iPhone 4 first impressions. If you’re thinking of upgrading, don’t bother.

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.

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