¶ Two Years with the iPhone 4

I have had my iPhone 4 for 2 years, 2 months, and 10 days. For the vast majority of that time, I have used the iPhone 4 without a case. Occasionally I will use the Bumper case Apple sent for free from that whole Antennagate fiasco.

I thought with the next iPhone being just over the horizon (if you believe the rumors about release dates, which I do), it would interesting to look at how the iPhone 4 has held up over two years.

The iPhone Itself

The iPhone itself has held up really well. The front glass is still pristine. The stainless steel band around the sides has a slight patina, but is free from scuffs or scratches. The back glass, which isn't Gorilla Glass like on the front, looks remarkable at first blush, but upon close inspection does have two small hairline scratches. But you have to look pretty closely in the right light to see them.

The buttons and switches all work as they should.

I should note that I have had this actual device the entire time. It has never been serviced or replaced by AppleCare.

And, since I mentioned Antennagate earlier, I should also mention that since I use the iPhone 4 without a case nearly all the time, the antenna has not been an issue. Yes, it does drop signal if I press my hand against where the antennae bands meet, but that rarely happens in actual use. I imagine it may happen more if I were a lefty.

Software

The iPhone 4 originally shipped with iOS 4 and currently runs iOS 5. It will be getting iOS 6 in a few weeks (assuming, naturally, that iOS 6 ships concurrently with the next iPhone). What can I say besides that the software has progressively gotten better?

The iPhone 4 runs iOS 5 like a champ. It feels every bit as fast — and in some cases faster — as the day I unboxed it.

My previous (and first) iPhone was the iPhone 3G. The one thing I distinctly remember when it was two years along is that it was slow. Often, the keyboard would lag when typing, which was highly frustrating. And apps took forever to launch.

The iPhone 4 still feels snappy. Now, maybe an iPhone 4S feels faster, but I've rarely used one. My only mark of reference is the memory of the iPhone 3G feeling progressively slower, and the iPhone 4 feeling overall constant.

One area where the iPhone 4 feels like it has gotten progressively faster over time is taking pictures. When the iPhone 4 launched, iOS 4 was very slow at launching the camera app. It got a little better with iOS 4.1, but taking an HDR photo would often crash the camera. iOS 4.2 seemed to smooth everything over. And iOS 5 made the camera launch noticeably faster and has been much more stable with HDR photos. And let's not forget that iOS 5 and 5.1 have improved access to the camera by respectively adding and improving access from the lock screen. And taking pictures has become easier by using the Volume + button as a shutter release.

On the software front, the iPhone 4 has only become better, not worse.

iOS 6

The iPhone 4 officially supports iOS 6. I have not run any of the betas nor have I knowingly seen an iPhone 4 running iOS 6. My hope is that the iPhone will continue to perform admirably with iOS 6, just as it has with iOS 5. In fact, I expect it to, since the iPhone 3GS will run iOS 6, as well, and the iPhone 4 is an order of magnitude more powerful than the iPhone 3GS.

However, that said, I do expect the software to take a slight step backward in iOS 6, and it doesn't affect only the iPhone 4. For instance, Maps will presumably get a performance boost by switching to Apple's vector-based maps, versus Google's bitmapped tiles. However, this is at the expense of transit directions and Street View. I also expect Apple's Maps to have more inaccuracies at the start, but that should improve over time.

Also, Podcasts are being ripped out of the Music app and spun off to Apple's new Podcasts app in the App Store. I've tried switching preemptively to the new Podcasts app a couple times now. I have found it incredibly frustrating, and it is a battery hog even with the screen locked. I am considering alternatives like Downcast or Instacast.

The overall experience, I suspect, will be pretty awesome in iOS 6. Those two items are just a couple obvious (though I hope temporary) regressions.

What's Next

Shortly before the launch of the iPhone 4, I was absolutely ready for new iPhone hardware. AT&T was still the exclusive carrier in the US, so I didn't even have to think about carriers.

That isn't the case this time around, in either respect. I am very happy with the iPhone 4. However, I am very unhappy with AT&T. They have terrible presence in the midwest, and increasingly seem outright hostile to their users.

I've been out of contract with AT&T for two months and ten days. I plan to switch to Verizon in the next few weeks. And, since I will have to buy a new phone to switch, I may as well get the next iPhone.

Like I said, I am very happy with the iPhone 4. I'd be happy to continue to use it if I could stomach staying on AT&T's mediocre network. But I am also looking forward to the next iPhone because it will allow me to finally use Siri. I also look forward to the camera improvements. Heck, even if it uses the same camera as the 4S, it will be better than the iPhone 4. But, in all seriousness, I bet Apple includes a better camera than the iPhone 4S.

And then there is the rumored 4-inch screen. The extra half inch is made up in the screen supposedly getting taller, and not wider. I've pretty much been against the idea of a larger screen — and hence, a larger phone — but if the extra half inch affords me an extra row of apps/folders on each home screen page, I should be able to consolidate back down to just two pages, which will make me very happy.

I have loved using the iPhone 4. It has been my most used device ever. It has served me very well. It has been a large part of my family as it is the iPhone my son has come to know as the iPhone. And man, is he really good at using an iPhone. I have sent countless messages to friends and family, shared many moments on FaceTime, had great conversations, and have taken the majority of photos of my family over the past two years — all on this iPhone 4.

As memorable as the iPhone 4 is, the opportunities to simultaneously move to a better carrier in my area and get the next iPhone will bring my time with the iPhone 4 to an end.

I expect the next iPhone to be even more remarkable in two year's time.

Byword for iOS 1.1

This is the first feature update to my favorite text editor on iOS (and the Mac) — Byword. I reviewed Byword for iOS when it debuted in March. While the initial release was really great, it had two shortcomings:

• The absence of a dark theme, like the Mac version has, and
• You could only use one storage service at a time — Local, iCloud, or Dropbox — and it was inconvenient to switch between them.

These are the two areas of focus in Byword for iOS 1.1.

Byword now includes a dark theme like its big brother. In addition to that, the keyboard extension has received a little polish in appearance.

The biggest feature is the ability to switch between Local, iCloud, and Dropbox storage in the file browser. It really feels like a best of both worlds approach. You have the deeper file system of Dropbox, while also being able to dip your toe into iCloud. Another nice feature of the new file browser is the ability to create folders on the fly.

If you are serious about your writing, I have no reservation in recommending Byword as the best iOS text editor. It’s a universal app for iPhone and iPad and you can pick it for $2.99 in the App Store.

¶ Best in Class

The nerds (myself included) have been getting pretty antsy about Twitter’s increasing restrictions on third-party apps. We love our third-party apps like Twitterrific and Tweetbot (and I am sure my Android friends have their favorites, too).

Why?

Because, frankly, third-party Twitter apps have offered the best in class experience to date. Let’s loosely recap how Twitter’s experience has changed over the years.

• There’s the website, which offered the bare necessities, and text messaging, which is still enabled (and is the basis of the 140 character limit). I even know people who still solely use text messaging as their interaction with Twitter, which boggles my mind.
• Twitter released an API for developers to make apps with. One of the first was Twitterrific for Mac. Twitterrific was truly my first experience with using Twitter. It has been my primary way of using Twitter for the entirety of my time on the service.
• Users and the developers of third-party apps came up with ways to modify the Twitter experience, almost all of which made their way back as an official API within Twitter. Examples include @replies, hashtags, direct messages, and retweets. These are all things Twitter did not pioneer, but they are essential to its experience today.
• Third-party apps have dominated the best in class experience throughout Twitter’s history. A couple years ago the king of the hill was Tweetie, which Twitter bought and renamed as the official Twitter client. Once again, Twitter did not pioneer the best in class experience, they simply bought it.
• Twitterrific and Tweetbot, at least on iOS and the Mac, have made fantastic experiences respectively by making apps for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac that share the same general look and feel, and sync last read positions across the three platforms. Best in class.
• Twitter, however, gutted what was once known as Tweetie and left a dim shadow of the best in class app that it once was. Their interface across platforms is extremely fragmented. On Apple’s devices alone, the experience on the iPhone is wildly different from the iPad, and both are very different from the Mac.
• Twitter’s official Mac app hasn’t been updated since two full OS X versions ago. It doesn’t support any features from OS X Lion, much less Mountain Lion, which ironically has Twitter support built into the entire system. (It obviously isn’t retina-ready, either, so it is an eyesore for Apple’s flagship Mac).
• Now Twitter is slowly strangling off third-party apps, and catering to braaaaands through promoted tweets and promoted accounts.

I don’t think I would feel so morose about Twitter’s actions to stifle third-party apps if Twitter itself offered the best in class experience. If Twitter’s experience was far and away better than what third-parties have come up with, there would hardly be an argument to make.

Twitter doesn’t even leverage its own streaming technology in its mobile apps. Tweetbot does and it’s awesome. And what about things like Tweetmarker? Twitterrific and Tweetbot use this to keep timelines in sync at the user’s “last read” position. With Tweetmarker, I can easily launch a client on Mac, iPhone, or iPad and pick up where I left off.

What if Twitter made best in class apps on all their platforms, using their streaming feature when appropriate, and rolled a Tweetmarker-like feature across all their apps and the web? Well, for starters, it would make the service just that much better. Secondly, it would make the deprecation of third-party apps hurt less.

The fact is Twitter doesn’t seem to care about having the best experience, they care now about being the only experience.

And if your experience is the only experience, I suppose the majority of users won’t know that it could be so much better.

Man on the Moon

Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, passed away at age 82 today.

Thanks you, Mr. Armstrong, for your work in forwarding space travel; for uniting not only a nation, but a planet; and for giving the creative and fascinating minds of children something to dream about.

The Parent Rap

Fellow parents will love this video.

Facebook 5 for iOS

Facebook 5 isn’t too big on visual changes, at least on iPhone. For the most part, it looks a lot like Facebook 4. On the iPad, however, the update brings Timeline and the nuances of Timeline’s effect on all of Facebook’s design across platforms.

But visual change isn’t the focus of Facebook 5. Even though it doesn’t look a great deal different, it acts different. How? Speed. Lots of speed.

Facebook has historically been an HTML5 mobile site wrapped with a few native iOS controls. More or less, it was a slow loading website, especially over 3G. Now Facebook is a fully native iOS app, and everything loads near instantaneously.

This is great for me, as I have been primarily using Facebook on my iPhone and (even more so) iPad as of late. Mobile is my main vehicle to keeping tabs on family, friends, and acquaintances, and a faster and more consistent experience is always welcome.

Facebook 5 for iOS is available on the App Store.

OS X 10.8.1 Released

The first maintenance update to Mountain is available in the Updates section of the Mac App Store. It weighed in at a whopping 7.28 MB on my MacBook Pro.

If you’re interested, here’s more info on what 10.8.1 fixes.

AT&T Knows How to Treat Its Customers

AT&T responds to the outcry of the Internet over limiting FaceTime over cellular to only its new Mobile Share plans:

…in another knee jerk reaction, some groups have rushed to judgment and claimed that AT&T’s plans will violate the FCC’s net neutrality rules. Those arguments are wrong.

Oh yes, your customers are just having yet another knee-jerk reaction. That’s a good way to start out.

Further:

To be clear, customers will continue to be able to use FaceTime over Wi-Fi irrespective of the data plan they choose. We are broadening our customers’ ability to use the preloaded version of FaceTime but limiting it in this manner to our newly developed AT&T Mobile Share data plans out of an overriding concern for the impact this expansion may have on our network and the overall customer experience.

Translation: We have invested literally nothing in making our network better, and even though we’ve done our best to cripple our network, FaceTime would finish the job. Please use Wi-Fi.

Twitterrific Rises

Gedeon Maheux for The Iconfactory, responding to Twitter’s new guidelines for third-party developers:

For the past several months, we’ve been working on a major update to Twitterrific that we’re very excited about. There were concerns that this new version might end up on the cutting room floor prior to Twitter’s announcement, but after reviewing the new restrictions and speaking with the team at Twitter, we’re pleased to report that our development plans remain unchanged.

We’re re-doubling our efforts to bring you an all-new version of Twitterrific: one that complies with Twitter’s new guidelines and makes reading and posting to Twitter even easier and more fun.

I have been using Twitterrific since my first day on Twitter. I’ve tried other clients at times, such as Tweetie and Tweetbot, but I’ve always come back to Twitterrific.

For me, the reasons I have always preferred Twitterrific are its ease of use, unified timeline, unified feel across Mac & iOS, and chiefly, its beauty.

I can’t wait to see the next take on the first and best Twitter client I’ve known.

Also, let’s not forget how important third-party clients have been to Twitter, and how many things Twitterrific did first.

That'll Be a Nickle and Dime, Please

Seth Weintraub for 9to5Mac a couple days ago:

We just got the word directly from AT&T that Facetime over 3G and 4G would only be available on AT&T for those who choose to go with its new “Mobile Share” plans. If you have an individual plan or family plan, you will not be able to purchase or use FaceTime over 3G/4G at any price. Pre-paid? Nope.

[…]

AT&T noted that you could still use FaceTime over Wi-Fi with an AT&T iPhone. *Slow Clap*.

Sprint & Verizon? Not hindering FaceTime over Cellular.

Both times I have bought an iPhone (iPhone 3G and iPhone 4, in 2008 and 2010, respectively), AT&T was the only carrier in the US. I very likely would not have chosen them if there had been options.

I am ready to be done with AT&T’s sparse coverage, slow rollout of 3G (let alone 4G LTE), and extreme nickle-and-dimeyness.

For extra credit, go read Jim Dalrymple’s interpretation of AT&T’s PR.