An Interesting comparison of the Original iPhone and the iPhone 4

[braddick]

I've been pleased with my iPhone 4 since launch day other than at times getting only a couple of bars of reception in the downtown San Diego area along with the occasional dropped call.

With that stated, I recently sent my iPhone 4 off to repair the home button and fired up my first generation iPhone I also purchased on launch day (remember shelling out $599.?!).

I've been rocking the original now for the last week and have some interesting observations.
First, it isn't like the iPhone 4 is leaps and bounds better than the original. In some ways, it is a little worse.
Even with only the EDGE network, I get the original to respond as fast, if not a little quicker than the 4- or so it seems. Where I used to have two bars on 3G, the first generation gives me five. Seriously! No kidding, five bars about everywhere with it dropping to four rarely.

I don't know if EDGE five bars loads quicker than 3G with two bars, but I'm not complaining. It feels the same if not better, but to be fair, I don't have both iPhones right here for a definitive conclusion.
I thought it would be miserable having to switch back to my first iPhone but I am actually enjoying it.
The battery lasts all day too with lots of use.
So far, not a single dropped call, but it's not like a had a bunch before and it's only been a week, so the jury is still out on that benefit.

I may keep this one as my primary iPhone even when my iPhone 4 is returned in a few weeks.
Now, of course there are plenty of apps that won't work with this iPhone but I'm surprised how many do. And the ones that don't are mostly vanity apps, used for fun more than real function.

AT&T charges $20. instead of $30. for unlimited and I don't pay the extra $5. for texting. That may not seem like much but over a two year contract works out to be a $360. savings.

I'm also enjoying the over all fit and finish and feel of the original vs the iPhone 4. It is more pleasing to me.

Anyway, I know this is more of a 'cool story bro' type thread, but if anyone finds a need to go back to the original for any reason I honestly don't believe you'll be disappointed and may come out of it like I am with a new appreciation for the older technology.

 

[eNcrypTioN]

I've been pleased with my iPhone 4 since launch day other than at times getting only a couple of bars of reception in the downtown San Diego area along with the occasional dropped call.

With that stated, I recently sent my iPhone 4 off to repair the home button and fired up my first generation iPhone I also purchased on launch day (remember shelling out $599.?!).

I've been rocking the original now for the last week and have some interesting observations.
First, it isn't like the iPhone 4 is leaps and bounds better than the original. In some ways, it is a little worse.
Even with only the EDGE network, I get the original to respond as fast, if not a little quicker than the 4- or so it seems. Where I used to have two bars on 3G, the first generation gives me five. Seriously! No kidding, five bars about everywhere with it dropping to four rarely.

I don't know if EDGE five bars loads quicker than 3G with two bars, but I'm not complaining. It feels the same if not better, but to be fair, I don't have both iPhones right here for a definitive conclusion.
I thought it would be miserable having to switch back to my first iPhone but I am actually enjoying it.
The battery lasts all day too with lots of use.
So far, not a single dropped call, but it's not like a had a bunch before and it's only been a week, so the jury is still out on that benefit.

I may keep this one as my primary iPhone even when my iPhone 4 is returned in a few weeks.
Now, of course there are plenty of apps that won't work with this iPhone but I'm surprised how many do. And the ones that don't are mostly vanity apps, used for fun more than real function.

AT&T charges $20. instead of $30. for unlimited and I don't pay the extra $5. for texting. That may not seem like much but over a two year contract works out to be a $360. savings.

I'm also enjoying the over all fit and finish and feel of the original vs the iPhone 4. It is more pleasing to me.

Anyway, I know this is more of a 'cool story bro' type thread, but if anyone finds a need to go back to the original for any reason I honestly don't believe you'll be disappointed and may come out of it like I am with a new appreciation for the older technology.

It's still a nice phone, I thought the finish was really nice as well.

 

[FSUSem1noles]

I still have my original iPhone as well.. I use it as a media player now... I love the finish on it! IMO the original iPhone had the best design out of all the iPhones...

 

[Applejuiced]

The looks and design is up to individual taste and even though it looks good I couldnt stand using one any more since I got my i4.
Its slower than a turtle in every single thing you try to do. The lag is unbearable and 2G speed is way too slow IMO.
But it was a great phone 4 years ago and a game changer to say the least.

 

[fairoasis]

I still prefer the design of the older iPhones to the iPhone 4. They just felt more comfortable and substantial in the hand, not to mention, I had no proximity sensor or antenna issues then.

 

[wordoflife]

If you turn off 3G on your iPhone 4 (thus, forcing it to connect to a 2G network), then it should yield the same results as your iPhone 2G. Maybe an uncrowded 2G network is faster than a crowded 3G network.

 

[kdarling]

Where I used to have two bars on 3G, the first generation gives me five. Seriously! No kidding, five bars about everywhere with it dropping to four rarely.

That's partly because the original status bar display was extremely optimistic.

Remember? AntennaGate made Apple "discover" they had been showing 4 or 5 bars when they should've been showing 2 or 3 sometimes. My cheap chart below shows the levels. Where a regular GSM handset shows 2 bars, the iPhone showed 4.

         -110      -100       -90       -80    dBm
      |----|----|----|----|----|----|----|-----|
GSM     0......1......2......3.....4.........5..
iOS     1.....2...3.4.........5.................

 

[icanhas]

I think you're confusing interesting with boring..

 

[oakie]

I think you're confusing interesting with boring..

haHA!

like others, i still have my original 16GB iphone sitting in its original box in my closet. as for fit and finish, both phones are comparable as their differences in that regard are simply due to their design choices. i must say i do enjoy the feel of the original iphone in my hand, but i prefer all of the improvements on the iphone 4, especially the screen resolution and speed.

as for connectivity, of course EDGE is going to outperform 3G in reception due to it's more extensive coverage based on how long it's been around. as far as actual connection speeds, it depends greatly on reception, geography, and coverage in your location. in my locale, i find 3G easily beating out 2G in speed since reception and coverage is solid.

 

[braddick]

That's partly because the original status bar display was extremely optimistic.

Remember? AntennaGate made Apple "discover" they had been showing 4 or 5 bars when they should've been showing 2 or 3 sometimes. My cheap chart below shows the levels. Where a regular GSM handset shows 2 bars, the iPhone showed 4.

         -110      -100       -90       -80    dBm
      |----|----|----|----|----|----|----|-----|
GSM     0......1......2......3.....4.........5..
iOS     1.....2...3.4.........5.................

Factually I'm sure your must be correct, but real world, it doesn't feel like it.

The downer between now and when I was using my iPhone 4 is I truly miss the incredible screen. Games, such as Peggle play sharper and smoother on the iPhone 4.
There is also some lag when pages load in Safari with this original iPhone.

Perhaps I was so set on being disappointed going back that when I had too the transition was so unpainful as to be rewarding.

 

[vincenz]

If the iPhone 4 innards were in the original iphone's body, I'd use it in a heartbeat. Other than that, the original's software is definitely not as nice as iOS 4

 

[munmac]

tl;dr

 

[manueld]

I usually keep my phone with 3g disabled unless I'm going to use data in which then I switch it back on. EDGE penetrates buildings better as well than 3g. (I'm in the LA area where 3g sucks)

 

[topmounter]

I just sent my 2G iPhone off to have the screen repaired, if for no other reason than posterity. I finally got tired of seeing its shattered self sitting on my bookshelf, especially since it was the phone that finally freed me from the pain and agony that was WinMo and Symbian.

 

[Merkie]

Disable 3G and you'll get the same reception on your iPhone 4.

 

[jacollins]

Disable 3G and you'll get the same reception on your iPhone 4.

You do, but I don't think it shows it. I don't think Apple ever fixed the "bad" code for determining # of bars on the original iPhone. So the original iPhone should usually show 5 bars when you are in 3 and 4 bar territory.

 

[kuebby]

I agree with you, I recently used an original EDGE iPhone for a couple months and it wasn't nearly as slow as I thought it would be. The interface is definitely slower than my iPhone 4 (loading apps, etc) but it's really not that bad. And with Wi-Fi most of the time anyway the difference in data speed is not that much of a killer either.

 

[drummingcraig]

Maybe an uncrowded 2G network is faster than a crowded 3G network.

Thats what I would bet on.

That's partly because the original status bar display was extremely optimistic.

Remember? AntennaGate made Apple "discover" they had been showing 4 or 5 bars when they should've been showing 2 or 3 sometimes. My cheap chart below shows the levels. Where a regular GSM handset shows 2 bars, the iPhone showed 4.

Also a very valid point.

Factually I'm sure your must be correct, but real world, it doesn't feel like it.

I would venture to say that you are experiencing a placebo effect of sorts (maybe "placebo" isn't the right term, but that's what came to mind). You went back to your old iPhone probably assuming that it would be slow as molasses. Having discovered that it wasn't as slow as you'd expected, you are perceiving that difference as the old phone being quicker then it really is.

I'm not doubting that you may be getting snappier response times from a less crowded/overloaded 2G network, but in terms of processing and running apps the iP4 should be much faster. If not, then I suggest doing a fresh restore of the 4 as sometimes things can get gummed up.

 

[svenn]

On a somewhat related note, I have wondered about the loophole that allows you to get unlimited data by using the original iphone. Do you keep that original plan as well - $20 for unlimited + 200 texts? Or do you get bumped up to $30 with no text?

 

[Applejuiced]

On a somewhat related note, I have wondered about the loophole that allows you to get unlimited data by using the original iphone. Do you keep that original plan as well - $20 for unlimited + 200 texts? Or do you get bumped up to $30 with no text?

No, you get bumped to unlimited.
But the 2G just gets you there, it doesnt allow you to get cheaper service obviously

 

[calvy]

you don't mind going from an iPhone 4 to an original iPhone? Holy crap! I can't stand using even a 3G they are so slow. And I couldn't do without multitasking.