I’ve had my iPhone 4 now for a week now and here are a few thoughts.
The good things:
The design. It’s a beautiful minimalist chunk of stainless steel and glass. The fit and finish are superb, there are no flaws or misaligned seams. Like Audi, Apple takes industrial design very seriously and it shows.
Face Time. While technically not the first video phone, Apple gets it right. It’s easy enough for your grandparents to use. Surprisingly, a cellular connection is not required to initiate or receive calls. It works over WiFi without AT&T. Hopefully they’ll link it up with iChat on the Mac and Skype.
The display. I like the new display. The difference is most noticeable when playing a high res movie. It’s brighter and more contrasty as well.
Battery life. The battery life is much improved over the 3GS. iOS 4 really killed the battery life of the 3 GS. I think I can get through a day now without worrying about running out of juice.
The Bad:
AT&T. It still uses AT&T. Need I say more?
The antenna issue. There are many reports online about the “antenna issue.” Some people have no problems and others lose signal entirely when they grip the phone in their left hand. I’m in the group of people who have a problem.
I live in an area with a marginal AT&T signal. I’ve been dropping calls and cellular data regularly since the first iPhone came out. AT&T has made no network improvements in my area in the last 3 years.
The new iPhone 4 is the same. I go from full bars in one part of the house to no signal at all in others. If I’m not holding the iPhone 4, it seems to do better than the 3GS at making and holding on to a connection. That changes the minute I pick it up in my left hand. At best, I lose a bar or 2. At worst, the call drops. It’s easily repeatable. My son experiences this issue as well.
I did order an iPhone “Bumper” from Apple. It came yesterday and it makes a big difference, I’m no longer dropping calls. I have a feeling that Apple will soon be forced to provide free bumpers to all iPhone 4 owners.
Overall the iPhone is an incremental improvement over the excellent 3GS. It remains on the leading edge of technology but still has a few issues with being a phone. If I was judging it solely as a phone it’s a fail.
Of course, the iPhone is much much more than just a phone, and that’s it’s saving grace. It’s e-mail, Google, a GPS, the web, you tube, games, music, and apps, thousands of apps. I’m never more than a few feet from my iPhone, it’s my indispensable constant companion. In that sense, the iPhone 4 is better than ever.
UDATE:
I’ve had a problem with the iPhone bumper. The power button is overly sensitive. Whenever I touch the top of the iPhone with the Apple bumper installed the power cycles. The top power button is too sensitive when my Apple bumper is attached. The iPhone cycles off whenever I touch the top without touching the power button. It turns on and off by itself in my pocket or when I shift finger position when holding the iPhone. Obviously, in my sample the tolerance is a bit too tight.
I’m going to return the bumper to Apple and hopefully the next sample will work OK.

UPDATE:
I returned the Apple Bumper and ordered a Carbon Bumper from : Carbon Bumpers.
It’s a high quality 3M vinyl wrap that is textured to look and feel like carbon fiber. Looks great, easy to install, and works as well as Apple’s Bumper at improving reception.
Check it out!