iPhone 4 Adventures

Everything I’m going to say about the iPhone 4 is something you’ve heard before, but I guess I’m going to say it anyway. I haven’t bothered taking actual photos of the phone because 1) I suck at taking “good” photos, and 2) you can see gorgeous photos of the new phone everywhere. So, above are some sample untouched photos I took with the phone.

Getting the phone

I never wanted to wait in line. I tried pre-ordering from the online store for hours and the iPhone Apple Store app for hours and hours. When it became clear I might never get to pre-order, I decided to make a reservation at my local Apple Store, which happened to be the Fifth Avenue Apple Store. Alas, I never was able to pre-order, so off to the huge Cube I went.

I dragged my good friend Justin to the store around 4 am. There were of course two lines, and the reserved line had at least 100 people on it already. An employee said that at that time the regular line was already one and a half avenue blocks long.

The time passed quickly thanks my trusty iPad. We sat and read the reports of all the others on twitter who were also waiting on lines all over the world. Over the next couple of hours both lines got longer and longer. There were plenty of video cameras. We sat and waited until around 6 am, when Apple Store employees started sifting through our line to confirm our reservations. Unfortunately Justin did not have a reservation (he was just super nice and keeping me company), and was asked to leave around 6:30 am. As we got closer to 7 am, the crowd got more lively and all sorts of free stuff was being given out, bagels, cupcakes, t-shirts, etc.

Right before 7 am, a ton of Apple Store employees appeared from Cube and began clapping. Lots and lots of clapping. There was a countdown, and finally, they started to let people in!

I was in the second wave of reserved line-waiters to be let in. There were plenty of very peppy Apple Store employees, along with many video and photographers inside the store. A super nice Apple employee grabbed a few Bumper Cases for those of us waiting to buy with our phones so we didn’t have to (I really don’t think we could) get off the line to grab them. It looked to me like they only had black Bumper Cases.

Finally I was called over, and another very nice Apple Store guy confirmed the reservation for my phone. I chose to let the him activate my phone in-store hoping to avoid any possible issues activating my phone later in iTunes at home. Activation took about five minutes. He seemed to think turning off all cellular data would speed up activation, so if you’re having issues waiting for AT&T to push your phone through it could be worth trying.

All told, I left the Fifth Avenue Apple Store with my iPhone 4 before 7:30 am. I texted and made calls on it with no problem as soon as I left the store. I put in my mobileme account on my way home, and I had all my contacts/bookmarks/etc synced up before I got home.

While getting up at 3 am sucked, I’m happy I did it. If I had gone to the store at 7 am, who knows how long I would have had to wait on line. Also, since it was still dark out, it was warm, but certainly a livable temperature. I am very happy I didn’t have to stand there all day.

Antenna & Cell Service In General

Since the Apple Store guy offered to put the Bumper Case on my iPhone for me, I’ve had the bumper on for almost the entire (very short) time I’ve had the phone.

The whole don’t-hold-it-in-your-left-hand thing did happen with my phone in my apartment today when I tested it without the Bumper case this morning. However, it didn’t happen when I tested it without the Bumper case briefly yesterday. I have a feeling it has a lot to do with where you are and how the AT&T service is there in general. Something may also be up with how the phone is reporting bars in general, they may be overly sensitive.

I have a feeling Apple will have more to say about it. I’m guessing I’m going to end up being reimbursed for the Bumper case I bought. I also think we’re going to see an update that makes the bars less sensitive.

The real test will be seeing how it works around the city, which I’ll be doing a bunch this weekend. I’m cautiously optimistic.

Build

Obviously this is a great looking phone. Coming from a 3GS, for me, it feels fragile, even though I know its not supposed to be. I pre-ordered an Invisible Shield that arrived a couple of days before I got the iPhone, so I put that on last night before my first night on the town with the phone.

Display

The display is simply stunning. Everything you’ve heard about it is true. Text is incredibly clear and precise. Updated apps look beautiful. Old apps just look awful. Really awful. Its impossible to describe just how gorgeous it is. I think you get the point.

Photography

I have notoriously poor photo-taking abilities. You can see some sample untouched photos at the top of the post.

Etcetera

I already miss having a jailbroken phone, mostly for SBSettings and of course Winterboard. I’ll probably jailbreak as soon as its available.

I like iOS4’s folders much more than I thought I would. They are very very useful. I’m still trying to work out the best organization and still just trying to get used to opening them quickly. I’m sure my hands will get used to it very quickly.

Holy crap, fast-app-switching/multitasking is fantastic. Everything is so smooth and instant. It is such a pleasure to use.

My iPad feels like its sorely missing out. I can handle not having a retina display. But I do miss folders and fast-app-switching. Even with a jailbroken iPad that uses backgrounding and iPhone ProSwitcher, its just not the same.

So, there you have it. My brief thoughts on the new iPhone 4, that are just like everyone else’s. Wee!