Overview
Introduction
This review hardly needs an introduction… but I’m going to give you one anyway!
It’s the mobile phone that most of the world knows about (if you don’t – where have you been living for the past year?), and it’s finally available (officially) outside of the select few countries that received the original device in late 2007.
Yes, touch screen devices have been available for quite some time – and well before the original iPhone was ever announced, too. So what makes the iPhone different?
For starters, like Apple’s own line of computers, the hardware and software are designed in unison to ensure the best experience for the end user. The touch-screen is also capable of recognising multiple touches, functionality that was rarely seen on the market before the iPhone.
There’s also no denying that Apple’s marketing group have done an amazing job at sending millions of people around the world into frenzy with their simple advertising campaigns.
The original iPhone, although a huge seller for Apple, did have its faults. This first revision of the iPhone, the iPhone 3G, has not only attempted to fix these faults but bring new features to the device, make it more affordable (in some regions) and more accessible to a worldwide market.
Enough introduction – let’s get into it.
Special thanks must go to Vodafone Australia for providing iMobile.com.au with an iPhone 3G for review well before any other carrier. Thanks!
New/outstanding features
    
Compared to the original iPhone, the iPhone 3G’s major feature additions include: support for 3G networks, an integrated aGPS chipset, extensive worldwide availability, 16GB option, and the iPhone 2.0 software update including a host of bug fixes and new features such as the iTunes Application Store.
The addition of 3G support instantly gave the iPhone 3G much wider worldwide appeal, as although many countries had well established 2G networks that the original could operate on, many did not support the EDGE protocol that is heavily used in the USA. Apple went all-out in supporting 3G and enabled it for use on all three bands – UMTS 850, 900, and 2100MHz. HSDPA support was also added to the iPhone 3G for high speed data transfer on 3G networks.
The integrated a-GPS chipset is not capable of turn-by-turn navigation (yet – see the Problems & Issues section for more information), but is capable of plotting your location using Google Maps. The Google Maps application is pre-installed but no local maps are loaded, so all maps must be downloaded over either 2G/3G data or a WiFi connection.
Apple bumped up the iPhone 3G’s storage capabilities, announcing that two variants would be offered when the handset was released on July 11: an 8GB model and a 16GB model. The iPhone 3G aims to be a replacement for your stand-alone iPod or other MP3 player, so huge storage capabilities are a must. The iPhone 3G comes with a pre-installed iTunes application, direct synchronization with iTunes on a PC and Mac, and a 3.5mm headphone jack to seal the deal of throwing away your stand-alone.
The iPhone’s LCD display is a 3.5” TFT LCD at 480 x 320 pixels. The display is a touch-screen and supports more than one finger gesture at a time – making it easy to zoom in and out on photos & web pages and flick through menus. The handset is run by a mobile version of Apple’s operating system OS X, named iPhone 2.0.
An accelerometer, light, and proximity sensors are built-in to the iPhone 3G and work hand-in-hand with the operating system to provide a range of ingenious features. The accelerometer detects when the handset is rotated and will automatically rotate the display to suit. The light sensor conserves energy when there is already enough ambient light for you to see the screen, and the proximity sensor will lock the screen when the iPhone 3G is held to your face – preventing any unwanted button presses while in-call.
Physical aspects
    
The new iPhone 3G is almost identical to the original, which in turn is almost identical to the iPod Touch. It’s chic, stylish, and unmistakably Apple.
The iPhone 3G’s front is completely encased in black, with the large 3.5” LCD display occupying most of the front surface. Below the LCD is a small black button, known as the Home button, and at the top is the earpiece for calls.
On the left of the handset is the volume up/down button and the silent profile switch. The switch is much like a “hold” switch that you would find on an iPod; complete with the same little red dot, which is revealed when the switch is… switched.
At the top of the iPhone 3G is the standard 3.5mm headphone jack, SIM card tray, and sleep/wake button. The SIM card tray can be removed by inserting the included removal tool, or any other small pointed object (like a paper clip).
On the back of the device is the iPhone 3G’s 2mpx digital camera lens, and the usual array of Apple branding and a logo indicating whether or not it is an 8GB or 16GB model.
The surfaces of the iPhone 3G are glossy, and therefore, easy to smudge. Included in the sales package is a wipe cloth; but who is really going to carry that around with them everywhere they go?
All up the iPhone 3G measures 115.5 x 62.1 x 12.3mm and weighs 133 grams – quite a nice weight and size when compared to similar devices/Smartphones on the market. Most handbags and pockets will have no trouble accommodating the iPhone 3G.
The 16GB iPhone 3G is offered in both white and black, whereas the 8GB model is only available in black. Both are identical on the front, with the only modification being the colour of the plastic on the back of the handset.
User interface & display
    
The iPhone 3G uses a mobile version of Apple’s OS X operating system named iPhone 2.0. At time of writing the most updated version of the software available, and the version running on the iPhone 3G I was testing, was version 2.0.1.
The iPhone 3G’s display is a 480 x 320 pixel TFT LCD, which incorporates multi-touch functionality. This capability is one of the key features of the iPhone and is handy when browsing web pages and flicking through multimedia such as pictures and videos.
Users of Apple’s full-fledged operating system will appreciate the similarities between OS X and iPhone 2.0. Many of icons are the same as they are for applications on OS X and other similarities include the system fonts and transition effects.
New users coming from a non-Mac background may find the iPhone 3G’s OS to be full of gimmicks and perhaps a tad annoying, but others will fall in love immediately and wonder why other manufacturers haven’t loaded their UI’s with animations, cute icons, and transition effects! Most, I’m sure, will be in the latter camp.
Operating the iPhone 3G is a walk in the park: tap things to launch them, slide your finger around the screen to move around, and push the Home button to return to the main screen. These are the basic functions that you will use most of the time. More advanced functions include “pinching” the display to zoom in and out on web pages or images, and “flicking” your finger across the screen to quickly slide through pages or menus.
The operating system is very simply laid out – the main screen (aka the Home screen) contains 15 main icons by default, which link to all of the functions/applications on the iPhone. At the bottom of the screen are an additional four icons that jump to Phone, Mail, Safari, and iPod. When more than 16 icons are added (for example, when you install additional applications), a new “screen” is created with the overflowing icons. Sliding your finger across the display accesses this screen. Icons can be rearranged at any time.
Tapping on an icon will launch the associated function/application. When an application is launched it appears from the very middle of the screen in a tiny box, and then quickly expands and becomes full-screen. It’s a nice effect, and when an application is closed the same animation is played in reverse.
The whole UI is very animated, with items sliding up, down, left and right in response to your finger gestures. When sliding through menus if you get to the bottom or the edge the window will literally bounce back at you and return to its original position.
To some extent the iPhone 3G’s operating system is capable of multitasking, but not in the true sense of the word. For example, if I launch the Weather application and then press the Home button to go back to the Home screen, the Weather application is closed. Tapping Weather again will relaunch the application and it will once again try and download weather data. There is no way to get back to the home screen without pushing the Home button and closing whatever application is open.
However, applications like Mail and SMS will remain open at all times so when a new message or e-mail is received a notification occurs. That said, opening the SMS application when a new message is received isn’t as fast as you would expect if the application was constantly running in the background. Other applications however are much faster to load and close.
The great thing about the iPhone 3G’s user interface is that it is a true touch-based interface. Many manufacturers (not all, though) have chosen to include some form of touch-functionality in their phones but always include fail-safe physical keys as some kind of fail-safe. Apple have gone all out with the iPhone and kept a touch-based phone as a touch-based phone. There are three physical keys and one switch, yes, but in my time with the iPhone 3G these buttons were rarely used (except for the Home button, which is vital).
Making and receiving calls
    
Like many PDA’s with phone call abilities, the iPhone has a dedicated application called “Phone” for this calling. Phone has prime position in the four-icon row at the bottom of any main menu window.
Launching the application will bring up a window with four “tabs” at the bottom: Favourites, Recents, Contacts, Keypad, and Voicemail. These tabs are fairly self-explanatory.
Only voice calls are supported by the iPhone 3G. Video calling is not supported to any extent. This is a shame as it is one of the key features of 3G networks (as well as high speed data) – but many have questioned whether or not video calling is actually popular at all and if Apple may be starting a trend by phasing out the functionality.
The iPhone 3G’s proximity sensor detects when the handset is at your ear, and will lock the screen to prevent any undesired taps to the screen. As soon as it detects it is off your face the screen is reactivated. This thoughtful feature shows the attention to detail the engineers at Apple have paid to (some areas of) this device.
The volume on the iPhone 3G was fairly good, for both the loudspeaker and the earpiece. I had the volume at around ¾ of maximum during my testing and this was more than suitable for my hearing.
The only thing that particularly annoyed me about the Phone application was that when the Contacts tab was accessed there was no way to enter text to narrow down the contacts – you need to scroll up or down through an entire list to find the desired contacts. Using the alphabet list on the right of screen you can quickly jump through the menu based on letter, but the ability to enter text would just have made it that little bit easier.
Voice dialling seems to have been forgotten by Apple and may be a turn-off for some potential buyers. Coupled with the issue I mentioned above with the Contact book, this could be a recipe for disaster for some users.
Messaging
    
The iPhone supports SMS and e-mail messaging. Unfortunately, MMS is not supported. It was not supported on the original iPhone and Apple were severely criticised for not including this popular feature. They didn’t care to add it to the iPhone 3G and at time of writing, a third party application had not yet been developed for the iPhone 3G to support MMS messaging. We’re told it’s “on its way,” though.
None the less, messaging is a big part of the iPhone 3G’s appeal, especially e-mail. A new feature added to the iPhone 3G is the support for Microsoft’s Exchange push e-mail protocol, widely used in the business community.
Mail, the application that handles e-mail, is launched by pressing its dedicated icon at the bottom of the Home screen. If you have not configured an e-mail account, the application will guide you through the process. Pre-configured options for Yahoo! Mail, Gmail, AOL, Microsoft Exchange, and MobileMe accounts can be used to fast track the setup process. For example, setting up my Gmail account required me to enter my name, my e-mail address, and my password. Done!
Of course, if your e-mail address isn’t one of the above types, you can still use it with the iPhone 3G. Standard POP and IMAP e-mail servers are supported – you will just have to manually add all information (such as mail server address, ports, etc).
Alternatively, iTunes can synchronise your e-mail accounts each time it is connected to your iPhone. When you connect your iPhone to your computer for the first time it will ask if you would like to synchronise e-mail accounts from compatible applications (Outlook, Mail.app, etc).
Once an e-mail account is added it will appear in the Mailboxes section of the Mail application, which displays a tree of folders related to each e-mail account for easy reference.
E-mails are displayed in a list format with the recipient name, subject, and a small two-line excerpt from the body of the e-mail. If the e-mail contains an attachment the familiar paperclip icon will be displayed next to the message. New messages are indicated by a blue dot to the left of the subject and excerpt.
At the bottom of the screen is a small toolbar that houses the refresh button (for non-push mail servers), and a small icon that will open the new message window. A text label also indicates when the e-mail account was last synchronised.
Clicking on a message will, as you expect, open the full message. Details of the message are displayed at the top of the screen with the rest displaying the body of the message. At the bottom of the screen is a range of icons that allows you to delete the message (with a cool animation), reload it, move the message, or reply to it.
SMS is handled by a separate application with the very original name of SMS. SMS sports an iChat-like interface and for those who have used the application on a full-blown Mac, you’ll be right at home. For others, the transition effects and speech bubbles may get you just a little excited!
On the iPhone 3G, SMS messaging takes on a much more conversational and Instant Message-type feel than traditional SMS messaging applications, which opt to separate sent and received messages as much as possible.
The main messaging grid is organised based on the time of the last received or sent message. Displayed here are the conversation recipient(s) name, and an excerpt of the message. Open one of these conversations and all the sent and received messages are displayed in a pretty speech bubble format that slides and moves as more messages are sent/received. Time stamps are displayed above bubbles at seemingly random intervals, so finding out exactly when you sent or received a message can be troublesome.
Now – onto the big issue at hand. Inputting text.
Unlike many touch-based mobile phones the iPhone 3G only supports one text input method – a QWERTY-style on-screen keyboard. The keyboard, at first glance, looks tiny and you may wonder how you’re ever going to get anything remotely like what you want to say onto the screen.
Thankfully it’s not as hard as it looks and as you tap a letter on the screen, the letter grows in size to confirm that the one the phone thinks you want is indeed the one you want. If not, slide your finger to the left, right, up, or down, to get the letter you’re after. Lift you finger and repeat the cycle for the next letter.
Even with the expanding keys, there is still a lot of room for error and if you’re trying to type something fast you may not notice that you’ve accepted the wrong letter in a particular word. The iPhone 3G understands that people make these types of mistakes (how smart!), and will search through a dictionary of words if it doesn’t think the word you entered was correct. It will match any letters it thinks are wrong with other letters around that area on the keyboard. Confused? Let me explain it this way:
You’re trying to type the word “this,” but because the letter “o” is quite close to the letter “i”, you accidentally input “thos”. The iPhone 3G will automatically convert your “thos” into “this”, and you can continue typing without needing to stop and go back. Although the iPhone 3G will not prompt you to confirm that its suggestion is correct, it will display the suggestion above the word – if you hit the spacebar it will accept its own suggestion and change the word for you.
Of course, some non-standard words may be converted automatically when you don’t want them to – just hit the little cross next to the suggested word before you hit the spacebar and it will not change your input.
For additional characters such as punctuation and numbers, hit the button labelled “.?123”. To end a sentence quickly tap the space bar twice – it will add a full stop and a space instantly.
Getting used to the iPhone 3G’s keyboard took me about two days. After that I was tapping out long messages in no time – and most of the time getting the words right! There is no denying moving from a physical keyboard to an on-screen one is daunting, but once you are used to it you will soon forget the initial conversion period!
Unfortunately there is no character counting or multiple-spanning message indication, so you’re on your own to watch how long your messages get. In iPhone 3G land, SMS messaging must be free (oh, and MMS doesn’t exist).
Connectivity
    
The iPhone supports USB and Bluetooth local connectivity, with GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, and HSDPA data protocols supported on compatible 2G and 3G networks.
Inside the sales package you will find a USB data-cable which connects to the iPhone 3G with the proprietary interface you will recognise if you’ve ever used an iPod. Plug this into your PC or Mac (with iTunes installed), and iTunes will automatically open and start backing up your data. It will also begin to synchronise music, calendars, contacts, photos, and other data.
The iPhone 3G cannot be put into “disk mode” like iPods can; a mode which allows the memory to be used like an external hard drive or USB flash drive. All data needs to, in some way, go through one of Apple’s programs before making its way to the iPhone 3G.
Apple have only configure the iPhone 3G with support for two of the 28 available Bluetooth profiles: Headset (HSP) and Handsfree (HFP). This means the Bluetooth radio can only be used to communicate with a compatible headset for wireless calling. Not even the stereo audio profile, A2DP, is supported.
Although there is no official statement as to why Apple chose to do this, the most probable answer is to prevent illegal sharing of music and video files between devices over the wireless protocol.
Unfortunately this means you cannot simply transfer files you do own copyright over – such as happy snaps – direct to friend’s phones or other compatible devices. In order to achieve the same result you will have to either e-mail the file or transfer to your PC and then transfer to the other device. Not difficult, but much more painful than simply transferring without the need for a man-in-the-middle device.
GSM 850, 900, 1800, and 1900MHz networks are supported, giving the iPhone 3G true worldwide connectivity. The same goes for 3G connectivity, with Apple packing the handset with support for UMTS 850, 900, and 2100MHz networks. The iPhone 3G will automatically switch between bands and 2G/3G networks when required. Wherever you go, if there’s a network in range, the iPhone should be able to pick it up.
If you require a packet data connection when operating on a 2G network, the selection will be made between GPRS and EDGE (where available). Although these technologies are much slower than 3G protocols, they will still allow reasonably quick download of text-based pages and e-mail headers. Be sure to check with your carrier as to whether or not data over 2G networks is included in your data allowance however, as you may find it is not.
When connected to a 3G network the iPhone will utilise the HSDPA or UMTS data protocol. Speeds of up to 3.6Mbit/s can be achieved using the HSDPA protocol (where supported). In Australia, the iPhone 3G is currently sold on Vodafone, Optus, and Telstra networks – all of which support HSDPA in some form or another. Three, who is not selling the iPhone 3G (yet), also operates an HSDPA-compatible network.
I’ve given the iPhone 3G three stars in this section, because although it does not support a full range of Bluetooth profiles, Apple have packed in tri-band 3G support and quad-band 2G network support and a range of over the air data protocols. The USB connectivity also works seamlessly.
Multimedia package
    
One of the iPhone’s main functions, other than being a mobile phone, is operating as an iPod. The iPhone shares the same software as the new line of iPods, namely the iPod Touch. All of the functions found on the iPod touch can be found in the iPhone.
Like an iPod, the iPhone uses Apple’s iTunes software to synchronize and transfer music. With 8GB/16GB of storage, there’s more than enough space to fit a lot, if not all, of your music collection. When the iPhone is plugged into a computer iTunes will launch and if selected, automatic synchronisation will occur. You can of course choose to manage your music collection manually, dragging and dropping specific playlists and tracks you want to listen to while out and about.
iTunes is still a relatively chunky application (even on Macs), but has got a lot better in recent years and is much easier to use than ever before. Many Windows users would have already converted to iTunes to manage their music if they’ve had an older iPod, and for those that haven’t the switch may be a little difficult in the beginning but it is worth the simplicity you’ll face once you’ve set it up.
iTunes is the only official application that you can use to transfer music from your computer to the iPhone – there are however some third-party alternatives if you don’t want to install iTunes.
On the iPhone 3G you will find an icon in the bottom right corner labelled “iPod”. Tapping this will open an iTunes-like application for all your music and video playback needs. Music is divided into categories based on the ID3 information (if available): Albums, Artists, Audiobooks, Compilations, Composers, Genres, Podcasts, and Songs. There is a separate tab for videos.
The now playing window will display the artist name, album name, and track name at the top of the screen, with the main part of the screen left for the album art (if available). The bottom of the screen contains a small translucent toolbar that houses the back, play/pause, and forward buttons, and volume slider. Tapping the list icon in the top right will bring up a new screen with a list of tracks in the current playlist/album, with a section to rate the track.
If you rotate the iPhone so it is horizontal, the application will rotate and enter “Cover Flow” mode. If you’ve used iTunes on a computer you may recognise this mode – it’s a view where you can flick through music based on large 3D squares, which display the album art of all your tracks. Flicking through is fast and an extremely easy (and cool!) way to find that track you’re dying to listen to.
Unlike many other applications on the iPhone, the iPod application can run in the background so you can have tracks playing while you perform other tasks on the handset. When music is playing and the handset locks, your wallpaper is replaced by the album art of the currently playing track.
The stereo speakers are of reasonable quality, but even at maximum volume are not very loud. This is most probably to preserve the speakers and ensure that the sound coming out doesn’t get distorted. Plug in your headphones for a much better experience. The 3.5mm headphone jack is located at the top of the handset – the speakers are at the bottom, on the left and right of the proprietary USB interface port.
As well as the iPod functionality Apple have included an application for browsing the mobile version of popular video sharing website, YouTube. The application lets you quickly view the latest featured and most viewed videos, as well as letting you create bookmarks for your favourites and search through the entire library of clips. Searching is as easy as pressing the tab and using the on-screen keyboard to enter a keyword or two.
Unfortunately you cannot login to your own YouTube account using the iPhone 3G application – so any favourites stored on your YouTube account will not be transferred across to the iPhone.
Also, the YouTube functionality of the iPhone is quite slow – even when browsing over a high-speed WiFi connection rather than using an over-the-air data connection such as HSDPA or EDGE. More on this can be found in the Problems and Issues section of this review.
Other applications
    
A range of non-multimedia applications are pre-installed on the iPhone 3G, and many more are available using the iTunes Application Store (on your computer or directly on the handset).
In terms of PIM applications, Apple provides a Calendar application that can store all of your important meetings, dates, and other reminders. Categories are customisable and you can create as many as you want, and colour-code them for easy reference. Those who have used iCal on a Mac will be at home with the Calendar application.
The Clock not only tells the time but offers additional clocks for any location around the world, a stopwatch, countdown timer, and alarm clock. Multiple alarms can be programmed and with an easy to use on/off switch, enabling and disabling configured alarms is as easy as it should be.
Notes allows you to store text notes on a notepad like piece of “paper”. For some reason Apple didn’t include the functionality to draw pictures on these notes, and you can only enter text.
The iPhone 3G’s Contact book will alphabetically (based on first or last name) sort all of your contacts and their details. Multiple entries can be made with each contact and there is the option to add an image, which will then be displayed when that contact calls. Contacts cannot be read off the SIM card, but can be transferred from the SIM into the phone memory.
A basic calculator with memory functionality is also included.
The handy weather application downloads data from Yahoo! servers and displays them in an easy to read format with an outlook for the next six days. Multiple locations can be configured, and by default major Australian cities are displayed.
Stocks is a great application for anyone dabbling in the stock market, and like the Weather application will download the latest stock information from Yahoo! servers for your selected stocks. The current price will be displayed, and when selected a graph is drawn with price information for the past day, week, month, 3 months, 6 months, year, or two years.
Maps utilises Google’s mapping services and the iPhone 3G’s built-in aGPS chipset to plot your current location and provide directions for any destination you enter. The application is fairly fast to triangulate its current location as it downloads data from the Internet, which help it to locate the GPS satellites quickly.
When the location is locked the application will zoom in on the location, loading the maps fully before zooming in further to provide more detail. In some areas where I tested the application it found my exact location – others it was a few houses off or plotted the street behind my house.
The downside to the Maps application is that it does not (yet) offer turn-by-turn directions, so although it can give directions to a destination, it cannot walk through them. Additionally, there are no maps pre-installed – meaning a data plan could quickly be consumed if the application is heavily used when a WiFi network is not in range.
See the Problems & Issues section for more information on the aGPS functionality.
One of the most exciting features of the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 2.0 software was the new iTunes Application Store, which finally allowed third party applications to be installed on the device without “jail breaking” the handset.
The Application Store offers both free and pay software, which extend the iPhone 3G’s functionality beyond what Apple pre-install. Popular applications at time of writing include a mobile Facebook application, Texas Hold’em game, Hangman, and a Flashlight application. Paid applications range anywhere from $1.19 and up. Most sit around the $4-$10 mark.
Applications can be downloaded on your PC via iTunes and then synchronised to the iPhone 3G when it is connected, or downloaded direct to the iPhone 3G and synchronised the other way when connected.
Build quality
    
The iPhone 3G is a very solid built handset that feels firm in hand. While I only received the 8GB model for testing, the physical dimensions of both handsets are the same and I can only assume they both feel the same.
The design of the handset is stylish and professional, although very simplistic. The glass front of the handset is unfortunately prone to fingerprints so you’ll never get it back to that just out of box shine, but a wipe here and there does get it back to an acceptable quality.
The back of the iPhone 3G is glossy (both white and black models) and quite easy to scratch, so if you keep your phone in the same pocket as coins or your keys, you may want to make some changes. After only a few days I noticed small scratches on the back surface of my iPhone 3G – a bit of a heartbreaker.
There have been many reports on the Internet over the past few weeks that users have started to notice tiny hairline cracks appearing on their iPhones. I did a search of mine but couldn’t find any, but this could be a worrying issue if it appears to be more widespread.
Battery life
    
The iPhone 3G is powered by a lithium-ion battery that is not user replaceable. Unfortunately, the battery life of the iPhone 3G is a little on the low side, especially when you consider that it is heavily marketed towards those who want to use the Internet on their phone – one of the biggest battery drainers. Also, if you make a lot of calls, be prepared to charge the iPhone 3G when you get home each night.
Apple estimate that the battery will last up to 5/10 hours of talk time (3G/2G), up to 300 hours of standby time, up to 5/6 hours of Internet use (3G/WiFi), up to 7 hours of video playback, or up to 24 hours of audio playback. These conditions, of course, are based on optimum conditions.
I found I could get close to 3.5 hours of 3G talk time out of the battery, but that was based on multiple calls during the day, not the one continuous. This also included things such as light browsing of the Internet and sending/receiving SMS messages.
There are many reports on the Internet with battery life results, but due to the huge number of variables associated with such tests it’s hard to say exactly how long the iPhone 3G will last with your usage. Most mixed use (3G Internet and other applications) see the iPhone 3G come in at anywhere from 3 hours to 5 hours.
After a few days of using the iPhone 3G I got into the habit of plugging it in to my computer as soon as I got home and unplugging it when I left in the morning. This may be a suitable solution for some users, but others may have trouble getting the handset to a charger each and every night.
The iPhone 3G can charge via USB or can be plugged into a standard power plug using the included adapter. A large on-screen battery will fill up as the battery charges.
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