Three Reasons to Keep, Return the IPhone 4

If you are one of the three million plus that have jumped on the iPhone 4 bandwagon only to find out its missing a wheel and might be heading in a different direction than you wanted to go, it’s crunch time if you want to make a switch. Let’s explore a few reasons to stick with the coveted Apple smartphone, as well as some considerations for taking Steve Jobs up on his offer to refund your money in full. 

1. Its Awesome. Issues aside, it is a great smartphone. The iPhone 4 provides a significantly better smartphone platform than what RIM has to offer with the BlackBerry, and much better tools and security features for IT admins to manage the device within a network infrastructure than what Android currently has to offer.

The exponentially higher resolution of the Retina display, faster processor, more RAM, front-facing camera, and improved rear-facing camera are all good reasons to choose the iPhone 4–especially for customers that are already AT&T customers and don’t have the freedom to choose smartphones like the EVO 4G, or the Droid X without paying an ETF.

2. Existing Investment. Businesses and consumers that have already joined the iPhone (or iPod Touch, or iPad) revolution have already invested time and money in the iPhone culture. Android Market is growing fast, but still has only a fraction of the apps available with Apple. Making a switch to a different platform would mean abandoning the investment in apps–and the time it took to get familiar with them and configure them–and finding and buying equivalent apps on a different smartphone platform.

3. Its not alone. Steve Jobs was eager to point out that the various issues being reported with the iPhone 4 affect only a small percentage of the three million users. That may be true, and it may be that the issues with the iPhone 4 seem larger than they are as a matter of the sheer volume of iPhone 4s that are out there.

The EVO 4G–the current top of the line Android smartphone at Sprint, and the Droid X–the recently launched top of the line Android smartphone at Verizon both have issues as well. No. I am not referring to the stupid sort of issues like Steve Jobs desperate attempt to demonstrate that the death grip is common among all smartphones. I mean real issues.

The EVO 4G is plagued with reports that the screen is coming loose and that it is losing responsiveness to touch–a severe handicap for a touchscreen device. Users that snapped up the Droid X are complaining that the display has bands, or flickering, or dead pixels, in some cases rendering the display useless–again a severe handicap for a touchscreen smartphone.OK. So, there are some reasons to stay the course and hang on to the iPhone 4. But, there are also a few compelling arguments for trading it in and walking away.

1. Duct tape and chewing gum. The antenna issue appears to be a hardware engineering dilemma. Jobs condescending delivery of a 15 minute presentation explaining why the iPhone 4 is great and that everyone having a problem is just a whining moron, was followed with a “fix” in the form of a free case to prevent skin contact with the sensitive area of the antenna and reduce the problem.

I have a case. I agree that it mitigates the issue, and so does Consumer Reports. However-Band-Aids aside it does appear to be a problem that could only truly be fixed by re-engineering the case and revolutionary antenna of the iPhone 4.

2. Proximity Sensor. It only got a passing mention at the end of Jobs’ presentation, but for myself, and many of the readers that have taken the time to comment or e-mail me, the proximity sensor issue is actually a bigger deal than “antenna-gate”.

Even after Apple resolved the signal calculation “issue” with iOS 4.0.1, and even after solving my antenna attenuation problem by putting my iPhone 4 in a case, the phone portion of the coveted smartphone is dysfunctional. The proximity sensor that is supposed to disable the display and prevent inadvertent actions while you are engaged in a call is flaky. It randomly enables and disables the display, resulting in numbers pressed, activating speakerphone or muting the call, or even errantly hanging up on the call.

3. Android. Face it. Android is as capable, or moreso, than iOS as a smartphone OS. It has true multitasking. It is compatible with Adobe Flash content. It has a more open culture that doesn’t have the control-freak issues of the Apple App Store. And, it has a wide variety of devices available from every major wireless carrier.

In the end, at least for me, the pros of the iPhone 4 outweigh the cons. I do think that Android is an awesome mobile OS and that by sheer volume of devices and diversity of carriers it will eventually overtake the iPhone. I also think that Apple’s patronizing and arrogant approach to handling the issues with the iPhone 4 could be reason enough not to want to do business with it or contribute to its ever-escalating revenue.

That said, there is no perfect mobile OS, or perfect smartphone handset, or wireless carrier. They all have issues of some sort and it comes down to a subjective matter of opinion of which is the lesser evil. Ultimately, the iPhone 4–while somewhat disappointing given what we’ve come to expect from Apple–is still a more than capable smartphone. That, combined with the library of apps I have accumulated, and the fact that it shares a platform and iTunes syncing with my iPad, mean that I will be hold out and hope that Apple works out the rest of the kinks…quickly (please?).

If the cons outweigh the pros for you, keep in mind that your 30-day clock is ticking to get a full refund on the iPhone 4, and that Apple refunding the cost of the iPhone 4 doesn’t necessarily mean that you can also get out of the AT&T contract it came with.

You can follow Tony on his Facebook page , or contact him by email at tony_bradley@pcworld.com . He also tweets as @Tony_BradleyPCW .