From Razr to IPhone 4 - Welcome to the 21st Century!

Recently, I made the move into the 21st century by purchasing an IPhone 4. This is the first smartphone I've ever owned (last 2 phones were Motorola Razrs), and it would be tough to ever go back.

Much has been made of the poor quality of the AT&T network. However, here in Minnesota, the network performs quite well. Call quality has been good, though I have dropped a few calls. This seems to happen in one place on my way home from work, where there's clearly some sort of gap in the network. Since I got the free case from Apple, I haven't dropped as many calls.

The fact that this thing is a PHONE, however, is almost an afterthought. Here are a few of my favorite features:

1. Voice Dialing - hold down the home button, then say "dial John's mobile" and the phone will make the call automatically. It usually does a very good job of recognizing my voice, and works well with my bluetooth earpiece to make for a hands free experience that is pleasant and safe.
2. Display - the Retina display is really impressive. Bright and easy to read even outdoors.
3. Performance - the device is responsive and quick, without the hesitation often seen in other devices (i.e. Pocket PC). Movies on the IPhone 4 are truly amazing - no stuttering at all.
4. IPod software - Having been a dedicated Ipod Touch user, I'm very pleased with the Ipod functionality in the IPhone 4. I love listening to podcasts, and really like the fact that, when listening to my earphones, I can take a call by clicking on the earphone remote, have the call, and when I hang up, the podcast resumes from the same spot.
5. Camera - still photos and 720p High Definition video.
6. Apps - truly amazing. There are now nearly 300,000 apps in the Apple App Store. I'll say more about these in my next post (which will come soon - promise!).

While there are many great things about the IPhone 4, there's one thing that is truly bad: the included earbuds - for a company with the reputation for quality that Apple has, it is inconceivable that they include such TERRIBLE earbuds with their product. I've exchanged several earbuds from Apple because they break almost immediately. Truly CRAPPY products!

Overall, however, my experience with the IPhone 4 has been fantastic. I strongly recommend this product for anyone interested in getting into the smartphone world.

Next time, I'll give information on some of my favorite IPhone applications.