iPhone 4

After the WWDC keynote on June 7, media were invited backstage to get hands on with Apple's new iPhone 4, including access to the upcoming iOS 4 operating system, and a brief demo of the FaceTime video calling.

We left with our credit cards burning rectangular shapes in our wallets, already yearning for its June 24 debut.

Design

The iPhone 3GS was only different on the inside compared to its predecessor, but iPhone 4 is a totally new animal.

It's just a tiny bit thinner from its left to its right edge, because the flat edges mean effectively less casing around the sides of the screen. It's possible to stand the iPhone on its side, say to shoot a video.

The stainless steel looks quite handsome, but the glass front and back both picked up a good deal of fingerprints in the few minutes we had our hands on them, although the smudges were less noticeable on the all-white model.

Every accessory should come with a polishing cloth; we usually lose them within about 48 hours of acquisition, so get ready for some trouser-rubbing with the new iPhone.

The flat body is only 9.3 millimeters thin, 24 percent thinner than the iPhone 3GS at its thickest. It feels great in the hand, and at the keynote Steve Jobs remarked, "Its closest kin is a beautiful old Leica camera."

The metal buttons, shiny edge, and the way the flat-edged case feels more camera-like when you're shooting pictures, like a particularly slim point-and-shoot. Solid and familiar, yet futuristic.

It's 4.8 ounces, just 0.1 ounces heavier than the iPhone 3GS, an imperceptible difference. The SIM card slot has moved from the top to the side, and sadly it's now a micro SIM slot - meaning changing networks when you finish your contract will be trickier.

The camera on the back is paired with a bright LED flash that you can have on or off. The volume rocker switch has been replaced by round metal volume-up and -down buttons, but the Hold and Silence switches are pretty much the same.

A second microphone appears at the top of iPhone 4 to provide noise cancellation. The black lines visible at three places along the stainless steel edge are integrated antennas attached directly to the iPhone's stainless steel frame, which is actually its structure - a nice solution to a tricky problem.

Apple hopes this design will add strength and help improve call quality, one area where the iPhone has always been criticized, although we'll wait until our full iPhone 4 review to fully test that out.

Next Page: Apple iPhone 4 - Retina display