iPhone 4G Can Be Skipped

Last summer I joined the technologically advanced world of smart phones when I bought the iPhone 3GS.  The total package made financial sense, finally, and I jumped at getting it.  It's a year later and Apple has announced what the iPhone 4G is going to feature and when it's going to drop.  And even though I am very eligible to upgrade, the truth is that it's not worth it and I'll explain my reasoning.

The first thing I will say before going on is none of my reasons for not upgrading are connected to AT&T.  Everyone has been quick the bash AT&T and it's service to iPhone users and make that the backbone complaint.  What people need to realize that if one of the other companies had the exclusive rights to the iPhone as long as AT&T has then that network would be suffering from the same issues that AT&T is working on correcting.  So anyone who uses AT&T as a complaint is someone with just flat out dislike for the company.

As to my reasons to why you might want to skip the iPhone 4G, starting point would be the software update.  The long awaited multi-tasking is coming with iOS4.  Now you can multi-task, make folders to organize your apps instead of searching through pages to find the one you want, and personalize your iPhone with a background image.  But this software is going to be a free download and will work on the iPhone 3GS.  Sure the newer phone has the 4G chip [made by Apple], but I doubt it's that much faster than the 3G.

Second is the introduction of the front facing camera and the video conferencing feature that Apple is calling Face Time.  This feature was leaked a few months ago and upon reading up on it the truth is that it's all hype.  Face Time can only be used over WiFi and to iPhone 4G users.  So if your not near WiFi and/or the person you want to conference with does not have the iPhone 4G, then this feature is useless.  Plus it will be months if not a full year before app developers will be able to figure out how to properly and creatively use the front facing camera.

And there is NO memory increase with the iPhone 4G.  Last year the iPhone jumped from 16-GB to 32-GB, which was the big selling point for me last summer.  As Apple went through their presentation Monday introducing a better still camera, HD video capabilities with iMovies [editing software], and the addition of the iBookstore, we all figured a increase in memory was naturally coming.  But when the announced the memory size it was still just a 32-GB maximum.  How can you add HD capabilities with editing software and the availability of downloading books and NOT increase the memory size.  By not expanding to storage size to at least 64-GB is as big a lapse in judgment as leaving multi-tasking absent for so long.

The iPhone 4G has been overhyped and had features like the gyroscope tossed in to distract people from it's minor differences from to iPhone 3GS in hopes that those obsessed with "shiny and new" will run out to buy it and realize afterwards that they jumped the gun.  If your iPhone is first or second generation look into the iPhone 4G if you need to upgrade.  But if your a current iPhone 3GS owner, like myself, wait to see if a 64-GB or bigger version is announced or wait until the 2011 iPhone is released.

Technology Can Still Amaze

So far 2009 has partly been a year of technological improvements. First was my purchase of an iPhone which is still managing to surprise me with it's capabilities to more I use it and find things on it. Now I have upgraded my entertainment with the purchase of an HDTV.

Prior to yesterday I had been using a 19-inch tube TV. A format that our parents grew up on and watch evolve from black and white to color in their lifes and a format the my generation has known since birth. And while HD was originally too expensive for the regular everyday person, it is now becoming the standard in television. And now that my old tube TV has gone the way of technology like Walkmans and 8-Track, I am amazed by what an HDTV does.

The obvious improvement is the wider screen which allows for more to be seen than the tube TV that I grew up on. It also allows for easy reading of on-screen text. For example, as I write this I am watching Ninja Warrior on G4TV and the commentation is in Japanese resulting in subtitles. Because the screen is wider it's easier to read when my old 19-inch it was a strain to read it.

Now the screen size i purchased is a 26-inch, but it's what I would say equals what you would be used to viewing on a 19-inch. My original plan was to purchase a 22-inch but when I saw it in store it gave the illusion of watching a 13-inch tube TV. So I recommend if your buying an HDTV you go at least two sizes larger then the tube TV you are replacing in order to have the same visual feel that you are used to.

As for the overall visuals I am truly amazed. The colors are so much clearer and brighter than ANY tube TV I had watched growing up. Watching TV is just amazing and I don't even had my HD cable box yet. I can only imagine how things will look once that is set.

And as a gamer I truly feel that ALL gamers have been deprived over the years by playing in tube sets. I own a Nintendo WIi and although it's design didn't take HD into account it still shines brighter than expected. Colors and details in games, even the older 16-bit games, look so much better. It's like experiencing something brand new even though it's from my junior high school days.

I'm still trying to figure out setting the HDTV and everything to my new stereo receiver but it's best to wait to get my HD cable set first. Though once I get the sound set I know that it'll be like my own personal movie theater, only without the fancy seating.

It makes be wonder what is still to come in technology. With touch screen computers just hitting the market how much longer can it be before we are using TV's and computers with just eye movements. Or even brainwaves?? Only time will tell.


-- Posted from my iPhone