iPhone 4 Review: 1 - Hardware Fit & Finish - Page 6

I am using the Bumper, and you're right; the black Griffin USB/Dock cable is much thicker than Apple's white one. I hadn't really noticed before. I was getting the chime, but the cable wasn't locking in securely. Switching the cables out solved the problem.

THX

7 posts in, you're starting well.

The subject is the iPhone.

Contact those accessories producers and see the status on support for the iPhone 4.

Apple was accurate but sneaky in their marketing, just like every other good company is.

The glass is NOT 30x stronger than plastic, but 30x harder. The former refers to breaking the latte refers to scratching.

Ireland loves his iPad, his MacBook Air and his iMac. Ireland wanted an iPhone 4, but according to a poll on MacRumors over 50% of new iPhone 4's have a serious issue where you cannot hold the phone like you would normally. Call me a mad man all you want, but that's a serious, serious issue. Not buying one till I know more. Ireland is the same as he ever was, it's just that when Apple fucks up, which isn't too often, Ireland is not afraid to call them up on it.

Unfortunately though, when Ireland calls them he's labelled a troll and told he's changed.

well i for can show my gem stones to a client
or the new item i wanna buy to my wife
on and on
i never ever got my a/v chat to work <<sad face >>

yes its a novelty
but when 3 .5 million field workers can show real time a broken water main or what ever
this kind of stuff will reach critical mass soon enough

peace

dude

9

While this forum is about all things Apple and the talk of the day is the new iPhone, the subject of this particular thread is fit and finish. There are plenty of threads on every aspect of the new iPhone already open and active. Keeping comments focused makes the experience for all a lot more sane and enjoyable.

It's a balancing act. If they made it stronger they'd have to make it a little softer, so chances are it would scratch more. So they made a choice and you can't blame them. Hopefully next time round they'll be even better.

I've been marveling at the craftsmanship of mine in that fashion since Thursday, even with it inside its Bumper. But after reading your post, I removed the Bumper (briefly) to once again gaze at the device itself. Gorgeous! The styling. The solid build. The weight. It is truly a beautiful device to behold, and hold! Okay, enough of that. Bumper: ON! Hey, look at that! It's still gorgeous!

Daniel's gushing write up in the first part of AppleInsider's iPhone 4 review may have betrayed journalistic integrity by ignoring objectivity, but I fully relate to the sentiment. Thankfully, I'm not a journalist tasked with writing a review.



I too am greatly impressed by this! I wasn't terribly impressed with the design of first iMacs, but Ive's flat panel iMac really caught my attention. Their current product efforts though, have really exceeded my expectations of what CE products should offer. I'm not a visionary like Steve Jobs or an ingenious designer like Jonathan Ive. I freely admit to being enamored with Apple's recent product line, most of all with the iPhone 4.

I've never in my life directly interacted with technology and digital information the way I do with my iPhone. I grew up playing the first video games and have enjoyed a front row seat to the rapid technological evolution we've all witnessed since the late 1970s. Even with that perspective, even knowing that the technology behind the iPhone line are refinements and new implementations of existing technologies, experiencing what the iPhone 4 does, and how it does it (and with such polish), still seems like magic to me!

If, a few years from now, Apple reveals that they've invented an actual time machine, it not only won't surprise me, but fully explain Steve Jobs' unprecedented success with Apple these past few years. If I could come back in time with the ability to shape the future, I'd probably try to do something exactly along the same lines as what Jobs has done with Apple.

I'm what i guess would be called a fanboy, and i like the phone and think the signal-block problem is overblown. Still, yours is a great post and i can find no fault with the sentiments.

You've had a number of posts in this thread that just don't make sense to me.

============

On an entirely different note:

THANKS TO THE FORUM: Several of you suggested my problems with cables and Kensington chargers not working with the iP4 might be because of the bumper.

I'm slapping myself in the forehead: You're right. Apple's cables and devices are thin enough to fit through the bumper slots (another fit-and-finish achievement!) ; the kensington and the (otherwise extremely handy) 3rd party short cables aren't. So I either have to strip the bumper every time i want to use one of those devices, or ditch them. I'm gonna hang on to them, see how they work with a better case i get down the road. It's great having the forum community to suggest to me the obvious.

=============

And this: as a retired journalist i have to agree with those critical of the review at the top of this thread. The adulation is over the top..

Do you consider this desirable? I don't. A phone is meant to be used, not coveted. Are you going to pass down your iPhone 4 to your kids? If not, why should you conceal it from other human beings and the normal demands of human life?

Daniel is an Apple fan, and certainly gives Apple the benefit of the doubt.

However, all those keep whining about the fact that this review is "fanboyism", are unable to single out a single piece of legitimate criticism with this article.

The reason is because this article is spot on. Which just shows how fantastically well made the iPhone really is. I saw it in the Apple Store, and was completely blown away by how magnificent it feels/looks.

The 3GS looks as uninspired as the Moto Razr did when the iPhone was released.

The front glass is glued to the display and therefore has more support. The back side isn't. If they are the same material, that would be my guess.

I kept my 3G in a case and you know, before the iPhone 4 came out I took it out to see what kind of shape it was in 2 years later. Other than some light scratches on the bezel it was pristine and I had forgotten how awesome the 3G looked and felt.

The 4 is even more impressive...I'll still probably stick it in a case though. I have to let my kids play with it at times and there's just no way it can go caseless.

Get over it.

Get over it.

Get over it.

Wait to see what happens.

You must be a terror if you can't get over something that is still being diagnosed.

With a post like this... Good riddance. Please do stay away.

OK. I'll skip more than a mention of how weird it is to refer to oneself in the third person (and with an alias no less). But dude, you've been raving like a lunatic in this thread about a product you don't own and I assume haven't used. And that poll over at MacRumors? It's not scientific in any way because it is a biased sample that in no way reflects the makeup of the couple of million people who now have iPhone 4's in their hands. That doesn't mean these folks aren't having real issues, but you can't extrapolate from this poll that more than 50% of the phones out there are having these issues.

I don't think, however, that you're wrong to be cautious about purchasing the phone. I've been using my new iPhone 4 for two days now without a single issue. I absolutely love it and it is a massive improvement over my 3GS-- for me. That doesn't mean that this phone is right for you. Maybe it's overall performance for you, with your particular set of variables will mean that it's not the best phone for you. But come on. This is not some Apple conspiracy to screw their customers. They may have made some decisions regarding the engineering of this phone that don't work for you and maybe even a lot of other people. Maybe there's a real hardware or software issue that became more apparent once a couple of million people got to test the phones in the wild. But I highly doubt they're trying to rip their customers off.

The problem is that you aren't "call[ing] them up on it" as much as annoying everyone else when you hijack a thread like this. That's why you're labelled a troll but given you've always been an attention seeker you've hardly changed. It's just been a wonderful opportunity and you even got a mention on Engadget. This has been the best Apple product evar for you.

Ireland seems to have serious issues and is just flaming this thread.

I'm into my third day of using my iPhone4. Yes, I immediately noticed the left-hand reception issue. In my house in San Francisco, left-hand cause the bars to go down to 1 bar. Outside, the problem does not happen. I spent two days in Monterey, CA and the phone had no left-hand issues whatsoever.

I will make a call while holding it with my left hand. With 1 bar, I have no problem at all with reception, quality, and I have yet to have a dropped call. 3G performance regardless of the number of bars has been spectacular.

Also, this left-hand issue happens regardless of whether I have the bumper installed on it.

So for now, while I find the behavior unusual, I will wait and see what happens when Apple puts out the fix for it. I suspect (IMHO) that it is more a software issue than a design flaw. My iPhone4 works fine.

Other phones have also had similar problems and as usual, people are focusing solely on Apple. I find it hard to believe that Apple would have actually put out a known faulty product. If it was truly a defective design, I believe they would fess up and address it. Surely, SJ's comment about holding it differently is up for deliberation, I will simply stand on the sideline and take a wait-and-see approach.

For now, my iPhone4 is simply the best phone I've ever owned to-date. It's a stunning piece of engineering and has set the new standard for mobile phones. I have no problem recommending it to anyone.

While I would doubt that Apple would have gone for the plastic back because of cost rather than because of it's electromagnet properties, it's true that glass does cost more than injection molded plastic, high impact or otherwise.

I've always appreciated your posts/insights. You did seem to come "loaded for bear" on this issue with oversize letters, all caps and lots of exclamation points. It may turn out to be a serious issue as you have insisted, or not. Coming on so strong gives little room for other viewpoints, whether those are the opposite of your view or somewhere in between.
I own a 3g and would definately like to upgrade,and will, if the antenna issue doesn't turn into a full fledged fiasco. I suspect it won't. If it turns out they really screwed the pooch I suppose I'd check out android flavors of phone but I'm not even sure that the way you have to hold it to have a problem is how I would personally hold it. But maybe it is, shit I don't know. I guess when taking notes while on the phone is when it would be most susceptible. If i'm not on the phone I usually drive withmy right hand. This may get fixed with an update making this a non issue, or it may be a poor design. The real question for me will be are there other smartphones out there whose design I like more. Certainly none are designed perfectly and I bet I'd hate one or two design elements of any smart phone. I'm in no rush so I'll adopt a wait and see attitude but I do suspect my next phone will be an iphone4.

Daniel is, shall we say, an unabashed fanboy. He will deny it if asked (I asked!).

You do realize you've been completely flatulent all day long about not touching a 1/10 of 1 mm thick line on a telephone, that you might not touch anyway depending how you hold it? I'm right handed, use my left to hold the phone, and when I do, no part of my had comes within an inch of that ONE TENTH OF ONE MILLIMETER THICK line. It might not even be that thick. Have you gone into a store and picked one up? What if you did and discovered you had no problem, like quite a few of us here? What in the world would you do then?

I may have eight entire posts, but they are not full of empty gas. Phhhhpffhhfffffffft.

In addition, the front glass is much thinner, and is more flexible.

Ive now read a fair number of reviews of this product. In only one did the reviewer mention a problem. "Problem" meaning that call quality was affected by the grip. A few others attempted to duplicate the problem and one succeeded, But noted that it was difficult to do so.

While this does seem to be a problem, the question is how much? We can't go by people posting in forums, because those are the ones who are motivated enough to do so.

The question is how many people who don't post, or even know about the forums, are having problems. That is something we don't know.

Would being thinner help in an edge impact?

Looking at my phone they look the same thickness but I don't know how much deeper they both go into the case. Wouldn't surprise me if it was thinner but they both look reasonably thick.

It's a good question. Generally, the thinner it is the more resistant to cracking under certain circumstances. If the glass is bonded to a flexible substrait then it would be more resistant. I'm sure the back is bonded to some plastic as well or the pieces would fly apart if broken too violently. The crack structure I've seen doesn't look that of tempered glass.

Hey, mellgross, welcome aboard!

Were you off doing other things-- or just diffident to join this thread?

.

It's interesting, a friend held the iPhone 4 and said it was much heavier.

Today, we weighed the phone and it's .1 oz heavier. With the bumper on the 4, and a standard slider case on the 3GS, the new combo comes in .4 oz's lighter.

I love mine, so far no problems but the thing is slipperier than cat snot. I have to be careful when I lay it on the arm of the chair, slides off way to easily. This will be cured when the new Vaja cases arrive.

They did. FCC requires that it be as far away from the head as possible. That's why all phones have the antenna near the mouthpiece - and some of them warn you about putting your hand over them.

Yeah, the last time I made a cell call several fillings fell out! \

.

Good for you.

What's your point?

Thanks for injecting some well-worded sanity.

The guy was out of control. (But I am sure he'll be back).

The feel , weight and look of the phone are great. It commands dignity and respect.

Good God! What a colossal blockhead you are! How many posts have you made in the last so many threads? We get it. Why do you keep repeating yourself? It's becoming impossible to follow a thread, even with you on ignore due to all the others quoting you. For the love of all that is holy, pass on this iphone and leave us in peace. IOW, STFU and go away. If I was Jobs, I'd find out who you are and make sure you were never allowed to buy another apple product to make up for the annoyance that is you.

A delicately tempered appreciation, and no slight for the 'caveat emptor'. Well done.

The author writes about Jobs and Apple as I would about Einstein, Mozart and yes, Jobs. If you truly understand and feel the momentous thread of History being woven by Jobs you cannot resist being swept by it. Dilger heartily shares in it.

The style may have shortfalls, the prose could be sharper, the breath of poetic justice underwritten, Dilger, writing on all creative cylinders, tells The Story from the inside out. He is part of the Story; and that makes him a prime witness, and an essential counterpoint to disinformation and propheteering.

When you describe a genius and his opus, passion is more trustworthy than penmanship.

I hosted an audio club meeting Friday night, and spend part of the day Saturday moving the furniture back. Too busy to get to the computer, or rather, my iPad until now, as I had another meeting most of today as well, somewhere else, thankfully.

It's an interesting thread, though I think too much is being made of the article.