Consumer Reports sent their intrepid shoppers to wait on line for the iPhone 4 Thursday morning, and rushed the new models back to their labs. Their initial assessment: “Based on the first few hours of using this fourth-generation Apple smart phone, it’s the best iPhone yet.”

CR liked the new, sharper display, the iPhone’s videoconferencing system and the new gyroscopic motion-detection system. However, they admitted that not all of the new features are must-haves:

So should you consider buying this iPhone? If you’re been a iPhone watcher from the sidelines, waiting to jump in, your patience has arguably been rewarded by this new version. But if you already have the last-generation iPhone, you can get a lot of the same functionality by just upgrading the software to the new iOS 4, which is free. The extra functions you’ll get with the iPhone 4 likely don’t merit the $200 and up you’ll pay for the device, unless you’re enamored with that video-calling feature.

First Look: iPhone 4 [Consumer Reports]

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