In what looks to be the most hyped phone release of the year, Apple rolled out its highly anticipated iPhone 4 on Thursday in the US, UK, Japan, France and Germany. The world snuck an early glimpse of the phone when a drunk patron at a bar in San Francisco stumbled across a prototype in March after it was left by the now-infamous apple software engineer Gray Powell. But it has finally hit the shelves, and it's now up to critics and consumers alike to see if Apple can regain the smartphone throne.
"This changes everything. Again." is the tagline adopted by Apple for the launch.
As mentioned in last week's column, HTC drew at least level with the iPhone 3GS with the recent release of its Desire model, so the pressure is on Apple to go ahead of the pack, "again".
But could any new phone possibly meet such massive expectations? Google's Nexus One fell victim to the expectation trap, and very little has been heard of it since its release.
Let's see if the iPhone 4 can deliver.
DESIGN
As prophesied by the leaked prototype, the iPhone 4 is more rectangular and robotic than its 3G and 3GS predecessors in a departure by Apple from its trademark organic egg-shell curves.
It is 25% thinner, and at an impressive 9.3mm it's the thinnest smartphone on the market.
The back plate is now flat, and made of aluminosilicate glass, as is the front, and a sleek aluminium edge that houses metallic buttons borders the unit, doubling as an antenna for communications.
Even with the high design expectations, which all Apple product releases generate, the overall package is a winner.
HARDWARE
The screen, which has been bumped up to a 960x640 resolution, is genuinely impressive, housing what Apple calls its "Retina" display, that sees an increase in pixel count from 163 to 326 pixels per inch.
Video calling is now possible with the inclusion of a second front-facing lens. This, of course, can only happen with friends who possess the same technology, but it might catch on.
The camera has been bumped up to five megapixels (from three) and the lens is noticeably larger, enabling HD video capture, a huge boost that produces impressive results. The camera also features a rear illuminated sensor and a flash (actually two LED flashes), however, the HTC EVO 4G still takes better photos with its eight megapixel lens.
The battery has also increased in size (by 16%) and performance, offering two hours more usage each day, but only seven hours of operation for a phone at that price is still disappointing.
SOFTWARE
The enhanced Apple hardware is given a further lift by the inclusion of the new Apple operating system, iOS 4 (which also runs on 3G and 3Gs iPhones, and 2nd and 3rd generation iPod Touch devices, and is available as a free update through iTunes).
A major criticism that older operating systems have drawn points at the lack of multitasking, and Apple has finally addressed this. Another welcomed update is the unified mailbox that combines mail from multiple accounts in one box, unlike the Android 2.1 platform.
On the Android vs Apple platform battle, sensing danger, Steve jobs recently tweeted: "We have to let go of the notion that for Apple to win, Android has to lose." Is that a rare concession?
PRICE
For AT&T customers in the US, the phone is quite inexpensive, at US$199 for the 16GB unit and $299 for the 32GB. As a rough indication, online individuals in the US are asking $1,000 (32,300 baht) cash for the 16GB model and $1,200 (38,800 baht) cash for the 32GB.
At that price, Apple will need to rely on some of the marketing hype to move units, especially when compared with the BlackBerry Bold 9700 and HTC Desire that retail for about 20,000 baht.
September has been mooted as a likely official launch date for the phone in Thailand, and True Move is already asking customers to register their interest online. Grey imports will no doubt appear soon on shelves at MBK at inflated prices and without guarantees.
VERDICT
Some buyers will go for the great design, brilliant screen and the general coolness factor of any new Apple product.
But others will be put off by the hefty price tag, the phone's short battery life and the disappointing bundled earbuds.
Although it's not perfect, it's the best smartphone on the market. And Apple is back in front, but by much less of a margin than it led the pack by with the release of the 3G phone.
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