iPhone 4 – overhyped or undervalued?

Kiwi Apple fans will be lining up around the block on Friday as Apple releases the iPhone 4 in New Zealand – or will they?

We’ve probably all heard about the antenna problems which have plagued the reputation of the latest iPhone.

Apple have done a good job of pointing all of their fingers at all of their competitors, and saying it is not a problem unique to Apple.

That could well be true in the right circumstances, but the consensus is that it’s a design flaw, and Apple’s treatment of the situation certainly didn’t help.

No there’s no problem, you’re holding it wrong, “it’s a minor flaw”, “it’s a problem, but not unique to us”, “here are some free covers to fix it”.

Still, it should be said that the antenna problem won’t be so bad, provided that you are willing to abide by one of the three rules:

1. Use the “hot potato grip” using as little skin contact as you can, especially avoiding the iPhone’s trouble spot – it’s a little sensitive there.

2. Get hold of one of the bumper cases promised by Apple (but not yet confirmed in New Zealand) and resign yourself to the futuristic good looks being spoiled.

3. Put some duct tape over the trouble spot. OK – maybe try something a little less ugly, like this thing, or just Macgyver something up yourself – any clear film which insulates against electricity should do the trick – a bit of sticky tape etc.

It’s probably not fair that the iPhone 4 has received such negative publicity for a problem which can be worked around with a 1-cent piece of clear tape.

And speaking of Apple launches, is it just me or has the iPad release lacked the vigorous hype of previous Apple products?

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that quite a few Kiwis have had their hands on the iPad (and the iPhone 4) for some time already, albeit at ridiculously inflated prices.

I hope you enjoyed the few weeks you had on the rest of us, O early-adopting money-spenders.

We have also been relegated to a second-grade product release country, as usual, and that hurts the hype a bit.

I know it’s tricky to do because of demand, but surely it would be more fun for everyone if the product launched in all countries at the same time.

So what do you think the chances are that everyone with a 3G or 3GS or indeed any phone will be thinking about the possibility of getting one this week? And is it worth the upgrade?

Let’s see – you get a higher-resolution screen 960×640 with 326PPI (pixels per inch) – not that I ever had a problem with a 3GS screen, or any screen really.

I can see my text just fine on my laptop, and the screen is only 98PPI. My current phone, an LG KM900, has 311 PPI. So what’s the fuss there?

Facetime is just re-branded video calling which many phones can already do, it only calls other iPhone 4s, and only over WiFi. Boo, hiss.

Gyroscope? Meh. Longer battery life? I’d be shocked if they didn’t. iMovie? I’d rather do it on a desktop or laptop.

No standard USB-type connection – the connector is Apple’s own devil-pin design.

It can’t run flash. Yes, HTML5, I know, but HTML5 is on the way – it’s not quite here yet.

The multitasking is not exactly smiled upon… I’m running out of reasons here.

Oh, I do think the 5 megapixel camera with HD video and a new flash is quite attractive – especially considering the improved, back-lit sensor. Camera phones generally suffer from awful image quality, and the sensor is almost always the root of the problem.

And it does look quite nice. So that’s a couple of reasons, at least.

But I’m just not seeing too many reasons to choose this over the 3GS. There are a few improvements, but they’re not “WOW, LOOK AT THIS!” improvements.

The iPhone 4 is really only a few steps ahead of the 3GS, and this is reflected in their pricing.

With the 16GB iPhone 4 set to sell for 99 outright, the 8GB 3GS remains 9 from the NZ Apple store – just 0 less than the 4.

Not to mention that the price of a 16GB 3GS from Vodafone is 79! That’s actually more than the new version… How does that work, Vodafone?

There are still plenty of iPhones and iPads for sale at old-market prices. I guess vendors are hoping to get their original margins before people catch on.

I don’t think I’ll be getting a 4, but I was hoping the 3GS would drop a bit lower. I know they are both great phones with fantastic features, but I still can’t justify it, as hard as I try.

I want to love you, iPhone 4, but you’re just not the phone I expected you to be.

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Video Rating: 1 / 5

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