iPhone 4

With Apple’s new range of iPhone’s selling out yet again in shops, I ask, is it worth paying the extra money for this elitist gadget?

I’ve had my iPhone 4GS for three weeks now, I got it on a 3 contract after much discussion on prices. It hasn’t broken, failed or exploded yet, so I can safely say you’re paying into something that will not die on the first few weeks.

But I’m guessing you’re not concerned about the life of an iPhone – you really want to know what new goodies you’ll get and if it’s worth buying.

iPhone’s have always been a controversial gadget – with the price of the phone being at an all time high, it certainly does need to tick most of the boxes we, the consumer want it to.

In this Hub, we’ll go through five items which may interest you into the purchase of an iPhone.

Item one: i.OS5

The i.OS5, like all Apple releases, was held in very high respects. Everyone was saying this is ‘the future’ of Operating Systems. With i.OS5, you get iCloud - a new shipping and storage device for all your purchases, media and apps. Basically, once you’ve downloaded something, you can wirelessly send it to your computer. This is a neat tool, but not one you’ll use very often. Like all Apple adverts, your life doesn’t seem as hectic as the chap that needs to use iCloud.

We then come to the big star, well, in Apple’s view – Siri, a robot butler that is waiting for you to tell him what to do and has an endless amount of answers, to your many questions. Too bad it cannot find businesses outside the US. Lets take that out of the equation though, is Siri really what Apple built it up to be? Yes. It does tell you a heck of a lot of stuff and if you forget what you’re doing today, it will remind you. The one bad point is, again, it’s a pointless tool unless you’re a very busy businessman. I can do everything I need with the touch-pad and I’ve got the internet for research. Siri isn’t really needed or used – he’s also very bad at understanding my accent, which is Geordie.

News-stand is a new application, where you can read your favourite magazines. While this may sound great, it isn’t that good when almost every magazine costs £5.00 per week. If it had some freebies, or even some cheap ones, I would consider using it.

With all these cool but pointless tools, I may as well throw in another – iMessage. This a messaging tool where two friends can interact through text for free. Only problem, it’s only for iPhone’s, so most of your friends that don’t have an iPhone won’t be included. At least this can be used by everyone, not just busy businessmen.

So, on the whole, a decent but boring and useless bounty of tools – 4/10

Item 2: The Camera

The camera offers 8 megapixels; which is very generous compared to some other phones on the market – with a front camera for them little unexpected pictures. It also boasts a 1080HD camera for video recording; which is substantially better than the older versions.

With new editing on pictures, including red-eye remover and crop tools, you’ll be able not only to take the perfect picture – but to render it to your perfect image.

All in all, the camera has been vigorously improved from previous designs and is one of the best on the market. 8/10

Item 3: Connectivity

With iPhone 4G’s problems connecting in the house and in offices, Apple had their work cut out trying to fix this. While this may not be seen on the outside, there are four small slits on the sides of the iPhone; which enhance the connectivity of the iPhone. So far, it’s the same old unpredictable connection. When I’m in school, I find I’m normally waiting hours for it to turn work, or bewildered in the five seconds it works. 5/10

Item 4: Graphics’ Core

With this new ’7 times better’ Graphics Core, you would expect that the game will be popping out of the screen. Unfortunately, the iPhone isn’t that developed yet, but the new graphics advancement does give a better design on all games. When you’ve just came from an iPhone 3GS, it gives you a great feel of new life and better design. 7/10

Item 5: Battery Life

This has always been a big downside of the iPhone, with some earlier versions not being able to last a day without charge. The 4GS’ battery is not great, but better than previous phones. It can keep you going for a full day, even with all the games/messages and calls you may need to do. It’s a big step for the iPhone – one which I hope will be improved again. 6/10

Most of the people that buy Apple’s new products buy them because they want the newest of the new. It’s not just a case of “what’s on”, it’s a case of “I want the best. Now.”

That being said, if you want to shell out extra money for half decent but pointless tools – a better camera and some new graphical advantages, then go ahead. But I’m disappointed I paid all my money and got only these tools.