iPhone 4 review flawed

[admin_exported]

The iPhone 4 should not have been awarded 5 stars, because it clearly has antenna problems.

Solving this by putting a case over the phone or "holding it differently" is not really a neat solution, is it?

The Whathifi editors chose to dismiss the problem by stating that they personally did not experience any problems. This is kind of like claiming that the sun shines all over the UK, because you personally can see the sun from your window. Not quite a solid scientific approach.

Despite the countless features mobile phones have nowadays, the main function of a phone still is to make phone calls. A phone which has serious problems with making phone calls does not deserve the "perfect score". Major tech sites did acknowledge the iPhone 4 flaws. It's a little disappointing that the Whathifi editors did not.

 

[RodhasGibson]

I"ve had my iphone 4 for a month now and have not had any antenna issues either.If I remember chebby also found his to be fine too.btw I hold the phone in the normal way when making or receiving calls.

 

[margetti]

You signed up just to post that... after all this time (since the review was first published)? If that doesn't epitomise "trolling" I don't know what does...

FWIW, I've had an iPhone 4 for nearly a year now and not had a single problem with it, phone/antenna functionality included.

 

[Lee H]

iPhone 4 owner, and not had the problem once

 

[Paul.]

As a rule if thumb, if someone adds 'gate' on the end of a story in modern times, it is a pretty good indicator that the story is being blown out of proportion.

 

[Andrew Everard]

As a rule if thumb, if someone adds 'gate' on the end of a story in modern times, it is a pretty good indicator that the story is being blown out of proportion.

Indeed, as Carl Bernstein was saying on the radio only last night.

 

[Paul.]

Watergategate?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3DvB9JgxhXW5w&ved=0CB0QtwIwAQ&usg=AFQjCNGIzl1NSgvgw3BKdEzpJhBEIrA8Zg

 

[bigboss]

This is a Hi-Fi magazine, not a tech magazine. The focus will be on its audio & video performance, not "antennagate".

 

[AnotherJoe]

A phone with a single-core 800Mhz (clocked) processor with limited video/audio format support and no support for flash or java etc and still costing the earth even though its 12+months old.

i think 3 out of 5 would be more accurate - going up to maybe 4 when IOS5 comes out in October (although the competition will have improved still further by then)

An HTC Sensation beats it all ends up. There's at least half a dozen droids out there that leave the Iphone trailing in their wake.

Certain review scores in the mag are somewhat strange - and u wonder if there are other factors at work.

 

[Clare Newsome]

A phone with a single-core 800Mhz (clocked) processor with limited video/audio format support and no support for flash or java etc and still costing the earth even though its 12+months old.

i think 3 out of 5 would be more accurate - going up to maybe 4 when IOS5 comes out in October (although the competition will have improved still further by then)

An HTC Sensation beats it all ends up. There's at least half a dozen droids out there that leave the Iphone trailing in their wake.

Certain review scores in the mag are somewhat strange - and u wonder if there are other factors at work.

I can assure you there are no factors at work other than trying to find people the best entertainment products in our opinion. Simple as that. Our smartphone reviews may vary from others because we're primarily interested in music and video performance and usability; as What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision we have that understandable priority.

Also worth nothing that the original Samsung Galaxy S won our multimedia phone of year in 2010 (beating the iPhone 4) and that the S2 has just got another glowing review.

 

[Lee H]

A phone with a single-core 800Mhz (clocked) processor with limited video/audio format support and no support for flash or java etc and still costing the earth even though its 12+months old.

i think 3 out of 5 would be more accurate - going up to maybe 4 when IOS5 comes out in October (although the competition will have improved still further by then)

An HTC Sensation beats it all ends up. There's at least half a dozen droids out there that leave the Iphone trailing in their wake.

Certain review scores in the mag are somewhat strange - and u wonder if there are other factors at work.

Although it does have Flac support via an app (like a droid), a superior stock music player, the easiest UI in the business, a superb screen, excellent on-device purchasing of movies/music, wireless back up to other iOS devices, back up of purchases apps allowing easy transfer, great battery life, 720p video capture and so on.

It's each to their own really. I've owned several Android devices, and they've ALL been very good. There's something that always brings me back to Apple though. It may not do everything but what it does it does well.

Your point on the reviews is flawed though. Your comments suggest that you would rate 7 or more Android devices ahead of the iPhone in your rankings. There really aren't 7 droid devices on sale in the UK that beat an iPhone on anything but the most subjective test.

 

[Paul.]

Clockspeed on it's own is an irrelevant metric, as are most statistics taken in isolation. Most android phones have a bunch of gubbins layered on top of the OS from the networks and handset manufacturers, bloating it and slowing it down. Your average user doesn't want to root their phone to change the OS version. Clock speed is an irelavent test unless all devices tested run the same software.

In the real world, the iPhone is fast and I have never heared anyone criticising it's speed outside of lab testing. (I never implied android was slow, just that the iPhone was fast...) The software is more important than hardware figures, why do you think apple has been so successful basing it's marketing around real world functionality rather than clock speed and ram?

3 years in, Apple has taken smartphone Market leadership from Nokia with no Flash support, the Market has spoken, it's time to let this one go! No one outside of internet forums cares!

 

[professorhat]

Certain review scores in the mag are somewhat strange - and u wonder if there are other factors at work.

Strange to who? I've read a few movie reviews which I've considered strange as I've hated the films, but astonishingly, it turned out that actually the reviewer and I had different viewpoints, rather than him taking bribes from the director / producer.

 

[The_Lhc]

3 years in, Apple has taken smartphone Market leadership from Nokia with no Flash support, the Market has spoken

Yes it has. http://www.whathifi.com/news/google-android-overtakes-iphone-in-the-uk-smartphone-market

 

[Paul.]

The world is significantly larger than our 'empire' thesedays!

 

[bigboss]

The world is significantly larger than our 'empire' thesedays!

These are 2 different things here. Apple has overtaken Nokia in smartphones, but the number of Android phones combined (HTC, Samsung etc.) have had an accelerated growth worldwide, faster than iOS.

 

[The_Lhc]

The world is significantly larger than our 'empire' thesedays!

Ok.

http://www.fiercedeveloper.com/story/nielsen-android-now-40-percent-us-smartphone-sales/2011-01-03

Either way, the issue is not done and dusted, the market is still speaking, and always will do. I'm quite surprised at your fan-boy devotion by the way, the iPhone's a great bit of kit, no argument there (and Android's success has no bearing on the quality of the iPhone), there's a few things I wish were better on Android, such as syncing music to it from a PC, I just wish the iPhone didn't use iTunes to do it as I don't want iTunes on my PC, for example but I had you down as somewhat more rational than the slavish devotion you're portraying at the moment. Interesting...

 

[Lee H]

I really wanted to like Android. There is so much that is great about it. The customisation & the widgets being just two. But (for me) in every day life I always felt I was missing my old iPhone. Little things like sending an email or text. The iPhone keyboard was just better. Push notifications pop up on the screen rather than as an icon on the task bar. The SQ was better. Little things, that add up to the whole experience.

As for the music. You can use MediaMonkey in place of iTunes to sync - or even Spotify if you're signed up.

Yes, Android sells more devices, but let's not forget that Android is just the platform. Adding the total sales of models from HTC, Samsung, Motorola, Sony Ericssson and more and saying, "Look, it beats Apple" isn't a fair comparison.

 

[professorhat]

I just wish the iPhone didn't use iTunes to do it as I don't want iTunes on my PC

See on the other hand, I really like iTunes and the simple method of syncing the iPhone with it. Which means I'm kind of tied to an iPhone even if I wanted an Android (which to be honest I don't - from the versions I've tried, none are quite as good as the iPhone when it comes to everyday use).

 

[The_Lhc]

I really wanted to like Android. There is so much that is great about it. The customisation & the widgets being just two. But (for me) in every day life I always felt I was missing my old iPhone. Little things like sending an email or text.

Interesting, we've got two iPhone users in the office here, one of them wants to change but can't because he's tied into a contract, the main thing he doesn't like about it is texting.

Push notifications pop up on the screen rather than as an icon on the task bar.

Shows how everyone is different, having them pop up on the screen would drive me nuts!

As for the music. You can use MediaMonkey in place of iTunes to sync - or even Spotify if you're signed up.

Yeah, I know, to be honest I don't use it enough for that to worry about it, although I do like that it play flac (Albeit with a 3rd party app).

Yes, Android sells more devices, but let's not forget that Android is just the platform. Adding the total sales of models from HTC, Samsung, Motorola, Sony Ericssson and more and saying, "Look, it beats Apple" isn't a fair comparison.

It is if you're comparing platform sales... Saying Android is "just" the platform is missing the point isn't it, the iPhone wouldn't be anything like as good to use if it was running Symbian...

 

[Lee H]

Quite agree on your final point - but then what would! Equally, if iOS was licensed to a number of devices covering the price range (like android) and design range I think it would sell more.

It is each to it's own. I've lived with both and prefer iPhone - and God knows I didn't want to.

 

[The_Lhc]

I just wish the iPhone didn't use iTunes to do it as I don't want iTunes on my PC

See on the other hand, I really like iTunes and the simple method of syncing the iPhone with it.

Zigackly, which is why all this fanboy-ism is so stupid, we don't all want things to work the same way, so no one choice is "better" or "worse" than any other, so there's no requirement to defend one or the other in the way that some people seem to need to.

 

[The_Lhc]

Quite agree on your final point - but then what would! Equally, if iOS was licensed to a number of devices covering the price range (like android) and design range I think it would sell more.

So do I.

It is each to it's own. I've lived with both and prefer iPhone - and God knows I didn't want to.

I'd probably be perfectly happy with an iPhone, if I didn't mean I had to use iTunes.

 

[Paul.]

No one in the real world cares how their video is distributed, all they care about is tangible things like battery life and perceived performance. Flash sucks on android. Hard. Does not wanting the world to run on legacy software hampering my performance in day to day life make me a fanboy? Adobe care about maintaining Market share of an inferior product, yet apple get kicked fir trying to move the world on to more advanced technologies?

Does a six-month old article about android market share in anyway disprove that the public don't care about any video delivery method? Normal people dont miss flash.

Days ago it was announced nokia were overtaken by apple to become the woldwide smartphone Market leaders. Android is not a manufacturer, it is a platform. I care not for a discussion about the semantics of my wording.

I have a very strong love hate relationship with adobe. As a creative professional I rely on adobe software daily, and over the years I have seen the lazy actions of a lethargic company say atop a vast market share, complacently trundling along not updating their kit. Mac users got burned, photoshop for years ran slower on intel Macs than they did on pcs with similar hardware. Flash is the perfect example of what I hate about adobe, they don't innovate untill they are forced to, apple are giving them the kicking they have long deserved.

And I chose, rationally, to be a fanboy. OS X and iOS align perfectly with what I believe the products should do. I have very strong and informed opinions about adobe as well.

 

[The_Lhc]

No one in the real world cares how their video is distributed, all they care about is tangible things like battery life and perceived performance.

Eh? who even mentioned that?

Flash sucks on android. Hard.

Works fine on mine.

Does not wanting the world to run on legacy software hampering my performance in day to day life make me a fanboy?

No, it's this kind of rabid response that does.

Adobe care about maintaining Market share of an inferior product, yet apple get kicked fir trying to move the world on to more advanced technologies?

No Apple get kicked for trying to tie everyone into their own technologies.

Does a six-month old article about android market share in anyway disprove that the public don't care about any video delivery method?

No, because I wasn't answering that point, I don't care about video delivery methods, I was answering your belief that Apple own the market place.

Normal people dont miss flash.

NOBODY'S TALKING ABOUT FLASH! Except you, as it appears to be the only string to your argument.

Days ago it was announced nokia were overtaken by apple to become the woldwide smartphone Market leaders. Android is not a manufacturer, it is a platform.

Yes, so is iOS and Android is currently outselling iOS (in phones at least).

I have a very strong love hate relationship with adobe. As a creative professional I rely on adobe software daily, and over the years I have seen the lazy actions of a lethargic company say atop a vast market share, complacently trundling along not updating their kit. Mac users got burned, photoshop for years ran slower on intel Macs than they did on pcs with similar hardware. Flash is the perfect example of what I hate about adobe, they don't innovate untill they are forced to, apple are giving them the kicking they have long deserved.'

Well, that's nice, but it's got nothing to do with Android, Adobe have nothing to do with Android, Google just chose to support Flash, Apple didn't, it's not relevant to this discussion.

And I chose, rationally, to be a fanboy. OS X and iOS align perfectly with what I believe the products should do. I have very strong and informed opinions about adobe as well.

And nobody's asked you to make any other choice, I just don't see why you can't let Android users who are perfectly happy with their choice do the same. Instead we get these quite spectacular rants. You like Apple, I get that, that's cool but your devotion leads me to suspect that you believe they care about you. They don't, beyond working out how they can get you to buy their products. In that respect they're no different to any other company, honest.