The white iPhone 4 will soon be available SIM free. We take a look at the technical details of the high profile Apple release.
The new design moves the classic iPhone design in a new direction. Exquisite materials include a stainless steel surround, machined steel buttons and a glass front and rear. The design is almost 25 percent thinner than the previous iPhone 3GS, now relegated to the budget model. The SIM free white iPhone 4 is available with either 16GB or 32GB capacities. A black version is also available.
iPhone 4 hardware
Major hardware improvements feature on the new phone. Perhaps the most impressive is the new 3.5-inch 960 x 640 pixel screen, dubbed the Retina display. The screen has a 326 pixel density per inch which means that the screen is a higher resolution than the typical human eye can see, hence the name. A front-facing camera also features and can be used to make video calls with Apple’s Facetime software in conjunction with the integrated microphone and speaker. A second microphone is also present for noise cancellation purposes. The standard 30pin connector for docking and a headset input are also provided as well as a sleep/wake button for use with the alarm.
The iPhone 4’s processing power is provided by the Apple-designed A4 CPU as used in the iPad which brings a welcome boost in performance coupled with improved battery life.
White iPhone 4 camera
The upgraded 5 mega-pixel camera with auto focus is also capable at shooting HD video at 720p resolution and 30 frames-per-second. An LED flash can also be used to light video shot in darker environments. A new iMovie software application allows users to edit and assemble footage in the device before sharing on sites such as Facebook and YouTube. The iMovie app will not be included as standard with the iPhone 4 but will have to be purchased from Apple’s app store at a cost of $4.99. A bit stingy if you’ve paid around $600 for your new SIM free iPhone!
iPhone 4 connectivity
As far as connectivity goes, the iPhone 4 offers quad-band HSDPA/HSUPA for mobile broadband at up to 7.2Mbps downstream (4.8Mbps upstream), integrated Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth and GPS. Other features packed into the slim casing are an accelerometer, gyroscope (for six-axis motion sensing), proximity sensor, compass and an ambient light sensor. All of these features will enable developers to further increase the functionality of future iPhone apps.
A unique feature amongst cell phones is that the stainless steel surround also doubles as the GSM, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS antennas.
iPhone 4 battery performance
Improvements to the processor and battery specification enable the device to achieve up to 7 hours talk time over 3G networks, up to 6 hours of 3G Web browsing, 10 hours of Wi-Fi browsing, up to 10 hours of video playing, over 40 hours of music playback and a standby time of up to 300 hours.
That concludes our review of the SIM free white iPhone 4 smartphone. Look out for our other white iPhone article which deals with the new software applications that are introduced with the new model including the new iOS4 operating system.
