Apple 32GB iPhone 4

The Apple iPhone 4 ($199 for the 16GB model and $299 for the 32GB version, with a two-year contract from AT&T) is everything that a new piece of technology should be: It’s innovative, attractive, and ahead of its competition. In comparison, previous iPhone upgrades seem inconsequential–that’s how much iPhone 4 brings to the table. But one serious design flaw keeps it from being perfect

The iPhone 4′s look can be described in one word: stylish. Whereas the iPhone 3GS looks and feels plasticky, the iPhone 4 is svelte and has a premium feel. Surprisingly, it achieves that impression while retaining the same general design, although the edges appear a bit more squared than before.
It’s noticeably slimmer than the iPhone 3GS, measuring 0.37 inch deep versus the iPhone 3GS’s thickness of 0.48 inch (that translates to 24 percent less). The iPhone 4 is also slightly narrower, 2.31 inches to 2.44 inches. The weight stays the same at 4.8 ounces, but the tweaks to the dimensions make the iPhone 3GS seem almost blocky in comparison. (See all iPhone 4 specs.)

However, it’s the aesthetic design touches that make the iPhone 4 an upgrade from the 3GS. The overall design screams elegance–from the rounded, individual volume up and down buttons that replace the plastic volume rocker on the iPhone 3GS to the ring/silent switch and the power/sleep button up top. The face and back are made of glass that is specially treated to withstand scratches and oily fingers, according to Apple. Despite the company’s claims, though, I found that both the front and back of my review unit were ridden with fingerprints after only a couple of hours of use.

The side edging is stainless steel, and doubles as the device’s three cellular and wireless antennas. At the iPhone 4 launch, Steve Jobs proclaimed that this new design would improve wireless reception. Hooray, we thought–until we heard about its serious design flaw. When you hold a phone, you’re sometimes inclined to grip it by its edges. But if you hold the iPhone 4 by its edges, your fingers might block its antennas, thus seriously degrading the wireless connectivity. Senior Editor Mark Sullivan conducted a series of data tests around San Francisco to see how much the connectivity was affected by this, ahem, design fail. In the majority of his tests, he saw dramatic decreases in connectivity. Apple’s response to this problem? The company essentially suggests that users not hold the phone in that way.