First iPhone 4 Reviews Mostly Sing Its Praises

Just when you thought a few lucky customers beat the rest of the world to getting an iPhone 4, some technology journalists with early access to the device just published their reviews.

Apple typically handpicks a select group of publications to get early review units, and the first round of reviews comes from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Engadget and others.

The reviewers agreed that the iPhone 4's hardware is state-of-the-art industrial design. However, they debated about whether the handset solves the iPhone's biggest recurring problem: handling phone calls on the overloaded AT&T network.

Priced at $200 for the 16-GB model and $300 for the 32-GB model, the iPhone 4 hits stores Thursday (though a few lucky pre-order customers are getting theirs as early as today).

Excerpts from the early reviews are as follows:

Josh Topolsky, Engadget:

The big question is obviously whether or not this fixes or helps with the constant dropped calls iPhone users on AT&T's network have gotten used to. Well in our testing, we had far, far fewer dropped calls than we experienced on our 3GS. Let's just say that again: yes, the iPhone 4 does seem to alleviate the dropped call issue.

Walt Mossberg, The Wall Street Journal:

In both hardware and software, it is a major leap over its already-excellent predecessor, the iPhone 3GS.

It has some downsides and limitations-- most important, the overwhelmed AT&T network in the U.S., which, in my tests, the new phone handled sometimes better and, unfortunately, sometimes worse than its predecessor.

Xeni Jardin, Boing Boing:

The fourth incarnation of Apple's iPhone is an incrementally improved, familiar device -- not a new kind of device, as was the case with the recent introduction of iPad.... Apple's focus on improvement is as much key to the quality of its products as innovation. But there's one flaw it doesn't eliminate: the unreliable quality of calls placed over AT&T, which remains the iPhone's only U.S. carrier.

David Pogue, The New York Times:

With the iPhone 4, Apple tried to relieve the wigginess [of phone calls]. Sound is much better on both ends of the call, thanks in part to a noise-canceling microphone and an improved audio chamber (which also helps speakerphone and music sound). The stainless-steel edge band is now part of the antenna. The new phone is also better at choosing the best channel for connecting with the cell tower, even if’s not technically the strongest one. (Ever had four bars, but a miserable connection? Then you get it.)

Edward Baig, USA Today:

Cutting through the hype, Apple has given longtime diehards, and first-time iPhone owners, plenty to cheer about.

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com