iPhone Comparison

iPhone 4 vs 3GS

Size and Weight

The newiPhone 4 is 24 per cent thinner than its predecessor at 9.3mm instead of 12.3mm. Its also slightly wider by 3.5mm. In terms of weight, it is slightly heavier at 137g instead of 135g.

Power and Battery

Steve Jobs claims a 40 per cent improvement for the iPhone 4 over the 3GS, citing 7 hours talk time on iphone 3G for iPhone 4 up from 5 hours on the 3GS. Standby time is now at 300 hours but, interestingly, that was also the same for the iPhone 3GS You do get an hour more browsing in the stats (6 from 5) and 10 hours more audio playback (40 from 30) though video is unchanged at 10 hours.

Wireless and Data

In terms of Wi-Fi, iPhone 4 adds 802.11n to the mix alongside 802.11b/g and Bluetooth 2.1. The 7.2Mbps HSDPA, 3G and EDGE specs are no different Location and hardware The accelerometer, aGPS, compass and Wi-Fi location specs remain unchanged from the 3GS, but there's new hardware addition, the three axis gyro that can add increased six-point movement accuracy into apps and games.

Colours

The 3GS white is now discontinued all are now black, while iPhone 4 gets black and white variants. Apple is also shipping bumpers coloured surrounds . Six colours are available.

Storage

The iPhone 4 is available at capacities of 16 and 32GB, though still not available with 64GB. The iPhone 3GS has regressed though from being available with 16 and 32GB, models produced from now will be fitted with 8GB of memory instead in order to fill the budget shoes of the now defunct iPhone 3G the end of a truly disruptive handset.

Display

The iPhone 4 display remains the same size as that on the iphone 3GS, with a 3.5-inch diagonal. However, its completely different, with four times as many pixels with its all new 'retina display'. The reason for the new name according to Apple is, as the display has more pixels than the human eye can actually distinguish. The 3GS has a 480 x 320-pixel resolution at 163ppi, while the iPhone 4 ups this significantly, giving a 960 x 640-pixel resolution at 326ppi and an 800:1 contrast ratio. While the screen isn't OLED as with some other smartphones, Apple says it's IPS display tech is better it's already been used on the iPad.

Cameras

The iPhone 4 improves the game significantly in the photography department, but it will still be disappointing against the very best camera phones. Still, against the iPhone 3GS it's positively brilliant, with 5 megapixels instead of 3 megapixels and the addition of an LED flash (which can also be used for the video). The tap to focus is retained.iPhone 4 also adds on a front-facing camera for FaceTime Wi-Fi video calls and more.

Video recording

While the 3GS supported video recording, it was VGA (30fps). The iPhone 4, as predicted, pokes a finger in the eye of devices like the Flip HD, with its own HD (720p, 30fps) recording.

External Buttons and Inputs

The inputs and outputs are largely unchanged, but there's an extra mic on the iPhone 4 for better call quality through noise cancellation. The buttons remain in the same places, but the volume buttons have been separated out into up and down.