iPhone 4 : Preview, Pricing & Availability

Everyone know Iphone 4 is a hot topic now. As a phonemaniac, i admit i like iphone but only in terms of d apps,graphic and smoothness. Other than tat it look rather boring for me to work as a phone. And yea, dun reli like the virtual keyboard. Well, here a short preview of Iphone 4 i got from engadget.

Specs

The iPhone 4 marks the most dramatic shift in form factor for the iPhone since the original, but it still looks pretty much exactly like an iPhone. As per usual, it's what's inside the phone that matters most, and Apple has made plenty of changes.

Build

The iPhone 4 is just barely heavier than the 3GS at 4.8 ounces vs. 4.76 ounces, but it's is significantly thinner (9.3mm vs. 12.3mm) and a bit narrower (58.6mm vs. 62.1mm). It's sandwiched front and back by aluminosilicate glass, which very scratch resistant and strong (30 times harder than plastic, says Apple), and similar in theory to the impervious Gorilla Glass.

Display

The Droid and Nexus One have popularized the once unheard-of WVGA resolution in high-end smartphones, but Apple's doing them one better with a 960 x 640 display -- a higher resolution at the same 3.5-inch size of previous iPhones, and a smaller size than flagship smartphone competitors. The size tradeoff is all about pixel density: Apple's branding the screen with the "Retina Display" name because the 326ppi resolution is denser than what the human eye can perceive. The Retina Display is also LED backlit, and uses the IPS screen tech from the iPad for wide angles and a high 800:1 contrast ratio. Apple also claims to be doing some software tricks to enhance the quality of the screen even further, and with all this combined the company claims to be "years" ahead of the competition on screen tech, although we're sure the competition would beg to differ.

Processor

One of the other most important hardware improvements is the A4 processor the iPhone 4 now shares with the iPad. While Apple was happy to declare the 1GHz clock speed of the iPad, it has been less forthcoming with the iPhone 4, and it's very possible the chip has been downclocked somewhat to conserve battery life. Either way, the chip itself is a tighter package that uses less power while running faster than the processor in the 3GS, and that's always a good thing.

Battery life

Speaking of battery life, Apple has actually managed to improve this spec over the last generation, with seven hours of 3G talk and 10 hours of WiFi data, vs. five hours of talk and nine hours of WiFi data on the 3GS. The phone is also rated at 40 hours of audio playback and 10 hours of video runtime, with a 300 hour standby time.

Cameras

Apple's added a front-facing VGA camera, as well as a new five megapixel camera around back to replace the 3.2 megapixel sensor from the 3GS. The camera is capable of shooting 720p video at 30fps, and iOS 4 now allows you tap to focus while taking video and stills. There's also a new LED flash to help illuminate your shots. Apple is using a newer "backside illuminated" image sensor, a technology that's cropping up in all manner of compact digital cameras and other high-end phones like the HTC EVO 4G -- essentially, these types of sensor are better able to capture more light.

Radios

The iPhone 4 supports the same theoretical 7.2Mbps HSDPA downloads of its predecessor, along with adding 5.7Mbps HSUPA uploads, and adds on top of that quad band 3G, making more of a world phone when it comes to data (though T-Mobile US's odd 3G spectrum is still out of the loop). Perhaps more exciting for many folks is the addition of 802.11n, though unfortunately it's only the 2.4GHz flavor, leaving out the exciting possibility of escaping runaway interference into the relatively clean 5GHz band. There's also the usual Bluetooth and GPS hardware inside. The iPhone 4's design is somewhat unique in that Apple is using the multi-part stainless steel band that runs around the device as a pair of antennas -- hopefully this will alleviate some of the iPhone's existing coverage woes.

Sensors

Apple's added a three-axis gyroscope to its usual complement of sensors, giving it almost a Wii Motion Plus's level of input when paired with the existing accelerometer and compass. Unfortunately, with tens of millions of gyroscope-free iPhones on the market, we might not be seeing too many major titles putting it to good use right off the bat.

Accessories

Like with every iPhone since the original, there's no dock included -- it's $29 extra. Unlike every other iPhone, Apple's actually building a case for this phone: the colorful Bumper, which only surrounds the sides of the phone, leaving the front and back free and clear. A bit steep at $29, however.

iOS 4 overview

The big additions are multitasking, folders, iBooks, along with user-defined wallpapers, Mail's new unified inbox, Bluetooth keyboard support and some 1500 other features, most of which require updated apps in order to really shine. Here's a quick list of the biggies -- you can get most of this stuff on your iPhone 3G or higher / iPod touch 2G or higher right now if you're a dev, and it'll be free for everyone on June 21st:

* Background audio (think Pandora).
* Background VoIP (think Skype).
* Background location data, both with live GPS for backgrounded turn-by-turn, and cell tower-based for lower power draw.
* Orientation lock -- you can set it to always stay in portrait
* Spell check (like on the iPad).
* Bluetooth keyboard support (again, on the iPad).
* User-defined wallpaper (a jailbreak favorite).
* Tap to focus when recording video, just like with photos, and a 5x digital zoom for the camera.
* Playlist creation and nested playlists
* App folders for sorting apps. You can even put an app folder in the dock.
* Enhanced Mail. You can have a merged inbox view, switch between inboxes quickly, and sync to more than one Exchange account. There's also threaded messaging (at last!) and in-app attachment viewing.
* iBooks, just like on iPad, only smaller. You can wirelessly sync books between platforms, a la Kindle.
* Enterprise features, including remote device management and wireless app distribution.
* Local notifications. Like push notifications, but sends a notification straight from the app without needing a push notification server, perfect for an alarm, for instance.
* Fast app switching. Saves the state of an app and resumes it from where you left off, without dwelling in memory.

Pricing

* This is AT&T pricing *

hmm..699USD without commitment. If change to malaysia rate it gonna b around RM2236..plus some taxes n ppl wanna get profit..so i assume it gonna b around 2.6~2.7k which same price wif current 3gs which gonna drop price very fast. Well, i think it'll come to Malaysia once everyone ready to change to Micro Sim which Maxis already offer for it. Nevertheless, i still love my Nokia N900..hehehe