Apple iPhone 4GB Cell Phone

Great concept, missed the ball on features

By gfunkymonkey  Jul 30, 2007 | 31 out of 35 found this Apple iPhone 4GB review helpful

Pros: sleek design, huge screen, thin, easy to use, great concept as far as phone, great solution for ipod and phone, great camera

Cons: crashs ALOT, battery life, doesnt support flash, no video camera, no picture messaging, has bluetooth but doesnt allow free object exchange,

So you're ready to spend 500 - 600$ on a phone? Well think twice. I'll start with the pro's so as not to be completely negative. The thin design, coupled with the huge screen and lack of buttons (save the home button) make thi...s an elegant solution for those who wish to have an iPod as well as a phone. The screen is made of glass, enhancing its scratch resistance. The screen itself is also beautiful, rich with color and detail. The interface is very user friendly, even the keyboard after getting used to it. Google maps is awesome, providing satellite image, maps, and navigation (which is very user friendly and effective). The phone is easy to use, contacts easy to access and visual voicemail unprecedented thus far. The iPod is also very elegant in design. Web access is usable, but with no flash support, very limited. Thew camera is a joy to use and the ability to zoom in and crop pictures is welcomed. Ok, now on to the bad stuff. Bluetooth is a technology prevalent in many devices now, even this. Sadly, Apple has neglected to include a profile for computers; which means your computer will see the phone, but the phone will not see the computer - forcing you to use iTunes for every kind of object exchange. If you want to take your pictures off the phone, be prepared to spend some time emailing every single one to yourself. Battery life is pretty bad, lasting a day if that. With the sealed case, a new battery is not easily obtained - you must send the phone in to Apple and pay a fee. The web does not support flash - and as we all know, very many sites use this technology. It crashes - ALOT! Theres nothing more frustrating than having your application fail while in the middle of something. No picture messaging? C'mon, thats one of the most widely used forms of communication these days - you must email the picture, and when you receive a picture message, you get a code and have to goto a website to view it! No video camera - not that much of a big deal, but almost excepted at a price of $500. After owning this phone for about a week, I could not wait to return it. I had been waiting since January for this to come out, finally purchased it, and was sadly disappointed. There are many bugs that need to be worked out, which I'm sure when they are this phone will be fabulous. All in all, the phone design is wonderfuly executed, the graphics and interface are unrivaled by anything available. BUT, the little things DO count, picture messaging, video camera, flash support, bluetooth capability, better battery life and, of course, stability. Wait for the updated version, for if you buy this now, and are also disappointed, Apple will gladly take back the phone, but keep 10% as a restocking fee, and theres no getting around that (trust me, I tried). On the other hand, If you need an iPod, phone, and email device, and dont use picture messaging, a video camera, or sites that use flash, this phone is a useful solution. Read more Less