The 3GS's processor gave it enough juice to do high quality video recording. I put this upgrade on par with a retina display in the 4. Let's play the definition game. I say retina is just an incremental improvement over the existing iPhone screens.
Scott's already gone for the no true Scotsman defense, he's lost. If he hasn't changed his opinion by now, he isn't going to.
The 3GS's processor gave it enough juice to do high quality video recording. I put this upgrade on par with a retina display in the 4. Let's play the definition game. I say retina is just an incremental improvement over the existing iPhone screens.
Have you seen it? It's not even close.
Just went and did a side-by-side with a coworker. The 4's screen is definitely much nicer. I'd say it's a full increment better.
Still worth it, I'd say, especially if they change the design for iPhone5.
How do you figure? The current iPhone is a potent piece of hardware. A 4S will be even better than that. I see no reason to wait for some mythical 5.
You mistake my point. I am saying definitely get the 4S. The design of the 4 is the culmination of Apple's expertise in metalworking. There is good reason to believe that the eventual 5 will be a re-design, possibly using carbon fiber. Regardless of how good it may turn out to look, it will be a first gen design and probably have flaws.
There is good reason to believe that the eventual 5 will be a re-design, possibly using carbon fiber. Regardless of how good it may turn out to look, it will be a first gen design and probably have flaws.
There is a guarantee that the 5 will be a redesign. Even though it will be first gen, Apple has more advanced and thorough testing than any other consumer electronics company. I have a lot of problems with Apple, but flawed hardware is not one of them. Every device they have, even first gen, has been effectively perfect right out of the gate. And don't give me that "grip of death" on the iPhone 4 bullshit. I've had one since launch with no case on it, and it has never been an issue.
I have a lot of problems with Apple, but flawed hardware is not one of them. Every device they have, even first gen, has been effectively perfect right out of the gate. And don't give me that "grip of death" on the iPhone 4 bullshit. I've had one since launch with no case on it, and it has never been an issue.
So it every piece of hardware ever.*
* Since we've decided to ignore any hardware problems
That's pretty much how it feels. I'm waiting until the 5 comes out to upgrade, since my contract's cycle is weird. Even then, I might not upgrade, unless I can unlock it and use it with a Tesco SIM.
You guys really think that the difference between the 3G and the 3GS is equal to the difference between the 3GS and the 4? Really? You're smoking crack.
That's pretty much how it feels. I'm waiting until the 5 comes out to upgrade, since my contract's cycle is weird. Even then, I might not upgrade, unless I can unlock it and use it with a Tesco SIM.
You people with your fancy smartphones should talk nothing about feeling like you have old phone. If it can be called smartphone it's future for me.
Though I'll probably get HTC Legend soonish, so I won't be stuck in early 2000 anymore.
I have a lot of problems with Apple, but flawed hardware is not one of them.
Apple has lots of hardware problems with first gen products. Yellowing plastics on 1st gen intel MacBooks, you said yourself, and I quote: "The original iPhone sucked.", 1st gen AppleTV severely underpowered (which I consider a hardware problem, also list the 1st gen Air and 1st gen iPad in this category), overheating problems on the 1st gen unibody MacBook Pros, and I could go on.
I'm not saying the 5 will be crap, I'm saying that if it is a redesign using a new process, there is a chance of it having Apple 1st genitis and I personally would wait until several months after its release before buying it. The 4 is proven to be prefect, if there is going to be a 4S it will be perfecter, so get that one.
The RAM and processor speed alone changes the 4's class entirely.
How can you say this? Yes the RAM is doubled on the 4, but the CPU speed was never released. No one knows how fast it is. It is however the same processor type as the 3GS so it's just a question of the clock speed.
If you're an early adopter a small problem like overheating is no problem compared to the vast improvement in the actual features and performance. If the overheating is such a problem that it actually breaks the phones, you have a warranty. AppleCare for the paranoid with money to burn. My 3G was and iPhone 4 is naked without any case. Never cracked or scratched the screen. Never broke. Battery still excellent. No problems whatsoever. iPod nanos all had no problems ever. iPod mini broke only because I intentionally and moronically stepped on it.
The RAM and processor speed alone changes the 4's class entirely.
How can you say this? Yes the RAM is doubled on the 4, but the CPU speed was never released. No one knows how fast it is. It is however the same processor type as the 3GS so it's just a question of the clock speed.
The phone uses the 1GHz A4 chip that the iPad uses (as verified by Apple), which has (and this is supposedly verified by independent teardowns of the phone) a variable clock speed of 800MHz-1GHz. The iPhone 3GS has a chip capable of a maximum clock speed of 833MHz, underclocked to 600MHz, and that's from Apple's official specs.
The chips are also different: 4 uses the Apple A4, and 3GS uses the Samsung APL0298C05.
Fair enough. So, you could theoretically get the same clock speeds, but unmodified, the 4 is faster.
The thing that holds the iPhone 4 back from "most" modern smart phones is the memory. The iPhone 4 (if I remember correctly) has only 512MB of RAM. Most modern smart phones are rocking 758MB - 1GB of RAM, on top of that the newest ones are clocked over 1GHz factory and more and more will be dual/quad core in the very near future. I suggest giving great thought before getting the 4, as the 5 should be out within a few months and Android phones seem to be (spec wise) superior at the moment for the same price. Of course, for someone like me (still rocking the OG DROID I got at Google IO last year), I can deal with waiting for a phone I will love as much as this one. (testicles)
P.S. Dear grammar Nazi who reads this: LEAVE ME ALONE. NAEM (Not An English Major).
Most modern smart phones are rocking 758MB - 1GB of RAM, on top of that the newest ones are clocked over 1GHz factory and more and more will be dual/quad core in the very near future.
It's not necessary because iOS doesn't multi-task the way Android does. Also, it doesn't have any of the crashiness of Android.
P.S. Dear grammar Natzi who read this, LEAVE ME ALONE. NAEM (Not An English Major)
Sorry, forum rules. Grammar and spelling is enforced. If it's worth posting, it's worth proof-reading.
Also, it doesn't have any of the crashiness of Android.
I...
Have you even touched an android phone? I have probably one of the cheapest, lamest Android phones (the Samsung Intercept, which is lovingly shipped with an ARM5 chip when you need an ARM6 to get Flash. Yay.), and I've had maybe three crashes ever, and that was specifically because of things I know I did. If you want to play the "Well my iPhone has never crashed" card, fine, but three is only three more than zero.
t's not necessary because iOS doesn't multi-task the way Android does.
By that do you mean "Didn't multitask at all, until recently"? We can debate interface design, and I'll concede that argument pretty handily, but stability is rarely an issue.
One of the greatest reasons iOS doesn't crash as often is that they don't let you utilize all the capabilities of your phone. By restricting what you do, they restrict your chance of crashing. Personally, I prefer capability over minor instability caused by user stupidity.
If it was a computer for doing work on, I could never tolerate the iPhone. Even OSX is too restrictive and no good in that department. But when it comes to a phone, it's not like I would do real work on it even if it was open and free. The other concerns are just more important like it always works, it never runs out of battery, it's also an iPod. If the iPhone was open, which I want it to be, what would I do with it that I don't do now? Pick a non-standard ringtone? Install an NES emulator that is useless with a touch screen? Install a video player like VLC that can play any codec but will drain the hell out of the battery because there's no hardware decoder for those video formats?
iOS vs. Android is a lot like Windows vs. Linux on the desktop in the early 2000s. Linux distros were philosophically superior in every way, but everyone ended up using Windows 2000 because Linux either lacked something completely or did it worse than Windows. The only thing you could do better on Linux in those days was coding.
Have you even touched an android phone? I have probably one of the cheapest, lamest Android phones (the Samsung Intercept, which is lovingly shipped with an ARM5 chip when you need an ARM6 to get Flash. Yay.), and I've had maybe three crashes ever, and that was specifically because of things I know I did. If you want to play the "Well my iPhone has never crashed" card, fine, but three is only three more than zero.
My iphone 4 crashes about once every other month, and applications will crash out from time to time. A few times, I've had it go wonky without crashing - just freezing, then suddenly getting back to what it was doing.
Never Jailbroken(well, this phone, the 3gs was, but it was more stable, not less) don't have that many apps, nothing terribly interesting about it - It just happens. I suppose a point in apple's favor, it's never that bad when it crashes, just reboot, and it's fine. Never lost data. Took it into the Genius bar, and they poked at it a bit, and just went "Yep, Nothing we can do. It happens, you get that."
Pick a non-standard ringtone?
You can already do that trivially. You can use pretty much any 30 Second or less MP3.
Install a video player like VLC that can play any codec but will drain the hell out of the battery because there's no hardware decoder for those video formats?
You used to be able to download VLC from the app store, but it was pulled - Not by apple, but by the developers, who thought it wasn't working out with the license VLC currently has. It's Available for free on Cydia, and it doesn't run your battery down that much more(if at all) than playing the videos in the Ipod player.
My iphone 4 crashes about once every other month, and applications will crash out from time to time. A few times, I've had it go wonky without crashing - just freezing, then suddenly getting back to what it was doing.
This must just be one of those cases where I don't have a problem and other people do. Neither iPhone has ever crashed. Specific apps have crashed, because they were shitty apps, but never the phone itself and never any official app or high profile app. Always some shady free apps from no-name companies. Just like my Steam always works, and always has worked since the earliest versions, but other people have all sorts of trouble. And pretty much every piece of technology never has trouble unless I step on it. No XBox red rings or anything.
You can already do that trivially. You can use pretty much any 30 Second or less MP3.
Well 30 seconds is a limitation, but I'm talking about the sound for text messages and emails and such.
You used to be able to download VLC from the app store, but it was pulled - Not by apple, but by the developers, who thought it wasn't working out with the license VLC currently has. It's Available for free on Cydia, and it doesn't run your battery down that much more(if at all) than playing the videos in the Ipod player.
No, Apple took it down. VLC has a GPL license. They put it in the store. Then they sent apple a notice that they had to comply with the GPL. Apple could have been awesome and left VLC in the store and complied with the GPL, but instead they took the predictable asshole route and just removed the app.
This must just be one of those cases where I don't have a problem and other people do.
I'm not so sure - I haven't heard much about it, so it might simply be this unit playing up, which is in fact more likely - despite the protestations of the Genius bar who checked it over and declared it A-ok, I'd assume.
No, Apple took it down. VLC has a GPL license. They put it in the store. Then they sent apple a notice that they had to comply with the GPL. Apple could have been awesome and left VLC in the store and complied with the GPL, but instead they took the predictable asshole route and just removed the app.
So really, Apple didn't do shit beyond doing the sensible thing - had the VLC developers stuck with the agreement they put their name to, rather than putting it through and then throwing a fucking fit because they couldn't violate the terms of something they agreed to already that everyone else has to agree to as well, VLC would still be in the app store.
Well 30 seconds is a limitation, but I'm talking about the sound for text messages and emails and such.
Scott, the fact that you can't have a ringtone that calls up the spirits of your dead ancestors is a limitation, too, but it doesn't change the fact that you can put custom ringtones on the thing. I couldn't put an MP3 on my old nokia which was more than the phone could store, either, also a limitation, also doesn't change that I could have custom ringtones. Though you are right on one point - you can't change the text message tone, when you should be able to. So, really, wouldn't it have just been easier to say "Oh yeah, sorry, wrong one, I meant the text message tone"? Unless of course you didn't, in which case you're just arguing the toss so you don't have to admit a mistake, in which case, fuck off, not interested in that bullshit.
Comments
* Since we've decided to ignore any hardware problems
Though I'll probably get HTC Legend soonish, so I won't be stuck in early 2000 anymore.
I'm not saying the 5 will be crap, I'm saying that if it is a redesign using a new process, there is a chance of it having Apple 1st genitis and I personally would wait until several months after its release before buying it. The 4 is proven to be prefect, if there is going to be a 4S it will be perfecter, so get that one.
The chips are also different: 4 uses the Apple A4, and 3GS uses the Samsung APL0298C05.
P.S. Dear grammar Nazi who reads this: LEAVE ME ALONE. NAEM (Not An English Major).
Christ, man. You don't need to be an English major. Proper grammar and spelling is grade-school shit.
Have you even touched an android phone? I have probably one of the cheapest, lamest Android phones (the Samsung Intercept, which is lovingly shipped with an ARM5 chip when you need an ARM6 to get Flash. Yay.), and I've had maybe three crashes ever, and that was specifically because of things I know I did. If you want to play the "Well my iPhone has never crashed" card, fine, but three is only three more than zero. By that do you mean "Didn't multitask at all, until recently"? We can debate interface design, and I'll concede that argument pretty handily, but stability is rarely an issue.
iOS vs. Android is a lot like Windows vs. Linux on the desktop in the early 2000s. Linux distros were philosophically superior in every way, but everyone ended up using Windows 2000 because Linux either lacked something completely or did it worse than Windows. The only thing you could do better on Linux in those days was coding.
Never Jailbroken(well, this phone, the 3gs was, but it was more stable, not less) don't have that many apps, nothing terribly interesting about it - It just happens. I suppose a point in apple's favor, it's never that bad when it crashes, just reboot, and it's fine. Never lost data. Took it into the Genius bar, and they poked at it a bit, and just went "Yep, Nothing we can do. It happens, you get that." You can already do that trivially. You can use pretty much any 30 Second or less MP3. You used to be able to download VLC from the app store, but it was pulled - Not by apple, but by the developers, who thought it wasn't working out with the license VLC currently has. It's Available for free on Cydia, and it doesn't run your battery down that much more(if at all) than playing the videos in the Ipod player.
You could Still claim that apple pulled it from the store - after all, apple are the ones who have 100% control over the store, including taking down apps at the developer's request, and also, because in this case they had to take it down because Rémi Denis-Courmont slapped them with a formal copyright infringement notice, to force them to take it out of the app store.
So really, Apple didn't do shit beyond doing the sensible thing - had the VLC developers stuck with the agreement they put their name to, rather than putting it through and then throwing a fucking fit because they couldn't violate the terms of something they agreed to already that everyone else has to agree to as well, VLC would still be in the app store. Scott, the fact that you can't have a ringtone that calls up the spirits of your dead ancestors is a limitation, too, but it doesn't change the fact that you can put custom ringtones on the thing. I couldn't put an MP3 on my old nokia which was more than the phone could store, either, also a limitation, also doesn't change that I could have custom ringtones. Though you are right on one point - you can't change the text message tone, when you should be able to. So, really, wouldn't it have just been easier to say "Oh yeah, sorry, wrong one, I meant the text message tone"?
Unless of course you didn't, in which case you're just arguing the toss so you don't have to admit a mistake, in which case, fuck off, not interested in that bullshit.