AT A GLANCE

• Available in 16 and 32GB sized models
• Superb 960 x 640p Retina display
• FaceTime, Game Center
• 720p video recording

I feel a bit like Cathy in Wuthering Heights - torn between the rugged Heathcliff and that other pansy/pretty boy,  Whatshisname - loving both, for different reasons, but unable to choose between the two. The BlackBerry and the iPhone have been involved in a tug-of-war for the number one spot in my tech-heart.

BlackBerry was my first love - a love that it earned by providing me with reliable durability (it got vomited on and spent its life at the bottom of my handbag, when not being overworked by my constant e-mail, Twitter, Facebook and BBM/WhatsApp habits) and its ability to provide me with instant gratification by giving me a variety of methods to communicate with my inner circle, from anywhere - a task it performed seamlessly and cheaply. The iPhone I loved for entirely different reasons. I loved its sleek, smooth good-looks and I loved its browser. I adored the apps and eventually came to respect the touchscreen experience, as it was pretty slick, and also was much easier on my thumb. I finally saw the point of having Wi-Fi on a phone and it was easy to use, and everything was easily accessible. 

In short, after two months with the iPhone 3GS, I was in love. After two weeks with the iPhone 4, the initial novelty-afterglow of the iPhone 4 has already worn off for me. Don't get me wrong - it is amazing - but when everything that you experience from Apple is just amazing, you kinda get the feeling that they've set such high standards for themselves, that the hype usually turns out to be bigger than the product itself.

Apple has given more makeovers than The Style Network

Apple clearly don't believe in that little nugget of wisdom usually quoted by those who are change-resistant: "if it aint broke, don't fix it" and nearly all recent product releases have seen the traditional favourites like the nano and the iPhone, get a complete makeover.

The first thing that was different was, of course, the display. The Retina Display has a pixel count of 960 x 640, but don't bother trying to count them, because you can't even see them when you're zoomed in as far as possible because of a pixel density of 326 pixels per inch, which is unprecedented. The LED backlit display is simply superb and I imagine that you'd love it if you are a heavy mobile browser, gamer or if you're big into iPhone photography.

There were a few minor detail changes in the home menu layout - with grouping of similar app icons which means that you don't have to scroll through pages and pages of icons to get to what you want. Another change is the ability to truly multi-task. I still maintain that BlackBerry does multi-tasking best and having to actively kill  apps on the iPhone 4 was an annoyance. If I forgot to kill Echofon, it would autorefresh and chew its way steadily through my airtime on the prepaid microSIM.

The biggest change (and the one that made the least sense to me) is, of course, the exterior. As with most makeover shows, Apple focused quite a bit on changing up the exterior of the phone. Gone is the curved, sleek piece of hardware that rests comfortably in the curve of your palm. Gone are all the smooth edges and soft touches that I came to love on the 3GS.

Now the iPhone is characterised by its sharp edges and consists of a glass display on the front as well as a glass plate that makes up the rear piece of the phone. Metallic and black finishes with minimalistic buttons round off the entire package, of which I am not a fan. It doesn't feel right in my hand.  While I have to commend the oleophobic coating on front and back glass panels for being scratch-resistant (not a single scratch on this iPhone despite spending a fair amount of time at the bottom of my handbag without any protection beyond the bumper that came with the iPhone) it is by no means fingerprint-resistant like Apple claims. No matter that Apple used the same glass in their new iPhone as is used to manufacture helicopters and high-speed trains, it's still a bitch to clean. In fact, when people ask me to have a look at the phone, I'm often quite ashamed to hand it over, so grubby is it with fingerprints.

So the outside is all different, but what about the inside?

There's a faster processor (a 1 GHz Apple A4 processor in fact) as well as 512MB of RAM. A more efficient battery and a faster processor means that battery life is better (way better) than the 3GS and the iPhone 4 only needed charging every other day, as opposed to twice a day, with the 3GS. A better battery life and more thinking power means good things: you can spend more time using the applications that have made the iPhone such a hit. You can spend more time browsing, video talking or listening to music, with the iPod functionality.

There are more connectivity options with Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, EDGE, GPRS, 3G and Bluetooth and it works beautifully with my MacBook Pro - everything is easy to integrate and sync, and the iTunes experience is mostly hassle-free. When you're browsing, web pages load extremely quickly and the entire mobile Safari experience is an absolute pleasure.

Push e-mail and notifications is finally something that Apple managed to get right. This functionality, along with the multi-tasking ability means that BlackBerry finally have some real competition in terms of creating handsets that are perfectly created for communication and fitting in with a lifestyle that demands that users always be  able to do a million things at once.

There's also a three-axis gyro sensor that works in conjunction with the accelerometer sensor, which makes the switch from landscape to portrait viewing mode (depending on which way you're holding the phone) seamless. It's even possible to hold the iPhone upside-down and have the display correct itself. This gyro-whatsit and accelerometer thingie is what makes the iPhone 4 perfect for mobile gaming. Although my gaming experience on the iPhone 4 was limited to Doodle Jump (absolutely thrilling, I must say) I suspect that the Game Center is going to be an absolute wet dream for mobile gamers.

Apple believes more is better, clearly

Apparently having one camera on the iPhone wasn't enough, and instead of concentrating on vastly improving the one camera the iPhone did have, Apple decided to fix the camera a little bit, and  then add another whole camera as well.

The primary camera on the back of the phone has 5MP worth of shooting juice as well as a 5x zoom. While the camera is not great, it's certainly redeemed by HDR mode, which lets you take photos and capture a difference range of light intensity. All you need to do is select the mode, by tapping it whilst the camera app is open. Then it's a case of point and shoot and the iPhone will automatically   capture three photos of your subject at different exposure levels. They're then layered together to create a single photo, using the best elements of each shot. It's a neat touch that both the regular shot and the HDR photo appear in the Camera Roll.

The autofocus works rather well, and the macro lens is sufficient for a smartphone camera. What is rather cool is the ability to tap any where on the picture to focus on it, before the photo is taken. Tapping to focus also means that exposure and white balance are adjusted automatically too. Whilst not perfect every time, this camera does tend to take decent photos, in a variety of settings and lightings. The LED flash means that those night-time pictures will no longer be a washed-out blur.

We live in what can only be called the social media age - broadcasting our lives through blog posts,  status updates, photo streams and in 140-characters or less. The icon of the social media age is undoubtedly the self-portrait, which qualifies only if it's taken on a mobile phone, with an arm extended and face upturned to the camera. The iPhone 4 makes the taking of these self-indulgent portrait shots much easier, with a VGA-quality camera on the front, so you can see yourself, while you're snapping yourself. A huge improvement, because let's face it - taking self-portrait shots on the iPhone 3GS was simply a colossal pain.

There's also the ability to record HD video, and for the low-light conditions, the LED flash works to brighten the scene. There's basic on-board editing functions and the same easy self-portrait capture functionality of the stills camera works for video too - without having to guess whether you're cutting yourself out of the frame, or not. Tap to focus works here, as well - which lets you focus on objects in the foreground and background. This is also the camera you'll be using for FaceTime - which is sort of a video version of BlackBerry Messenger. It permits video calling, using Wi-Fi and you'll be able to talk face-to-face with other iPhone 4 or new iPod Touch users.

It's all in how you use it

I mentioned earlier that it's user-friendly. My three year old son picked it up, and after watching me use it, he knew exactly what to do. Knew how to scroll through apps, select things and flick through pictures. Swipe, sweep, pinch, tap and twist - all the motions your fingers are capable of, will be recognised by the multi-touch interface that's a part of iOS4.

Data charges in South Africa are expensive, and as such, I'd say it's really only viable for you (unless you're prepared for a high phone bill) if you have Wi-Fi at work and at home. In addition,  I'd recommend looking into a data package that attaches to your contract (they're usually discounted) that will tide you over for those places in between work and home, to ensure that you're not bled dry by exorbitant data fees.Trust me, the browser experience is so good, you'll be spending a lot of time link-hopping on your iPhone, and it adds up quickly.

Making and receiving calls - the iPhone does what it's meant to, but not that well. It could be that I'm deaf, but I did battle to hear a most of my calls. And yes, the volume was all the way up. There was no issue with dropped calls, and the speaker phone and headset works well enough, too.

So if you're an Apple fan, chances are you'll be wanting this device, if you don't have it already. But as someone who (currently) sits on the fence between the iPhone and BlackBerry - I have to say - my first experience  of the iPhone 3GS was in fact, way better than the iPhone 4.

Turn ons:

• The Retina display seriously is absolutely amazing to look at.
• Battery life is much improved, which means you can spend more time browsing and using apps
• It's easier to take self-portrait photos and videos, and there are two cameras

Turn offs:

• The shape of the device, and the sharp metallic edges are unpleasant in my hand.
• The back casing being made of the same material as the front is problematic - often I find myself pulling the iPhone out of my handbag, and groping on the back case for the Home button, to unlock the device.
• Actively killing apps is a pain.
• The fact that this handset requires a microSIM baffles my brain - what's the point?

Rating: 4/5

SRP:

• 16GB: R8599.95
• 32GB: R10899.95