In the three years since the first iPhone went on sale, the mobile landscape has changed irrevocably. Most phones now offer apps, internet browsing, social-networking widgets and email, while the higher-end smart phones continue to innovate around speed, features and build quality. That means Apple has an increasingly difficult job on its hands; responding to the innovations of the chasing pack while turning out a new handset every year.
The iPhone 4 is this year’s effort, and overall, it’s a corker. Not everyone will be a fan of the iPhone’s new industrial look and feel, which has done away with the shapely, curved edges of the iPhone 3G and 3GS in favour of a more functional, practical design. But I think iPhone 4 feels like a truly premium product, on a par with expensive designer handsets such as those made by Vertu.
