Regular readers of this blog will know that I’m quite an Apple fan…I converted to Macs 2 and a half years ago and would never look back…my iPod has kept me company through many-a-journey and nothing out there compares to the Apple operating system and mp3 players.

However the one product I was never sold to by Apple was the iPhone….not that it was a bad product but it just didn’t have the features. When I upgraded my phone 18 months ago I went for the Sony Ericsson C905 without even considering the iPhone a competitor…my needs in a phone were simply that I wanted a decent camera (because I never remember my digital camera) and I wanted something that would work with my Mac and manage my calendar and whilst the iPhone did the latter it just didn’t have the camera or other useful features.

The fact remains that since releasing a phone Apple have been very clever…on paper the iPhone, iPhone 3 and iPhone 3G have never been high competitors in the phone market but because of Apples reputation and a touch screen interface that uses Android as toilet paper and considers others mere sewage somehow the other iPhones sold millions despite lacking in features.

This marketing and desire Apple creates reflected in my recent phone upgrade dilemma…this was before the iPhone 4 was left in a restaurant by accident and the dilemma went something like;

These Android phone features are so much better (camera quality etc)…but they’re not an iPhone’

So when the rumors about the iPhone 4 began and were eventually confirmed by Apple I knew that there was no other option…and so a week and a half ago on the release day of the iPhone a delivery man turned up at my house with a shiny new iPhone 4.

The iPhone 4

I’ve been using the iPhone 4 for just over a week now and other than ‘that signal issue‘ it’s been hassle free….I’ve felt right at home using it from the start…even the touchscreen keyboard is easy to adapt to.

Whilst it would take me forever to write a post on everything I love about the iPhone 4 here are some of my favourite things…

The Apps – The App store is jam packed with useful things…so far apps have helped me compare prices of high street products to online using the camera and barcode, they’ve helped me tune my guitar, find a song to play, look at my documents without having my laptop, check my blog and even check up some html mark-up on a website to find someone’s e-mail address…oh and I’ve read the paper too!

Voice Control/Driving – Every phone I’ve had has claimed to have ‘voice dialing’ however my last phone involved touching the phone to activate (even with a bluetooth headset) and both that and the one prior to that involved recording a voice tag for each contact (like I ever bothered!) and then managing to remember exactly how you pronounced their now….not with the iPhone!

As you drive along listening to music on the radio (which I input my iPhone to) a call comes in…my headset buzzes and the music fades out…beautiful…a nice fade.

As I drive and remember I need to phone someone I press the headset button, the music fades (beautiful fade!), I say ‘Phone Joanna’ and without programming a tag it asks me if I want her mobile, home or other…all voice controlled!

Google Maps – Okay…most phones have it but it was very useful for finding a more hidden shop in Norwich yesterday and perfect for finding a house tonight!

Notes – The note function isn’t hidden on the iPhone which means I actually use them…especially when they sync with my mac…which means I’m saving paper on to-do lists and shopping lists!

All in all the iPhone 4 is beautiful…the Apple bumper sorts the signal issue and adds to the beauty…the touch screen is perfect and the iPhone is becoming quite good at managing me…just call me iMark!

(I didn’t even mention that the camera is awesome and the HD video is stunning!)