Contemplating that some lucky early adopters got their new phones these days and also a large flood of preorders is scheduled to arrive tomorrow, it is no surprise that the embargo has fallen along with the first enthusiastic reviews of the new iPhone 4 have been posted. The list and links below:
David Pogue within the New York Times
“Now, the iPhone is no longer the undisputed king of app phones. In particular, the technically inclined may possibly find greater flexibility and decision among its Android rivals, like the HTC Incredible and Evo. They’re more complicated, and their app store not as very good, but they are loaded with droolworthy functions like turn-by-turn GPS guidelines, speech recognition that saves you typing, removable batteries and also a choice of cell networks.
If what you care about, nevertheless, is size and shape, beauty and battery life, polish and pleasure, then the iPhone four is calling your name.”
Josh Topolsky for Engadget
“We’re not going to beat around the bush — in our approximation, the iPhone 4 is the greatest smartphone on the marketplace perfect now. The combination of gorgeous new hardware, that awesome display, upgraded cameras, and key improvements to the operating system make this a really formidable package.
Yes, there are still pain points that we would like to see Apple fix, and yes, you can find some amazing alternatives towards the iPhone four out there. But when it comes towards total package — fit and finish in both software and hardware, performance, app selection, and all with the little details that make a device like this what it really is — we believe it is the cream in the current crop.”
Walt Mossberg for the Wall Street Journal
“I’ve been testing the iPhone 4 for more than a week. In both hardware and software package, it is a key leap over its already-excellent predecessor, the iPhone 3GS.
It has some downsides and limitations — most essential, the overwhelmed AT&T network inside U.S., which, in my tests, the new phone handled sometimes better and, unfortunately, sometimes worse than its predecessor. I’ll get into that below. But, overall, Apple (AAPL) has delivered a big, well-designed update that, in my view, keeps it inside lead inside smartphone wars.”
Xeni Jardin for Boing Boing
“The fourth incarnation of Apple’s iPhone is an incrementally improved, familiar device — not a new kind of device, as was the case with the recent introduction of iPad. Yes, the notable characteristics with iPhone four — both the device and the iOS4, which came out yesterday in advance with the iPhone itself — are mostly tweaks. But what tweaks they are: Apple’s focus on improvement is as much key for the quality of its products as innovation. But there’s one flaw it can’t completely eliminate: the unreliable quality of calls placed over AT&T, which remains the iPhone’s only U.S. carrier. … Would I buy it? Yes.”
Ed Baig in USA Today
“The new iPhone 4 I’ve been testing for about a week and also a half — along with the main refresh with the mobile operating system at the core of recent models — demonstrates once again why Apple’s handset may be the one to beat, even as it faces fierce competition from phones based on Google’s Android platform, among others.
…As with previous iPhones, the latest model breaks new ground. FaceTime video calling on the iPhone 4 is one of those cool “seeing is believing” characteristics, and it arrives on top of several across-the-board enhancements. And iOS 4 is really a mostly terrific software upgrade.
Cutting through the hype, Apple has given longtime diehards, and first-time iPhone owners, plenty to cheer about.”