Like many others, I found my self in line on June 26th infront of an Apple store. I avoided most of the crowds by waiting to go in after I got off work. This proved to be a good plan resulting in only a 90 minute wait to get to the head of the line. I’ve only used an Original (noG) iPhone since day one. The upgrade to the iPhone4 for me has been a large leap forward. For some of you fellow finger-painters using the 3GS, the speed may not seem to be as noticeable, but the Retina display alone is worth the price of admission.

Speed

The new iPhone 4 is very fast, it now has the same A4 chip that the iPad has, which means quicker app load times and faster access to all of our favorite drawing app features. I notice the jump when utilizing layer options and effects. Transformations of layers transition are much faster and cleaner.

Display

The screen really packs a punch with the new Retina display. Featuring a 960-by-640-pixel resolution at 326 ppi. The previous iPhones were only 480×320. When you zoom in on your favorite drawing app you will still see the typical core pixalation, but at 100% view on screen your finished artwork will have almost a laser printed clearity to it.

Multi-Tasking

This is one of the main features that users have been requesting since Day 1 of the original iPhone. I find it a good and bad experience so far. First the bad, if you leave to many apps open they will eat up RAM usage and contribute to a quicker battery drain. To avoid that I have tried to actively keep no more then a couple apps running at once. The good, is I can now quickly switch between a couple drawing apps eliminating the load time of the app launch. It is even decent if you need to find a quick reference online you can quickly jump between Safari and your sketch app.

Camera

The main back Camera is really great and very usable at 5mp and 720p HD for video use. The clearity and preset process of the camera is almost art untouched with vivid colors and captured details. I find my self taking a lot more every images and reference shots for lighting and textures. The front facing camera is pretty decent too and is an awesome step forward in mobile communication. I am hoping that an App developer creates a real-time face time doodle app so that video chat can be a bit more entertaining.

Apps

At this point just about every Creative App I have on my iPhone has been upgraded to iOS 4 with optimization for the new display specs. I am looking forward to further App updates from the developers now that the iPhone 4 can handle similar tasks that iPad can handle. I am hoping for more layers, more layer options, and maybe masking and quick select in future releases over time.

Battery

The battery life of almost all new products these days usually meets advertised specs. The iPhone 4 so far has been great with everything that i have thrown at it. I have yet to dive into a larger illustration but I wouldn’t worry about recharging as frequently as you might have on your older iPhone.