Apple, AT&T Sued Over iPhone 4 Antennas

bannable writes "Apple has been accused of violation of the Federal Communications Act, three counts of products liability related to negligence, defect in design and breach of implied warranty, intentional and negligent misrepresentation, fraud by concealment, unfair business practices and more. 'The iPhone 4 manifests design and manufacturing defects that were known to Defendants before it was released which were not disclosed to consumers, namely, a connection problem caused by the iPhone 4's antenna configuration that makes it difficult or impossible to maintain a connection to AT&T's network,' the California complaint reads."

Comments

Re:Good riddance

[wfolta]

Did you read

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3794/the-iphone-4-review/2

Evidently so, but you missed the part about it getting BETTER reception and reception in areas that previous iPhones could not.

Re:Good riddance

[Sandbags]

Fact: even when held, and the iPhone 4 signal drops by approximately 19dB, it still has a stronger signal than the Nexus One or iPhone 3GS (both of which also drop off when held as well).
Fact: At -113db, neither the 3GS nor Nexus can connect a call, let alone maintain one, and the iPhone 4 can do both, and can maintain that signal strength significantly farther from the signal source, even when held.

Yes it has drop off. Yes, you may see 5 bars become 1 (out of a 140dB scale, 5 bars to 1 bar is only 43dB on most phones, so that more than half of the time, when you have better signal, you always see 5 bars, this is an insistence from multiple carriers, not just Apple and AT&T). On average, and in testing, the iPhone 4 does have superior signal strength either way, hold calls better and farther, and is in fact correct in Steve Jobs saying "far superior to any phone we have released."

The Nexus 1 looses 8db when held. The 3GS looses 12. The iPhone looses 19. However, when it looses 19, it's still higher than the 3GS... This is an issue of user perception, not scientific fact or manufacturing defect. MANY phones drop more than 20DB when held in certain ways, and on almost all new devices, due to FCC regulations, the antenna is at the bottom.

Re:Good riddance

[Sandbags]

Even "shorted" and after dropping 19db, the iPhone 4 still has more signal strength in the same conditions as the 3GS or Nexus one, so it's IRRELEVANT data (typically we call it propaganda), and the iPhone 4 even at the same strength hold signals much better and farther from the tower than any other tested phone, and can connect and maintain good call quality calls when the others can not even contact the tower at all.

This is a user perception issue, not a technical failing.

The iPhone 4 in fact is the best cell phone Apple has ever released. This is validated by scientific signal measurement. (even when it;s being held "wrong.")

Re:Just Return It

[Sandbags]

correction: when held NORMALLY it only dropped 19dB. the 3GS dropped 12 in the same conditions, and the Nexus one dropped 7. Even after the 19dB drop, it had stronger dB signal when held than the other two, and at the same db range the other two could not even connect to the tower while the iPhone 4 could make ands sustain both voice and data calls (and even concurrently).

The drop IS more pronounced, but the signal is STILL better. I call that irrelevant.

Re:Just Return It

[jo_ham]

AT&T's contracts have a 30 day return period, with no early termination fee.

Any time up to 30 days after purchase, take it back and your contract is cancelled with no fees.