Five Reasons To Buy & Not To Buy The iPhone 4

CNET has posted a video on their CNET TV web page that lists five reasons to purchase and not to purchase the iPhone 4. The video is not meant to cause controversy but is instead doing the opposite of what the rest of the world is doing and is not drooling over the device.

However their five reasons to buy the iPhone 4 are pretty drool worthy. In other words, they’re playing both sides.

So, let’s take a look at their five reasons to buy and not to buy the iPhone 4 and see if we agree.

Five Reasons Not To Buy The iPhone 4

Reason #5: No 4G.

The argument here is that the iPhone 4 does not run on a 4G network. By comparison, the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS both ran on 3G networks (GSM 850/900/1800/1900 and HSDPA 850/1900/2100) however the iPhone 3G had top 3G speeds of 3.6Mbps and the iPhone 3GS had top 3G speeds of 7.2Mbps. Unfortunately, the iPhone 4 also shares the 7.2Mbps 3G speed.

While it would have been nice to have 4G in the iPhone 4, none of the Canadian carriers currently support the network type. In Canada, the carriers have what they call “3G+” or “3.5G”, but we’re not at 4G yet.

Reason #4: No Unlimited Data.

This reason is more U.S. based. Before the iPhone 4, AT&T (the exclusive iPhone carrier in the USA) customers had a data plan option that offered them unlimited data. This unlimited option has now been removed in favor of tiered pricing and overage fees, kind of like in Canada! However, what was not very known is that the “unlimited” was actually capped at 5GB.

This doesn’t mean much for Canadians, since we never had (and never will) an unlimited data plan, but Rogers/Fido do have that famous $30 6GB data plan, which actually provides more data than AT&T’s “unlimited” option.

Reason #3: Verizon iPhone.

This is another U.S. based reason. If you are keeping track, you have for sure heard of all the drama surrounding the AT&T network from slow data to dropped calls to horrible customer service. Overall, the message is that AT&T sucks.

Verizon is the next best alternative and rumors have been growing that Apple may launch an iPhone for Verizon. While having two carriers to support the iPhone is great news for Americans, we Canadians actually have FIVE carriers that support the iPhone and each wireless network is actually pretty fast, with very few dropped calls. However what Canadians need is lower pricing from our wireless carriers and less colluding, as many would say.

Reason #2: AT&T Service.

On the back of reason #3, another reason not to buy the iPhone 4 is AT&T. Dropped calls, poor customer service, and very slow data make it very undesirable for Americans to sign a 2-year agreement with AT&T. Even worse, AT&T has the iPhone 4 locked!

When the iPhone 4 was launched and the launch date for Canada was July 2010, Apple posted that outright iPhone 4 models will be unlocked. Many Canadians were planning to go South to buy an iPhone 4 in hopes that it would be unlocked, but unfortunately that luxury seems to be reserved for a select group of countries. As far as we can tell, Canadians nor Americans can even buy the iPhone 4 outright from the USA!

Personally, I would have jumped on the iPhone 4 if it was sold unlocked in the USA, so AT&T really does suck!

Reason #1: Apple Lied.

This reason focuses that the new iPhone 4 is not as world changing as Apple makes it seem. A lot of the hype is just that, hype. Many users may have come away from WWDC feeling underwhelmed by the announcements.

The iPhone 4 features two cameras, a better display, HD video, multitasking, and the A4 processor. CNET claims that at least half of those feature are playing catch-up with the competition and the remaining half do not change much in the industry considering the large number of competitor devices out there that are better or equal to the iPhone 4.

So that was the five reasons not to buy the iPhone 4. Now let’s take a look at the opposite and the five reasons to buy the iPhone 4.

Five Reasons To Buy The iPhone 4

Reason #5: Better Antennas.

While we Canadians never had too many reception issues with the wireless carriers (see AT&T reasons above), they are known to drop the occasional call. The current iPhone 3G/3GS has its wireless, Bluetooth, and WiFi antennas inside the iPhone, behind the plastic back.

The new iPhone 4 has changed the placement and instead moved the antennas to the outside edge of the iPhone 4. So now the antennas have no plastic or metal blocking its signal. Theoretically, this means better reception from the carrier network, Bluetooth, and WiFi.

However, this recent video of reception issues says otherwise. You decide.

Reason #4: Two Cameras.

The iPhone 4 features two cameras. The first camera is on the back and features five mega pixels, auto-focus, a backside illuminated sensor, LED flash, 5x digital zoom, and HD video recording.

The front camera is a VGA camera used for Apple’s new FaceTime video calling feature (iPhone 4 required).

Reason #3: Multitasking.

The launch of iOS 4 brought the much anticipated multitasking to the iPhone. In this case, both the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS receive multitasking through iOS 4, but due to the increased processing speeds on the iPhone 4, multitasking will run smoother on iPhone 4 than on the iPhone 3GS.

Multitasking finally allows users to officially switch between apps very quickly without having to end the current app they are using. Users can now use multitasking to leave an app and then come to it and pick up right where they left off!

Reason #2: HD Video.

Along with the new five mega pixel camera, the iPhone 4 can shoot HD video in 720p. Users can also edit the video in-phone using the new iMovie app, which is available for $4.99 from the App Store.

After recording your HD video, users can then upload the video to YouTube or MobileMe or send it via MMS or email right from the iPhone. Multimedia is really a strong point for Apple and the iMovie app is going to change the way people use their iPhone to shoot video.

Reason #1: Retina Display.

The new Retina Display on the iPhone 4 features 326 pixels per inch, which makes the display much more higher quality than that of the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS. Text ends up looking like ink and not pixels, which makes for a very enjoyable viewing experience.

The iPhone 4 also features IPS technology, the same display technology found in the iPad and the previously updated iMacs. This gives the iPhone 4 a great viewing angle and provides very sharp images and text. After all, what’s an iPhone without the display?

So that was the five reasons to buy the iPhone 4.

There were many good and bad reasons to purchase (or not) the iPhone 4, but ultimately it is you who decides if the iPhone 4 is worth it.

[CNET]

P.S. - Like our news? Support the site with a coffee/beer. Or shop with our Amazon link. We use affiliate links when possible--thank you for supporting independent media.