iPhone 4 Officially Announced

June 7, 2010 — by Per Christensson

Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone 4 today during his WWDC 2010 keynote address. While I'm not usually one to get caught up in the hype of new product releases, this phone looks amazing.

I stood in line to buy the first iPhone when it was originally released in 2007. Like a lot of iPhone users, I feel like it changed my life. The iPhone allowed me to do new things like listen to music, view photos, read and send email, and browse the Web wherever I went. It was like I had part of my Mac with me at all times.

Last year, I upgraded to the iPhone 3GS, which is much faster than the original iPhone and includes a great video recording feature. I really like my iPhone 3GS and didn't plan on upgrading to the new phone. That is, until I saw the new iPhone 4 today. The following features made me change my mind.

The Retina Display - Apple doubled the resolution of the already super-high res iPhone to 960x640 pixels. That is four times as many pixels in the same screen space. Wow. When I wrote my review of the original iPhone, my favorite feature was the amazing display. I can't wait to see how clear everything looks on the new model.
A New Camera - The camera has been upgraded with a 5 megapixel sensor. It also includes a great feature called backside illumination, which helps capture better low light images. The camera also finally includes an LED flash, that works as both a camera flash and a light for video recording. And speaking of video recording, the iPhone 4 now records HD video!
FaceTime Video Calling - The new iPhone includes a feature called FaceTime, which is used for making video calls with other iPhone users. Now, instead of needing two computers with a webcam, all you need are two iPhones. The iPhone 4 includes cameras on the front and back of the phone and you can switch between the cameras to film yourself or your surroundings. From the demos I've seen, it looks like a groundbreaking feature that may change the way we communicate in the future.

So as you can tell, I'm pretty excited about the new iPhone. What's also exciting is that yesterday AT&T moved up my phone upgrade eligibility from December 2010 to this month. That means I can get the iPhone 4 at the contact renewal price, which makes the upgrade a no-brainer for me. I'll post my thoughts on the new phone after I have used it for awhile, and I'll do my best to be at least somewhat objective in my review. =)