Slashdot Mirror
Experts Explain iPhone 4 Antenna Problem
CWmike writes "Reports of call and data signal strength problems in the new iPhone 4 have a basis in fact, a hardware expert said Thursday. Later in the day, Apple acknowledged that holding the iPhone 4 may result in a diminished signal that could make it difficult to make and maintain calls or retain a data connection. 'Gripping any phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas. This is a fact of life for every wireless phone,' Apple said in a statement issued to several media outlets, including PC Magazine, which had run tests earlier Thursday. 'If you ever experience this on your iPhone 4, avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases.' Scores of new iPhone owners confirmed the reception problem in a string of more than 360 messages posted to a thread on Apple's iPhone 4 support forum."
A blog post from an antenna design company explains that the reception problems are probably the direct result of phone design adapting to FCC requirements.
I have one - haven't seen any problem in real-world use although I can make a bar disappear by covering the bottom of the phone. Pandora continues to stream just fine. I'm guessing many phone manufacturers hide the issue by making the signal strength indicator update more slowly or in a non-linear fashion or something... Non-issue really, but the rabid Android contingent needs something to make them feel better about the 6 hour battery life of the EVO. Let's be real - ALL smartphones have some issue or another that can be called out. The new iPhone is a pretty damn great piece of kit regardless.
Anyone who has used an Apple mouse (*any* Apple mouse) knows that ergonomics takes a back-seat to physical appearance.
Any Apple mouse? You obviously haven't used the "classic" Apple mice, which were very good and highly ergonomic. In fact, Apple made the first truly usable mice, they spend significant effort in engineering them. Prior to the Apple mouse, mice had two circular rollers instead of a a spherical ball.
... and then they built the supercollider.
This is the iPhone we are talking about. It plays games, surfs the internet, chat on Facebook or Tweet your heart out, PLUS it runs thousands of different software packages as low as $1.50 each. What makes you think they designed this thing for making old fashion phone calls?
Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
Agreed. The Apple Magic Mouse is the least annoying mouse I've ever used. I still prefer the trackpad on a MacBook Pro, however.
If you mod me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.
Moderators, if you're trawling for non-negative comments concerning Apple products, so you can slap a Troll mod down, you need to get out of your parents' basement once in a while and get some fresh air. My comment ("the least annoying mouse I've ever used") to people who understand the English language better than most Slashdot native speakers should be considered, "Damning with feint praise" and rated "Funny".
If you mod me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.
You know what else resolves it? Well, besides just being in an area with strong cell, doing nothing at all. Because it's a nonissue. This slashdot summary that you are posting to is a summary of the story released by experts letting us know that all cell phones have this issue, and it isn't new to iPhone 4, which means it has nothing to do with software, it's just physics. Again, there is no issue, there never was. Take a second to let that flow over you. Yes, I know what you saw, no, it doesn't mean what you thought it meant, and no your phone isn't defective. Everything is OK, it is expected, normal behavior. Really. RTFA.
The Admin and the Engineer
So Google kicked iPhones into 3rd place now did it. Can you back that up with some facts. The ones I have seen suggest Apple still sells more phones than Android. That may and probably will change in the future. And oh, Google makes a phone, the Nexus one, and the iPhone handily beats it in sales.