Just picked up the new iPhone 4 today. The hype is legitimate. I spoke with one of the team members there today who told me that they had 500 reservations (the maximum) for pick up that day and an undisclosed amount of iPhone 4 available for first-come, first-served. So, there will probably be 1,000 or so people walking out of that store today with new phones. Compare that to last year’s announcement of the 3GS. They had 350 people come the entire DAY…

So far, the new iPhone 4 is living up to all the accolades- for the most part.. Here are some quick reactions…

• The new “retina” display lives up to its billing. Incredibly clear.
• “Face time” (the live talk/chat) feature is VERY VERY cool, but you obviously need  someone else who has an iPhone 4 and you need to be talking over wifi, NOT 3G, so don’t plan on having a video conference when you are out and about- it simply can’t happen. You need to be sitting still on a wireless network. Will it work on planes and trains with their own wifi? Not sure yet. It also won’t work with another phone or network. So, will this drive more people to the new iphone? or will they wait?
• Weight. It feels heavier (i.e.- better) First reaction is obviously the “squarer” feel and glass on both sides of the camera. Buuut, at night time or in the dark, it could be tricky to see which side is up. Positive side here is that the metal ring around the frame is actually an antenna, and I already notice better reception at the office.
• Multi-tasking. Very cool feature allows you, to well, multitask. Good for us social media/ADD types…
• Video: The jury is still out on this one, because well, Apple CLAIMS that you can shoot in HD but you can’t – yet. (trust me, I’ve tried everything)

What I CAN do is compare the Flip HD Mino to the iPhone4. I took 2 identical 14 second videos with the Flip and the iPhone. I’ll let you be the judge and I welcome your comments below…