BPI partners with Robinsons Retail for barcode cash deposits in stores

I got to check out the iPhone 4 yesterday and, once again, today with Art (@artsamaniego) and we placed it side by side the Samsung Galaxy S and the HTC Desire — then comparing the Retina Display, AMOLED and Super AMOLED display of the three.

First, here are some of my first impressions of the new iPhone 4.

The device feels heavy for its size — this is due to the metal and glass construction of the iPhone 4 in a compact design. The design looks more industrial, leaving a hard, cold impression. It definitely doesn’t have the same look as the previous 3 generations of the iPhone.

The iPhone 4 is a smudge-magnet — not only in the front panel but the back panel as well. The glass plates in front and in the back attracts fingerprints like there’s no tomorrow (a nice and simple bumper case with iShield might solve that though, including the signal issue).

The camera is impressive — takes pictures really fast with good quality images. We couldn’t test FaceTime but was able to try switching the camera view from the back to the front with ease. I’m thinking the ladies will use this feature as a mirror.

The device feels way more snappy than the older iPhone 3G I used to have — definitely has the same performance as my iPad.

We compared the display of the iPhone 4, HTC Desire and Samsung Galaxy S — the Desire is bright and crisp, the Galaxy S is brighter but the iPhone 4 definitely has better resolution and a more refined display.

Here’s a 1-minute clip I took of Art’s iPhone 4 (he went to great lengths to get this unit and Manila Bulletin spent over 80k just to have first unit shipped to the Philippines).

Asked when the iPhone 4 will be released in the Philippines, Globe representatives replied that they are still confirming but would not say if it’s September or October.

React to this article:

iphone 4 iphone 4 philippines

Abe Olandres

Editor-in-chief

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

7,991 Articles

View all posts by Abe Olandres →

157 Comments

iphone 4 case · 16 years ago

from what i know the recent software update fix will not fix the reception issue. even thought the customer service at apple says that it does, apparently you need to bring it back to apple to get it fixed. the second production of this units no longer have these issues though.

vance · 16 years ago

Offtopic: a review for htc evo.
http://gizmodo.com/5554198/htc-evo-4g-review-a-war-machine

mr. bogus · 16 years ago

nice iphone 4 pero confirmed naman ang reception problem nito pag tinakpan mo yung butas sa bottom left side nung iphone 4 sensitive sa balat ng tao yung butas kung saan kumukuha ng signal ang iphone 4…. may solution yung mga nakabili na, yun ay bumili ng accesory na casing protector o rubber bumper…

for me nothing new, parang iphone 3gs na may facetime feature….

type nyo sa youtube: iphone4 signal problems

WINNER · 16 years ago

iPhone haters = LOSERS

cliffrosario · 16 years ago

argghh… So it’s the engineering design… hmm.. let’s see how Apple can get this one fixed..

carlo · 16 years ago

http://gizmodo.com/5580587/applecare-the-iphone-4-update-wont-solve-the-antenna-problem

carlo · 16 years ago

Sadly the firmware update that apple is pushing wont fix the reception issues, it will just change the way the signal bars are reported, the signal loss problem is inherent in the hardware design, that’s why buying those apple bumpers solves the issue, read it somewhere in engadget i think.

cliffrosario · 16 years ago

really.. HTC EVO has issues.. hmm.. can you refer me to that blog where you read it.. just curious..

About iPhone 4’s reception issue.. I’ve heard that Apple’s pushing os update to fix the bug..

Samsung Galaxy S’ UI Touchwiz is nowhere close HTC’s Sense UI.. pero I’ve read blogs about how you can get Sense with a Samsung phone.. though you might Brick your phone along the process..

Hope Samsung listens to all the feedbacks provided and improve their UI.. with all the muscle/hardware under the hood of Galaxy S.. it’s a shame if we can’t exercise this workhorse of a phone..

Vance · 16 years ago

HTC EVO is a failure from what I heard. Batt life sucks and marami pang ibang issues. It might not be released in here since it is exclusively for sprint! sila lang may 4G network so far!

@effren, wala akong exact source, pero sabi nila straight from apple yun kaya mura..

Samsung Galaxy S seems to be good..

Nakakahinayang lang ang Iphone 4, maraming issues na hindi daw kaya iresolve ng SW updates!

android_fanboi · 16 years ago

iphone haters sucks!

Only idiot people buying iphone 4 who can do just video calls over wifi with same iphone 4 too. And what, it has a good screen display? Your buying just because of that? Buy 32â€² TV!

carlo · 16 years ago

I agree with cliffrosario, to each his own. If you hate the iphone, stay out of iphone posts. I for one would like to buy this phone had it been cheaper than my desire :) android market is still years away from catching up with the app store. Any news on the signal problems? And isnt the screen supposed to be oleophobic or something? How come its a fingerprint magnet

Cliff Rosario · 16 years ago

@username : We iPhone lovers do understand your sentiment..it’s practically any individual’s “choice” on how to burn your own money so your name calling is a bit absurd.. And please.. stay out of the iPhone topics if you do hate the item..

username · 16 years ago

Only idiot people buying iphone 4 who can do just video calls over wifi with same iphone 4 too. And what, it has a good screen display? Your buying just because of that? Buy 32′ TV!

Cartman · 16 years ago

Kung wala namang reception problems yung iPhone 4, then I’ll just go for it. Pero if madalas magkaroon ng reception problems, then I’ll go for the Samsung Galaxy S. Both looks super nice though.

Please make a comparison review for the 3 phones. Thanks! :D

android_fanboi · 16 years ago

4yrs ago…

Every once in a while a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything,” he told his audience yesterday. “It’s very fortunate if you can work on just one of these in your career. The iPod changed everything in 2001. And we’re going to do it again with the iPhone in 2007.
– Steve Jobs

and now in 2010 we have the Android Phones -Thank you iPhone whehehe :D

Pink · 16 years ago

Yugger! you should’ve reviewed the white one =P I looove it!!!

Kim Roa Endaya · 16 years ago

Cliff Rosario · 16 years ago

hmm.. Abe favors Iphone 4 and I too but… Samsung Galaxy S seems to be a good deal.. since Android’s playing Catch up with iOS 4 when it comes to Apps Store.. But I also would like to say that HTC EVO would’ve been a nice gadget too if they were to release a version in our market..

iPhone app · 16 years ago

Great phone

Kim Roa Endaya · 16 years ago

and also @abeolandres you should have shown the multitasking feature of the iOS4 using the iPhone 4…just wanna see how snappier is it than my 3gs… :)

Kim Roa Endaya · 16 years ago

iPhone 4! Yay! My 3GS is kinda jealous again…:))

@abeolandres does that iPhone experience the said signal reception issues?

and how do you exactly cut a regular sim to a microsim? just curious…:)

Efren Sy · 16 years ago

@Vance – Can you share the specific location of the black market with which they are selling iPhone 4 with those said prices you mention.
I hope this is credible.

Vance · 16 years ago

black market sell iphone 4 15K 16Gb and 18K for 32Gb hehe..

jillsingian · 16 years ago

@abeolandres hi sir. Did you experience the reception prob with the iPhone 4?

abeolandres · 16 years ago

@jillsingian actually, nope.

vance · 16 years ago

any reception issues and screen problems like what was already confirmed by Apple themselves? hehe. Oh, another thing, FW or SW update will not fix said issues..

Grey Market is selling one for P82K open lined. 16GB version…

revx · 16 years ago

you’re holding it wrong :D

Efren Sy · 16 years ago

Authentic na talaga yan!
Yes!
:)

MyMaria · 16 years ago

WOW! *drools*

Apollo · 16 years ago

Samsung wave is the best. Same spec but at a lower value. Worth every penny!!!

the yawner · 16 years ago

What I like about Apple’s iPhone series is that it ups the ante with the competition. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if another technology comes up that’s on par with Retina display but still has the advantages of a Super AMOLED screen. On an Android phone of course. :D

Mary · 16 years ago

Nice phone

ipad case · 16 years ago

That looks soooo good , but i think i’ll wait a bit for the price to drop , i’m very cheap this way

MIKE · 16 years ago

all i want is 4″ super amoled, 12 mega pixel wl xenon flash smartphone

Teknisyan · 16 years ago

nice… but I think that white iphone4 has a better aesthetic than the black one. :)

For those who have not read the reception issue on iphone 4, you can visit my “worthless” blog: :) Apparently some smart dude used the wrong formula in calculating the signal strength of the phone.

http://www.teknisyan.net/2010/07/root-of-iphone-4-reception-issue.html

Nico · 16 years ago

Was watching the video you took and noticed that even though you were holding the black bands on the antenna, the signal was not going down. Is this the real case? Did it experience any signal loss?

Mon Makuto · 16 years ago

Comment kayo ng comment, wala man kaung pambili, mga pulubi.

John Ray Cabrera · 16 years ago

can you also do a comparison between the three? iPhone 4, Samsung Galaxy S, and HTC Desire?

Kraven · 16 years ago

Greenhills sells it @ 40k to 45k..according to one vendor this must have been smuggled before it gets to the US. They also sell Ipad at 30k…so far it’s better than my 3gs…but I prefer to update to os4 than to purchase iPhon
e 4…