iPhone 4 to hit Australia in July

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The next version of the iPhone will hit Australia in July as part of the second wave of countries to receive the handset, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs revealed this morning after demonstrating the new device.

The phone will be available in the US, France, Germany, the UK and Japan from June 24, but Australia will have to wait a little longer until July.

Jobs did not reveal Australian pricing for the device, but it will retail in the United States for US$199 for the 16GB model, which converts to AU$244.39 at today’s exchange rates, and US$299 for the 32GB model – or AU$367.10. The iPhone 4 will be available in black and white colours.

Apple will stop selling the legacy 3G version of the iPhone — WhistleOut has reported that Optus has already stopped selling that model – and the previous 3GS model will slip to US$99.

Jobs this morning announced a raft of changes to the iPhone compared with previous models, starting with the re-designed exterior, which features a glass front and back and a rejuvenated flat design. The iPhone 4 can film HD video in 720p resolution, and features a new, high-resolution display with a higher pixel count for greater viewing fidelity. Apple has also built in a new feature dubbed ‘FaceTime’ which allows users to make video calls via Wi-Fi using the iPhone 4’s new camera on its front.

Full details of the iPhone 4’s new capabilities are available in detail on international sites such as Engadget, Gizmodo, gdgt and CNET.

Is is not yet clear which carriers in Australia will stock the iPhone 4, but Vodafone Australia stated on its Twitter account this morning that it would shortly publish a pre-registration page on its website.

Image credit: Apple

57 COMMENTS

  1. Judging by Ryan Block’s and Joshua Topolsky’s live blog comments in regards to image quality, the 720p video, 5mp stills and the ultra high res 960×480 “retina display” all look pretty damn amazing.

    Also love the gyroscope and 3 way antenna built into the metal casing!

    Providing this thing can be jailbroken (which seems a given with iOS4) I don’t think I’ll be switching to Android after all..

    • It’s an impressive device, but I still think it will be Android for me next :) I like to move to and support more open platforms if I can, and the iPhone 4 is just more of the same from Apple. Great device … lots of little decisions that they want to make for you :)

      • Whilst in most regards I would tend to believe you, there needs to be certain standards that are set, for me, I don’t see what Apple has put in place that hampers it just because it is proprietary as a product. As far as developers are concerned, the phone is very open and the architecture is solid. I don’t find there are any limitations with the phone for anything that I do. I would need to see a head to head comparison of an Android based phone (It would need to be good one) to serve proper judgement, rather than making rash allegations. One thing for certain, the majority of Android based phones and lets be honest, it is a mobile operating system, can be put onto any number of different phones, which results in some of the phone hardware being highly generic and not nearly up to the standard of the iPhone. Same thing was said about music players – people said there are better choices, but hey did anyone buy them? Very little. Apple has surrounded themselves with a great architecture with thousands of developers and a software front end in iTunes. It is a brilliant solution and one in which other companies, such as Microsoft are actively trying to emulate. We all know Sony had to shut their iTunes-esc site down.

  2. Ah, but I agree. Hence the jailbreak comment! Jailbreaking puts the real power of idevices in your hands. If it’s no jailbreak, then no sale for me :-).

    • Yeah but the problem is jailbreaking is the same as BitTorrenting video. Solves your immediate problem. But you’re left with the long-term headache. In Apple’s case, its operating system only likes to play nicely with its bloated software installed on your PC, which is a hog, and you can’t use Flash, and you can only install the apps that Steve says you can.

      Android don’t preach like Steve do ;)

  3. iTunes – Agree that it’s bloatware and that it sucks, but I can live with it. Particularly given that after jailbreaking I can use WinSCP to access the file system of the phone over wi-fi (and wirelessly sync to iTunes with Wi-Fi sync)

    Flash – Apart from the extremely occasional website, I have no need for flash on a phone. I mean apart from ads and video what’s it really good for? YouTube is about the only site I watch flash video content from and since it has it’s own dedicated H.264 app on the iPhone there’s no need. Not to mention even with Flash 10.1 and Froyo it runs “barely ok” (with questionable battery drain) on Android devices.

    As for “only installing the apps Steve wants me to”: Did I mention this little thing called Jailbreaking?… ;-)

    • Re: iTunes: This beast has taken down my PC so many times that it’s impossible to count. There is absolutely no reason why Apple couldn’t make the iPhone act like a standard USB device like any other. But iTunes does not work nicely on the PC. Why? Because Apple wants you to use a Mac for your desktop needs and an iPhone for your mobile, all synched together. iTunes on Windows is an aberration Steve would rather eventually destroy.

      As for Flash and apps, I shouldn’t have to hack into my phone, potentially damaging it, to be able to run whatever software I want to run. We did not go through the platform wars of the 1980s and 1990s only to come out in a world where one company gets to decide what you can use your hardware for. The principle alone makes it worth switching to another device.

      • I agree in regards to iTunes. It’s a painful way to sync the device and a terrible media player in general. Would love to be rid of it, but of course it’s married to the iPhone in every way. One nice little jailbreak mod allows for wireless sync at least which does make it a little easier (why Apple don’t at least include this option is beyond me given how easy it is to implement). And of course proper file management comes with SSH.

        As for the principles of jailbreaking, I actually enjoy it! it has a great culture of enthusiasts that have developed a very sound alternative to the App store with Cydia, and the modding scene make some extremely awesome looking themes (some that change the entire layout and feel of the device to the point where iPhone OS is barely recognisable). Freeing up your iPhone gives you a real kick as it feels like a big punch in the face to Jobs (serves him right for having such a closed system with the App Store!).

        As for potentially damage to the device with jailbreaking, I’ve never heard of anyone permanently bricking their phone. You’d have to do something really mad for this to happen. Any harm done done to the device can always be restored by installing a backup from iTunes (unless of course you stuff the baseband in some way which would be very difficult to do).

        The only problems with jailbreaking I’ve encountered are stability (which nearly always comes down to lack of ram when I go overboard with Cydia apps!) and slow-down (again, usually attributed to lack of memory for functions like multitasking). These are mainly hardware limitations with my aging 3G model however, so jailbreaking shouldn’t add any considerable slowdown to the iPhone 4 given it’s impressive specs.

        I do see where you’re coming from, and it would be nice if jailbreaking wasn’t necessary, but it you’re a geek who likes to tinker it can be a lot of fun. It’s also worth pointing out that “rooting” Android devices in a similar fashion is required for full freedom with file structure and modding (particularly if you want to delete the absolutely useless default Telstra apps on the Desire for instance! :) )

      • If you’re worried about jailbreaking the phone or putting iTunes on your PC then go buy a nokia or blackberry.

        Do you buy a car then whinge that you can’t cold fission to power it?

        If you don’t like it – don’t buy it!….not so hard is it?

        • Lol,
          A lot of people buy cars and mod them to their desire…
          Just like someone buying an iPhone and modding it to their desire….

  4. Something else worth pointing out too Renai is that battery life of my Dad’s HTC Desire is pretty poor. Of all the announcements made today with the new iPhone, the ones with the most real world value to me were the claims about the greatly enhanced battery life. Even if you cut Apple’s estimates in half, that’s going to mean real world performance a LOT better than any Android device I’m currently aware of.

      • To be honest I’m not stressed … the iPhone 3G doesn’t have great battery life either, and I’ve been using that now for 2 years. You get used to charging your device every night or whatever. And it’s not such a big deal when you realise that in modern society you are never far away from a laptop or wall point for charging :)

  5. So… Apple had to put glass back and front plus use a “special” (for mobile phones) metal just to get the cellular signal working properly?

    I honestly cannot see anything new or worthwhile with the iPhone 4.

    720p (thats NOT HD) video… done for at least a year
    Front facing camera (that *only works* on WiFi – NOT 3G/HSPA)… done for years to death
    “Hi-res” screen… done before and yes with Android (and others)
    iTunes… well everyone knows how crappy that product is
    Larger battery = longer runtime… well duh! (why do you think the iPad weighs soooo much??)
    ~900MHz processor… everyone else is already getting onto dualcore 1.3GHz cpu’s

    Personally… if I was to choose between iPhone 4 and an Android based phone, I’d easily take the Android. Its open, its usable and *I* can do what *I* want to do with it.

    • “720p (thats NOT HD) video”

      How is 720p “NOT HD” as you claim? 720p is a well known and industry recognised HD format. In fact as a progressive format, at a good bit-rate, it often looks better than 1080i (and unquestionably has better temporal resolution). As someone who works in the audio/visual industry and that is involved in frequent video production, something that’s something I can lay claim to knowing quite a bit about.

      The only phones that currently do 720p record it at a horrible bit-rate (including the much touted “flagship Android device” – the HTC Evo) destroying any benefits of the higher resolution. Don’t believe me, have a look at the horrible reviews and video samples on the net. The 720p samples on show at from the iPhone at WWDC by comparison were from all reputable accounts, stunning (particularly for video taken from a smartphone).

      “Front facing camera (that *only works* on WiFi – NOT 3G/HSPA)… done for years to death”

      For now. If they released video calling over 3G to begin with it would crush AT&T in the US, which already struggles with the demands of current iPhone 3G/3GS data. I admit it’s pretty laughable Apple are hyping it video calling the way they are (particularly with their vomit inducing new commercials) but love Apple or hate them, this will bring video calls to the masses. Over time as the infrastructure is put in place this feature will obviously end up available on 3G, but even if was would that really have you signing it’s praises? From your tone, I think not :)

      ““Hi-res” screen… done before and yes with Android (and others)”

      Which Android phone has a 960×480 screen again? 853×480 is the highest resolution Android phone screen available. Regardless of screen resolution, it’s pixel density that is the key figure here, or “pixels per inch”. In the case of the new iPhone that’s a staggering 325 pixel-per-inch display. There is NOTHING out there that even comes close. In addition to this it uses IPS LCD (as seen on the iPad) which affords far greater contrast and viewing angles. Not to mention far superior outdoor performance than AMOLED.

      “iTunes… well everyone knows how crappy that product is”

      Agreed. It’s shit.

      “Larger battery = longer runtime… well duh! (why do you think the iPad weighs soooo much??)”

      Hang on. You’re actually having a go at a product for having good battery performance?! That’s a first! And the weight part doesn’t add up, given it’s the thinnest and lightest smartphone ever.

      “~900MHz processor… everyone else is already getting onto dualcore 1.3GHz cpu’s”

      Might want to do your homework. Not only is the CPU a 1Ghz processor (where did you get the 900Mhz from?) it’s a very fast A4 chip. If you know the first thing about CPUs (and I’m sure you do) you’ll know that you can’t simply say it’s “Mhz for Mhz” as that’s just not the way they work. If they were then a Core i7 would be slower than a Pentium 4 :) . As has clearly been seen from the very speedy performance of the iPad (which features the same A4) chip it’s a very fast 1Ghz processor indeed (please don’t chime in about how much you hate the iPad. It’s fast – regardless of what you think of the rest of it).

      There are many great things about Android. There are also many great things about the new iPhone.To not recognize any of them is absurd. As a lover of all tech gadgets I can acknowledge certainly acknowledge the pros and cons to each very different platform.

      At the very least the new iPhone has raised the bar in SOME areas (clearly not all) for Android, which in the end will mean better Android devices quicker. A Bit of healthy competition is good for everyone. No?

      • This post stinks of Apple fanboyism. Wow. So the iPhone records 720p video at an acceptable nitrate. And people at an APPLE EVENT, with APPLE-FILMED VIDEO, think it is amazing. Shocking. I remember when the iPhone camera was first released, there were a stack of people apologising for its low megapixel count compared with phones already on the market — because it somehow took photos better because it was Apple etc.

        Now, there are people taking photos with Android phones that have dicked all over the iPhone for some time. But because the iPhone has caught up in the latest generation it’s somehow a revelation. Give me strength. HD video in a device the size of the iPhone is not revolutionary. I have my HD Flip camera today. It’s been out for some time. Yes, it’s great that it’s in a mobile form factor. But it’s not the second coming of Jesus.

        “For now. If they released video calling over 3G to begin with it would crush AT&T in the US, which already struggles with the demands of current iPhone 3G/3GS data.”

        Or, AT&T just has a shit network. Telstra’s Next G network appears to be coping just fine with the iPhone and everything else. How about Steve Jobs stops making excuses for US-centric telcos and starts unlocking features that we can actually use in other, more advanced locations in the world … such as … 3G video calling, which we’ve had in Australia for half a decade now, yet nobody uses?

        “I admit it’s pretty laughable Apple are hyping it video calling the way they are (particularly with their vomit inducing new commercials) but love Apple or hate them, this will bring video calls to the masses. Over time as the infrastructure is put in place this feature will obviously end up available on 3G, but even if was would that really have you signing it’s praises? From your tone, I think not :)”

        See above. We can do video calling over 3G NOW in Australia. It’s only the US-centrism in this release which has limited this.

        “““Hi-res” screen… done before and yes with Android (and others)”
        Which Android phone has a 960×480 screen again? 853×480 is the highest resolution Android phone screen available. Regardless of screen resolution, it’s pixel density that is the key figure here, or “pixels per inch”. In the case of the new iPhone that’s a staggering 325 pixel-per-inch display. There is NOTHING out there that even comes close. In addition to this it uses IPS LCD (as seen on the iPad) which affords far greater contrast and viewing angles. Not to mention far superior outdoor performance than AMOLED.”

        Kool-aid being drunk here. The phone is released to the public, Steve starts talking about pixel count being boosted etc and everyone else starts hyping it as well … without even playing with the phone to compare it. Many people who have used the HTC Desire have commented to me recently that SCREEN SIZE MATTERS and it’s not just resolution. The iPhone is small.

        “Hang on. You’re actually having a go at a product for having good battery performance?! That’s a first! And the weight part doesn’t add up, given it’s the thinnest and lightest smartphone ever.”

        Thinnest and lightest smartphone ever?? Where does that stat come from? I bet you there are a stack of smartphones out there which could lay claim to that on paper.

        Apple reality control device in full effect here.

    • Pretty interesting and defensive (bordering on offensive) reply there Renai! There’s nothing Apple Fanboy about me. In fact just yesterday you’ll remember that I was all but sold on going for an HTC Desire with Telstra. In fact there are still many appealing aspects about the Desire (and the Android platform in general for that matter) that still tempt me. I love Android and the reason my father has a Desire is because I talked him into buying one over a 3GS.

      All I did above was give counter arguments to some very sweeping (and inaccurate) points. It doesn’t have a 900Mhz processor, it does have a higher pixel count, it does have a bigger battery. The definition of Fanboy is to like products regardless of their weaknesses and to be so obsessed by a product you can’t admit it’s downsides. I was pointing out it’s strengths and will readily admit it’s weaknesses. Of which there are still many (iTunes, small screen, limited scope of App Store products, not true multitasking etc).

      Just because I personally prefer the new iPhone’s look (and I’ll still wait for reviews) over current Android products doesn’t make me a “Fanboy”.

      To say there’s nothing impressive about the new iPhone without recognising ANY of it’s merits is pretty absurd. Bit-rate does matter, pixels per inch does matter (that’s the first thing I noticed about The Desire’s 840×480 screen over the iPhone’s 320×480 screen for example). These are areas that at this stage seem to beat Android. However the cycle of a single Apple product is a long one. Meanwhile during that same period many Android phones will be released and I have no doubt they’ll once again overtake Apple, and that I’ll prefer those aspects over my dated iPhone when they do.

      • Hey Simon, sorry, you’re right, I was a bit pushy, I apologise. I haven’t had much sleep and the iPhone hype is getting to me :( It’s true, you did acknowledge both the strengths and weaknesses. Watching Steve Jobs announce fairly expected and standard features during much of his presentation and have them applauded as amazing was a little bit hard to take at times ;)

        • No worries Renai. I too am in the “haven’t slept basket” and also apologise (isn’t it nice when we all get along? ;-)). I totally agree in regards to Job’s spin, and if hear the word “magical” or see the letter i prefixing another common word (and hence becoming an Apple trademark) I will probably through my iPhone across the room in iDisgust.

          • *sigh* yup Father Steve does like to use the words “magical” and “revolutionary” a lot. It says a lot about how we perceive Apple. If HP or Dell used those words in a press conference we would laugh them out of town. And can you imagine Larry Ellison saying something was “magical” or “revolutionary” and getting away with it?

  6. Wow – it would appear the religious wars are heating up! Keep up the discussion Renai – in a couple of days I’ll be running iPhone 3GS and HTC Desire in parallel, so it’s all of interest to me :)

    • This has pretty much previously been my spiel … but I have to say, after having been playing with a HTC Desire over the past 24 hours, it’s not just the openness that Android has an edge in.

      The user interface and some of the applications on Android are really awesome. There is just so much more flexibility built into the platform than the iPhone — with it’s ‘our way or the highway’ mentality’ can deliver. And each time Google delivers a software update, the platform is just going to get better.

      I’ve always believed in the power of Android as a platform … but now it is beginning to become reality. There is going to be a massive tide of Android phones washing over Apple very shortly.

      • Your comments about Android are certainly valid. I love the multiple home screens and widgets on the Desire. I think HTC do a fantastic job with the skins over Android 2.1. Hopefully they will roll out Froyo quickly to the Desire as it has some excellent enhancements. Particularly when it comes to speed.

        I also hope Froyo fixes a lot of little bugs I’ve noticed on my Dad’s Desire though. He’s leaving his phone with me overnight again tonight to fix it (I’m the guy in the family everyone brings their “broken” IT products to.. I bet you are too ;-)). The main problem which is bugging the hell out of me is a problem syncing with his Exchange server. It syncs mail and contacts just fine, but for some reason every now and then it loses sync with his Calendar and the only way to fix it is to go into his account settings and re-enter the same password. Then it works for a while and then out of the blue fails again. I’ve searched for help regarding this problem and it seems others have encountered it. There’s no reasonable explanation for it, so it has to be a software bug of some sort. Really hope Froyo addresses it.

        Problems aside, I love the flexibility, freedom and openness of the Android platform, and it gets better all the time. I really hope to see a product with a 4.3″ screen (same as HD2), the resolution upped to the iPhone 4’s level, improvements to battery life, and big improvements to camera design and HD video in a new phone soon. If there was an Android device on the market like that now, I’d go for it over an iPhone 4, but the Desire is the closest thing we currently have. The Desire just isn’t quite there for me, but it’s certainly very close to what I’m looking for in a phone.

        To summarise, the reason I’m going for an iPhone 4 are:

        A4 Processor – It really is very fast and efficient. The iPad has shown us that.

        Build quality – This thing really looks like it’s engineered and built extremely well.

        Screen quality – I’m a sucker for pixel density and high res screens! The 1:4 scaling of old apps should work very well too.

        Camera quality – initial untouched photos released by Apple are extremely impressive (sure they are shot under optimal conditions, but they do at least give you a rough idea of what it’s capable of)

        HD 720p recording at a good bit-rate (Having a basic 720p recorder in my pocket at all times is very appealing). Love the fact I can do quick edits and uploads all from the phone.

        Range of Apps – There’s a lot of crap in the Appstore, but a ton of excellent apps too. Plus I don’t want lose my existing apps that I’ve built up on the 3G, so it’ll be to nice to port them straight over – Particularly as they will all scale perfectly to the iPhone 4’s 4x greater resolution screen (everything is automatically re-rendered at higher resolution except for bitmap images which need to be enhanced and recompiled by developers)

        900 Mhz 3G – As stated previously this is a big bonus for me living in Hobart. No more dropping back to 2G in regional areas

        Well designed antenna system built into metal strips around the case – Time will tell just how effective this is, but I think it’s a clever design. Hopefully this will mean no more dropped calls (this also comes down to carrier quality but hopefully Optus will be up to the task)

        Gyroscope – The interview you posted to yesterday with the app developer was really interesting. From the sounds of it the gyroscope will help a lot with accuracy in Google maps and other GPS software, and has the potential to be utilised in all sorts of clever ways if the developer gets creative.

        The ability to Jailbreak – iOS4 (I hate that name!) has already been jailbroken so there shouldn’t be any problems there. Looking forward to seeing what cool apps will come out of Cydia to make use of the extra power of the hardware.

        Having said all that I’d like to point out two things things I HATE about the iPhone that haven’t been addressed yet, even with iOS4 (although one of them thankfully has been fixed with a Cydia app).

        1. Notification system. Stupid Apple popups drive me mad. You’re in the middle of doing something in an app, and up pops a big fat reminder in the middle of the screen, telling you to attend an appointment. Your options for the reminder are “close” (in which case you won’t see the reminder again) or “View”. When you press view it closes you out of what you’re doing and takes you to the relevant program (your calendar, To do list etc). This is just plain stupid and the fact they haven’t addressed it with iOS4 drives me mad. Android in comparison, has a clever pull down bar at the top of the screen which displays all your recent notifications in one neat list. You can then open them for more information when it suits you.

        2. Nothing on the lockscreen. The iPhone’s lockscreen is nothing but a waste of space. Rather than utilising this area with handy widget information or your to do list, mail etc, all you get is a background picture and the huge “slide to unlock” bar. It’s such a poor design. There is a great little jailbreak app that addresses this called “Lock Info” which you can customise to display weather, to do list, calendar entries and even twitter updates. It makes so much more sense and I truly couldn’t live without it now.

        So there you go. They are my iPhone pros and cons for the day :)

    • Very useful post, that. The Reality Distortion Field was pretty strong yesterday. I like to think that I resisted most of its effects though.

  7. One of the most interesting things about the new iPhone is that the Apple site says its quad band UMTS- 850/900/1900/2100- only the second phone to be so, and I’m not sure if the 1st is available yet (nokia…n8 I think?). That WILL please Optus & perhaps Vodafone.

    Question is, the rumor was Vodafone was mainly rolling out 850Mhz to cope with iPhone demand… will this change things? I suspect not because I think their 850Mhz network is also a key part of their plan to separate from the JV agreements they have with Optus & Telstra.

  8. @Bryn – um… there are LOTS of Quad and even “Penta” band phones available on the market and they have been here for some time.

    The past HTC phones I’ve had over the last 4 years have all been quad band. Nokia, LG, Seimens, Samsung have all been doing quad band for years as well.

    • Nope- not UMTS (3G). Quad band GSM, sure but thats not interesting & not what I was referring to. Quad band 3G is, as I said, only on two announced phones so far. Anything else is and was tri-band. Some manufacturers (nokia included) labled their websites badly, such that it seemed to say it supported all frequencies but their was actually two versions of the phone, with different supported frequencies, still only 3 frequencies per phone version.

      • Yes, this is a fair point. I don’t believe the previous iPhones supported the 900MHz 3G network that Optus and Vodafone are rolling out, especially in rural areas (although of course it supported the 2100MHz they use in metro areas). But the new iPhone 4 does support 900MHz.

  9. GTR – That’s an interesting article; some very valid points raised for sure. Certainly in regards to the video calling I completely agree (a gimmick, but one that I believe will interest people more than video calling on other products has to date). I also agree with Renai about 1.) AT&T being an undeniably shit network (check out their hideous new data plans!) that struggles to not drop voice calls as it is, let alone cope with video calling in the future. 2.) That we should have 3G video calling unlocked here and in other parts of the world where it’s been available for ages and the networks can cope. Having said that I remember it being a feature on a Samsung phone I had on Telstra’s Next G network in 2006. I also never used the feature more than to show a few friends that it was there.

    I also apologise if my post seemed “Fanboy” with the points I raised. I simply saw some things I wanted to point out in detail that I perceive to be benefits. You do not, and that’s fine.

    The problem I have with the article from Joe Wilcox is that he points out all the features that are available on other products, but fails to acknowledge the fact that the iPhone 4 has managed to pull them altogether nicely in a pretty solid cohesive package. It has many of the features that I am looking for in a single device. Particularly features like the good quality 720p recording – as an amateur video producer I would love a basic HD camcorder in my pocket at all times for quick shots – particularly as I can edit them right on the phone and upload them to the net in seconds. Even the biggest iPhone haters out there surely have to be impressed with the convenience and slick execution of the iMovie app.

    Bryn – The quad band UMTS was a feature that stood out quickly to me as well. The current iPhone’s limited 2100Mhz performance just flat out sucks in regional areas with Optus. I live in Hobart where there are 900Mhz towers, and to finally get a 3G signal from them will be a godsend. Hopefully it means I can avoid the high prices of Telstra (although there’s no denying their network is vastly superior to Optus’s in general).

    I also think the metal body of the iPhone acting as an antenna is a very unique and cool feature. If it truly does give the phone solid reception and FINALLY “put the phone into iPhone” then that’s a great thing :)

    As for the gyroscope, well we’ll have to see just how useful this ends up being. Supposedly it will give the phone much greater accuracy for GPS than the current system, and it will probably be used effectively in some cool games too, but it’s too early to say.

    I’m honestly sick of the fights that end up occurring whenever someone likes features about an iPhone. Jobs is a master of deception and there’s a lot of shit that comes out of his mouth. However Apple make some great products and thew new iPhone has some very appealing features. Is it really that hard for people to admit?

    • The gyro is a smart move, like the compass. Isn’t actually used all that much but the things it does can’t be done without it and they are “cool” (eg the augmented reality type stuff with the compass-packing 3gs that you can’t do on the 3g).

    • You’re right, Simon, the iPhone does pull them all together in a cohesive package — this was one of the things that surprised me yesterday, that there were so many innovations that all came into the new iPhone, it’s like Apple has been juggling many different balls and managed to hold quite a few up in the air at once for the new device. The level of integration is amazing.

      However, after using a HTC Desire over the past day, I have to say, the one thing which characterises that Apple integration is a philosophy of “you’ll do things the way we want you to”. The Android platform, on the other hand, just has a much more flexible user interface that is more like the way a PC works. You have more options for doing things, all the settings are unlocked and accessible, the power is all there and not hidden away behind a layer of obscurity.

      Steve creates beautiful things. But often those beautiful things aren’t made to be touched and played with. They are for admiring from a distance. Android is for everyday life.

    • Sorry, fanboi, but my HTC Legend is wooonderful.

      Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna run around and dessert you

      And so forth

  10. I only really just noticed the pricing information in this article- its misleading. The US pricing is the upfront cost of a subsidised phone on a two year contract, its totally irrelevant to Australia & just causes confusion.

    • That’s true, Bryn — but we don’t have much else to go on at this point. I’ll add in further pricing details when I have them. I think it’s worth reporting the translation to Australian prices anyway … that way we can see what sort of ‘Australian technology tax’ has been applied, with some later analysis and when more local pricing data arrives.

      • You can’t use that pricing to work out the “technology tax”, because it doesn’t compare to our Australian pricing- they simply don’t sell the phone outright, its not an outright price. It’s like saying that the iPhone is $AU149 in Australia…on a two year contract on Telstra’s iPhone $60 plan. Its not useful or accurate :).

        The only way you could do it would be to find a plan in Australia that matches the iPhone plan ($70 for voice, minimum $15 for data) & calculate the cost over two years for both the US & AU plans, and add the US upfront cost to that… which is really a comparison of plans not phones.

    • Yep you’re right, these US prices are in no way comparable to Australian prices. The 32Gb 3G was over AU$1000 to buy outright, and my guess the 4 will be the same or more.

  11. How will it retail for $376.10?

    The 32gig 3gs still retails for over a thousand bucks?

    • That’s the converted subsided cost when on contract with AT&T in the US. It’s an irrelevant figure for us.

      It will likely be about the same price upfront as the 3GS, but also available on $0 upfront plans, with high monthly repayments on 24 month contracts with all our carriers.

  12. OK, I have heard you guys on this one. The next time I do this kind of phone article, I won’t include this kind of pricing — you’re right, it is confusing given the difference between the way Australia prices phones and the way it’s done in the US.

    • Some US outright pricing is floating around the Internet, looks like they will be selling it outright in the US from AT&T but still locked to AT&T. $599 for 16GB iPhone 4, $699 for 32GB iPhone 4. In US dollars, plus taxes.

  13. I wonder if we’ll be able to buy a decent extended warranty this time on an iPhone. When I bought my iPhone 3G from my ever-helpful Apple dealer (NextByte Adelaide), no extended warranty was available, even though such warranties were available for iPods. Later on, one-year extended warranties became available. I’d really like to be able to buy a 3-yr extended warranty, as I do for my laptop and desktop Macs.

    Are they assuming nobody will keep an iPhone that long? I plan to hand mine to my daughter, so we’ll still need the warranty. We live in the country, too, so warranties are even more important.

    BTW, I’ve been practising Stoicism through all the iPad news (I want, I want… but I can’t have), waiting for the next iPhone, so thanks for the news. :)

    • I don’t know about the extended warranty, but can you get AppleCare to extend to iPhones? That’s what I got for my MacBook Pro — they had a special on at the time. I don’t have a warranty for my iPhone, but I do have an insurance policy for it — so that if the iPhone gets damaged (even if I drop it etc), Optus will replace it.

      I also want an iPad … have played with one in-store to get a feel for what it is like. But it’s too big a purchase in a world in which I already have an iPhone, a MacBook, two high-end PCs and so on ;)

      • Applecare is an extended warranty- and its what Clytie is talking about I’d say. Applecare for iPhone only adds another year, for two in total.

        • And two years is about as long as Apple wants you to have the phone … after that I believe their philosophy is that you should buy a shiny new toy from them ;)

  14. Hello
    I was wondering if I buy an iphone from the UK, will it have different firmware or be any different to the australia release model?

    Thanks!

    • HI Michael, I don’t know for sure, I believe it would have the same firmware — Apple tend to make the one device and then ship globally.

  15. “Steve creates beautiful things. But often those beautiful things aren’t made to be touched and played with. They are for admiring from a distance. Android is for everyday life.”

    Yeah, all those millions of people globally who are putting their “beautiful’ iPhones, iPads and other Apple devices on the shelf each morning only to look at them rather than use them in “Everyday Life”.

    Your right, on the train and the bus, I only ever see people with Android and other Mobile devices on board. Those iPhone fanboys must be just hiding them away.

    Honestly Renai, you really need to lose your Fandroid reality distortion field.

    • Sure, there are plenty of people using their iPhone in everyday life — myself included :) But what I am getting at here is that Apple often requires people to use its products ‘their way’ rather than how customers themselves would prefer to use them.

      What I like about Android so far is that it’s quite flexible — much more flexible than the iPhone. Manufacturers and users like myself can use the device any way we want — not just the way the manufacturer wants me to.

      Don’t get me wrong, the iPhone is great. But in 2010 the mantra of technology vendors needs to be ‘openness’ rather than closed.

  16. what gives me the shits is that all these articles don’t publish the correct prices.

    It does not cost $199USD and $299USD respectively to purchase the phones. It will cost you that plus a 24month contract.

    When they write this it is very confusing and misleading for many people who may not fully understand how the upgrade / contract systems work.

    • My XTC Legend cost me nothing and I have a prepaid plan.

      Never gonna say goodbye, Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you.

      It’s all so gud

  17. hot sure how you did the math but a $250 iphone 4 in Australia is rubbish, the iphone 4 in Australia price Apple Store on release date is 16 gb $859 and 32 gb $1059, if i am more than 5$ out gimme a call for a refund.

  18. I like the iphone 4 and i have never owned a iphone before the cosest thing to the iphone i have used is the ipod touch 64 gb and i have been very happy with it and this time i orded the iphone 4 over the phone before the apple web sight got updated and when buying from apple there not locked in australia and you can get on a byo iphone plan there are some very good ones around with optus, telstra, vodafone, and 3 and everyone who has the iphone 4 highly recamends them and one guy i spoke to had a 1 year old 3gs 32 gb and sold it on ebay for au$560.00 and that was unlocked another guy got 5 iphone 4 sold 4 of them on ebay more then he paid for them to guys in the usa and those guys scord well getting iphone 4’s unlocked in the usa and there are not very many factory unlocked iphones in the usa i have herd that some poeple in the usa go to canada to buy factory unlocked iphone 4

  19. I got the iphone 4 a few weeks after the launch and i have been very happy with it and i would recamend it to anyone and i brought it unlocked from the factory to here in australia and i have found it has better reception them my last nokia phones and i’m not going to jail break it and they are so simple to use i found sending text messages get a bit hard at first and sending text messages when on a bus can be interstring but i can’t fault it at all

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