I picked up the Verizon iPhone 4 on its release date and am very pleased with its performance so far. Previously, I used a Droid Incredible, which was also a great phone.
To preface this review, I am a light to moderate user that mostly uses the device for making phone calls, texting, checking email, and occasionally using internet and maps. I'm not the type to sit around for hours playing games on my phone, nor have I ever streamed any video on my phone. I have one "official" app on my iPhone that is related to the camera, and I don't use it to listen to music; I have a separate iPod for that (to save my phone's battery).
The Verizon iPhone works great as a phone and has the best call quality in a smartphone that I have ever used. This is in comparison to my previous Droid Incredible, a Blackberry Curve prior to that, and my friend's Motorola Droid. The earpiece volume is crisp and sufficiently loud, making the other person easy to hear. The microphone works well too based on what people I call tell me. The visual voicemail system is phenomenal- it's all managed by the phone itself instead of through Verizon, so when a person gets your voicemail message, all they hear is your personalized recording without the "at the tone, please record your message. When you are finished recording..." garbage.
Texting and email work nicely. The touch keyboard feels more natural than most other touch screens I've used on other mobile operating systems. One strange thing about texts is that the phone will make a "whoooop" noise everytime you send a text. There's no way to turn this sound off by itself without putting the entire phone in silent mode. Not a big deal for me, but I can see how this would really annoy some people.
Based on my personal experience and all the reviews floating around online, the camera is without question the highest quality camera you will find on any phone today because of an ideal blend of lens quality, the type of sensor, and a modest megapixel count. Higher megapixels do not correlate with higher quality images; although there are many other phones out there in the 8+ megapixel range, none match the overall image quality of the iPhone. The 8 MP camera on my Droid Incredible doesn't even come close.
One thing I really miss from the Android OS is Google Navigation. No turn-by-turn voice guided navigation software comes with the iPhone. Apps are available that provide this feature, but they are inferior to Google's program.
Battery life is excellent for this type of phone. Most days with light to moderate use from 7 AM to midnight, I end the day with around 80% battery remaining. Obviously, if you're a power user, it's gonna use more juice. I'm particularly impressed with how little battery is used when the phone is on standby. Battery life was my biggest gripe about Android (HTC phones tend to be notoriously bad at battery conservation), and it is a huge relief to not have to carry around a spare battery anymore.
If you're considering converting to Apple from an Android phone, there are a few areas of frustration. The notification system on the iPhone is archaic and unnecessarily intrusive. Texts will pop up on the screen regardless of whatever you're doing, requiring you to exit whatever you're in the middle of to reply. Android's notification system is excellent, and I am hoping this issue will be addressed in a later version of iOS. Also, there is very little flexibility as far as how the phone is personalized to your tastes. Not happy with the 6 text tones that Apple gives you? Too bad- you're stuck. There's no easy way to add more text tones. A third issue- when using Safari mobile, there is no way to disable mobile view. Sites like yahoo and banking sites will automatically funnel you to the mobile (crippled) version of their websites. In Android, all you do is check a box to disable mobile view. No such luck with iOS.
Fortunately, there is a way around all of the above restrictions, provided you're a moderately intelligent person with a basic knowledge of computers. This and any iPhone can be easily modified to fix all the problems I mentioned- just search online for instructions.
The back glass plate seems to be fairly prone to collecting light scratches. I had my last phone for 10 months with no case and no screen protector the entire time, and it never got a single scratch. Since noticing the tiny scratches on the back of my iPhone, I bought a minimalistic case for it, and it's been fine since then. Still no scratches on the front glass in 5 weeks of use so far, so I have no plans to ever use a screen protector.
One last thing I'll mention: there is not a single piece of Verizon bloatware on this phone, unlike every other smartphone I've owned that came installed with all the crap applications loaded on by the carrier that you can't remove.
There are lots of good phones out there right now. In my opinion, this one is the most polished, and despite some limitations, it provides the most satisfying overall user experience that is yet to be matched. Highly recommended. iPhone 4 Black 16GB (Verizon) - Verizon - Iphone 4'
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