Brainstorm Design Blog

I have taken my iPhone abroad for the first time and have made a few observations.

1. When you arrive in a new country, you get a text message from O2 warning you to switch off data roaming if you want to avoid high roaming charges. I don't know if this warning is something they were forced to do, but it's a good idea.Lord knows how many people forget to switch off roaming.
2. The moment you enter the passenger terminal of Israel's Ben Gurion Airport, you get free wifi access. This is quite unlike the rip-off BT Openworld you're forced to pay for when using Heathrow or Gatwick.
3. I try and avoid making phone calls on my mobile whilst abroad, but as I use the iPhone for everything other than phone calls, I hardly notice the difference.
   
4. I can't use any of the roaming apps such as Google Maps or the Compass, but this is more than compensated for by the fact that you can pick up wifi just about everywhere. And it's usually a lot faster than the patchy 3G access you get in England. Just the other day, I took a bus through the centre of Jerusalem and was able to pick up wifi hotspots throughout the journey.

Spending time in Israel makes you realise just how backward the UK is when it comes to the internet.

I have just arrived in Israel for a two week trip. I switched on my phone after we landed and was surprised to see a network message welcoming me to Palestine! After a couple of minutes, the phone adjusted itself and gave me a signal from Orange. Is this another of the iPhone 4 glitches?!

In fact, there was nothing wrong with the phone. Because Israel's main international airport is so close to Palestinian territory, it's not unusual for you to pick up a signal from there. It's a reminder of just how small Israel is, you're never very far from the border.

Carphone Warehouse called me out of the blue on Thursday. My contract was up for renewal. Would I like a new iPhone 4 they asked? Who can say no to a new iPhone? Especially when it’s costing you only £29 to upgrade and you pay the same monthly fee as before.

Well, I received my new phone just 24 hours after the call, and four days later, the novelty has already worn off. Firstly, I don’t care for the new design. I liked the rounded design of the old phone, whereas the new flat backed design looks old fashioned. It’s how I would expect an early version of the phone to look, not the latest version. Secondly the battery life (or lack of it) as almost as bad as the old phone. Fortunately for me, I carry a Mili recharger with me wherever I go.

And what do I like about it? Well I like the front facing camera (unfortunately I know only one other person who has both the iPhone 4 and wifi that are necessary for videophone calls). I like the camera flash, and the sound quality is noticeably better.

I am also benefiting from the fact that I can enjoy all sorts of benefits denied to me on the iPhone 3G such as augmented reality, and the ability to shoot movies. I have also been able to enjoy the benefits of OS4 (which I was never able to successfully install on my old phone) such as the ability to run multiple apps and group apps in folders.

But my overall impression? I would say that if you’re running an iPhone 3GS, there's not enough new features to justify upgrading to an iPhone 4. Hold out for the next version.