Apple is clearly the tech company of the year with the launch of the iPad, thus starting the touch tablet mania. Today they’ve outdone themselves with the launch of the 4th generation iPhone, called iPhone 4 (clearly the next one will be called iPhone 4S or iPhone 4G, if AT&T upgrades itself to 4G till then). Usually we don’t talk about smartphones here at All Touch Tablet but I feel this one deserves any one’s attention, especially because it rises the question “iPhone or iPad ?”.

    Unlike the launch of iPhone 3G S, the iPhone 4 is clearly a big step, starting with the very thin 0.37 inches (9.3mm) body to the metal body and the powerful hardware found inside. The screen is another big story of iPhone 4, thanks to its amazing 960 x 640 pixels, called retina display because of its very fine dot pitch, 326 ppi, small enough so your eye won’t see the gap between pixels. But let’s see a small list with the most important specs of iPhone 4 from Apple:

    • 3.5 inch touchscreen display with 960 x 640 pixels, 800:1 contrast ratio, IPS technology, with multitouch and fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating on front and back
    • 4.5 x 2.31 x 0.37 inches and 4.8 ounces weight
    • 16 or 32 GB internal memory
    • A4 chip, the same family found inside the iPad
    • 5 megapixel camera with flash and HD recording, iMovie app for editing videos available in AppStore for 4.99$
    • three axis gyro accelerometer (faster and more precise than the one before)
    • 802.11n + Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
    • larger battery that lasts 7 hours 3G talk time, 6 hours internet over 3G and 10 hours over WiFi. Stand by is 300 hours (you wish)
    iPhone 4, now with everything

    iPhone 4, now with everything

    Even if I’ve said quite a few times that I’m not an Apple fanboy, I must admit that I like the iPhone 4 a lot. Especially considering that the pricing remains the same: 199$ for 16 GB model and 299$ for the 32 GB model. It will be available June 24th with pre-orders on June 15th for U.S., U.K., France, Germany and Japan. Other countries will get it later this summer. Color options are the same: white and black as before.

    As features concerned, now you get a front facing video camera that helps with the FaceTime chat function, available between iPhone 4 models and over a WiFi connection. Now that’s a reason to get an iPhone 4, at least according to Steve Jobs. Taking a look at all the features of the 4th generation iPhone I have to ask myself if it’s a better option than an iPad. If you’re not too keen on reading books and care too much about mobility I don’t see why you would spend your money on an iPad, but if you’re reading a lot and like the higher diagonal screen (not necessarily with higher resolution) than the iPad is your only choice.

    Now, I would love to hear your answer to this question: iPad or iPhone 4? I know you might not like my take on this matter, but want to hear your opinion nonetheless.

    Till then here’s a short video with a few sequences from the official keynote by Steve Jobs:

    And a few images with the new iPhone 4: