iPhone 4 and review about...

Review about this iPhone
iPhone 4 Black 16GB (Verizon) (Wireless Phone Accessory)
I picked up the Verizon iPhone 4 on its release date and am very pleased with its performance so far. Previously, I used a Droid Incredible, which was also a great phone.

To preface this review, I am a light to moderate user that mostly uses the device for making phone calls, texting, checking email, and occasionally using internet and maps. I'm not the type to sit around for hours playing games on my phone, nor have I ever streamed any video on my phone. I have one "official" app on my iPhone that is related to the camera, and I don't use it to listen to music; I have a separate iPod for that (to save my phone's battery).

The Verizon iPhone works great as a phone and has the best call quality in a smartphone that I have ever used. This is in comparison to my previous Droid Incredible, a Blackberry Curve prior to that, and my friend's Motorola Droid. The earpiece volume is crisp and sufficiently loud, making the other person easy to hear. The microphone works well too based on what people I call tell me. The visual voicemail system is phenomenal- it's all managed by the phone itself instead of through Verizon, so when a person gets your voicemail message, all they hear is your personalized recording without the "at the tone, please record your message. When you are finished recording..." garbage.

Texting and email work nicely. The touch keyboard feels more natural than most other touch screens I've used on other mobile operating systems. One strange thing about texts is that the phone will make a "whoooop" noise everytime you send a text. There's no way to turn this sound off by itself without putting the entire phone in silent mode. Not a big deal for me, but I can see how this would really annoy some people.

Based on my personal experience and all the reviews floating around online, the camera is without question the highest quality camera you will find on any phone today because of an ideal blend of lens quality, the type of sensor, and a modest megapixel count. Higher megapixels do not correlate with higher quality images; although there are many other phones out there in the 8+ megapixel range, none match the overall image quality of the iPhone. The 8 MP camera on my Droid Incredible doesn't even come close.

One thing I really miss from the Android OS is Google Navigation. No turn-by-turn voice guided navigation software comes with the iPhone. Apps are available that provide this feature, but they are inferior to Google's program.

Battery life is excellent for this type of phone. Most days with light to moderate use from 7 AM to midnight, I end the day with around 80% battery remaining. Obviously, if you're a power user, it's gonna use more juice. I'm particularly impressed with how little battery is used when the phone is on standby. Battery life was my biggest gripe about Android (HTC phones tend to be notoriously bad at battery conservation), and it is a huge relief to not have to carry around a spare battery anymore.

If you're considering converting to Apple from an Android phone, there are a few areas of frustration. The notification system on the iPhone is archaic and unnecessarily intrusive. Texts will pop up on the screen regardless of whatever you're doing, requiring you to exit whatever you're in the middle of to reply. Android's notification system is excellent, and I am hoping this issue will be addressed in a later version of iOS. Also, there is very little flexibility as far as how the phone is personalized to your tastes. Not happy with the 6 text tones that Apple gives you? Too bad- you're stuck. There's no easy way to add more text tones. A third issue- when using Safari mobile, there is no way to disable mobile view. Sites like yahoo and banking sites will automatically funnel you to the mobile (crippled) version of their websites. In Android, all you do is check a box to disable mobile view. No such luck with iOS.

Fortunately, there is a way around all of the above restrictions, provided you're a moderately intelligent person with a basic knowledge of computers. This and any iPhone can be easily modified to fix all the problems I mentioned- just search online for instructions.

The back glass plate seems to be fairly prone to collecting light scratches. I had my last phone for 10 months with no case and no screen protector the entire time, and it never got a single scratch. Since noticing the tiny scratches on the back of my iPhone, I bought a minimalistic case for it, and it's been fine since then. Still no scratches on the front glass in 5 weeks of use so far, so I have no plans to ever use a screen protector.

One last thing I'll mention: there is not a single piece of Verizon bloatware on this phone, unlike every other smartphone I've owned that came installed with all the crap applications loaded on by the carrier... Read more
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Genuine Iphone- Can't beat it!!, May 2, 2011
By
Sockster (New York, NY, US) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: iPhone 4 Black 16GB (Verizon) (Wireless Phone Accessory)
I bought this Iphone as a stop gap so I could have an Iphone 4 from Verizon without having to re up my contract- which I would do when the new Iphone 5 comes out. Bought it from this Amazon third party seller. It came two days after I ordered it. It is perfect! New and works like a dream. So if you don't want to spend full retail on this phone, and don't want to re-up your Verizon contract, this is the ONLY way to go!! Excellent!!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Good purchase...totally worth it., July 21, 2011
By
Steve Carne (Wyoming, USA) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: iPhone 4 Black 16GB (Verizon) (Wireless Phone Accessory)
I LOVE this iPhone! I had to get a new phone when my old one crapped out, so I thought, "Why not get the most hyped up phone on the market?" Now I know WHY it's so hyped up...it's definitely the coolest phone I've seen! When I received it, it had only been used for 6 hours. It was in pristine condition and had a clean ESN. The only bad thing I have to say about the iPhone is that if you're using it frequently during the day, it'll only last about 24 hours, so I have to charge it every night. But that's not really a problem for me because I've always done that. I just plug it in right before I go to bed. Apps are easy to download, ringtones are clearer and crisper than on any other phone I've had, and it's true what they say: If you have a need for it, there's an app for that! Apps are also very easy to erase if you don't like them. It's also very nice that I can turn my phone sideways when sending a text and the keypad gets a little bigger (I have big fingers), so I don't mess up my typing as much. It didn't come with an instruction manual per se, just a little pamphlet thing that told me about a few things that it does. It was fun to figure the phone out as I used it. I haven't had ANY problems with it (I've had it for a little over two months) and I'm so glad I purchased this phone! Easily the best $475 I've ever spent!