The first thing I thought when iPhone 4 came out of the box was how elegant the design was compared to the previous three iPhones. In keeping with most of Apple’s other products, excluding iPad, the new iPhone fits right into the same industrial design family. I mean it. This thing looks so good that even I don’t want to run out and put a case on it… and I’ve got serious paranoia about unnecessary phone nudity. Design features aside, it feels like a remarkably sturdy build in your hand, if a touch heavier than you think it would be. No complaints at all about design or build quality. Overall, iPhone 4 feels and looks like a very solid product.

iPhone users have gotten use to the fact that we sacrifice battery life to get alot of functionality. While it isn’t an epic improvement, I’ve been rather impressed with battery life so far. After five hours of heavy use – and I mean non-stop switching apps, moving things into folders, setting up several email accounts, and basically poking every button I could find – the phone is at 53%. That’s pretty respectable considering even with iPad doing some of the heavy lifting this morning, my was under 35 % after five hours of moderate use. Not ground breaking, but a definite incremental improvement.

I should have probably led off with this, but the screen is probably something that needs to be seen to be believed. It is smooth as silk and renders graphics beautifully. Colors are deep and rich and it seems you can zoom in basically forever on text and not lose fidelity. Truly the display might be the big “wow” for this phone. likewise, the new processor and increased memory make iPhone 4 very responsive to inputs. So far today I haven’t seen any hang ups or lag at all. Add that with the upgraded camera and it’s a real win. I’ve taken pictures with the phone today that are getting dangerously close to the quality taken by my actual camera.

Finally, there’s the upgraded OS that deserves alot of the credit for making iPhone 4 what it is. iOS4 delivers alot of the features that users have been waiting for – folders, basic multitasking, unified inbox (I’m still waiting on personalized notification sounds, Apple), and a laundry list of other small improvements. I should probably spend alot more time talking about the OS, but, and I hate to say this, “it just works” so I haven’t really spent all that much time thinking about it.

Ironically, I have spent no actual time using my new iPhone 4 as an actual phone (unless you count texting as a phone function). Honestly, I don’t use the phone that much, though I understand there have been some marginal improvements in call quality. Likewise, I haven’t used the front facing camera yet other than to switch it on long enough to determine that there was, indeed, a front facing camera. There are a host of other features I either haven’t found, don’t feel like commenting on, or are basically just “settings” type changes. You can be sure there will be plenty more comments as I spend the next few days living with the phone and getting a better feel for its personality.

For me, the bottom line: My name is Jeff and I endorse this product. If my personal seal of approval isn’t good enough for you and you’re still on the fence about iPhone 4, take a trip to AT&T (God help you) or your local Apple store in a few weeks and see one in person before you rule it out. I think you’ll be pleased. I know I am.