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Android vs. iPhone 4 Signal Strength Bars Comparison

Posted by timothy on from the under-the-hood dept.

thisisauniqueid writes "In light of the clamor over the iPhone 4 Grip of Death, AnandTech recently reverse-engineered the phone's signal-strength-to-bars mapping. Because Android is open source, we can determine the corresponding mapping for Android in combination with the 3GPP spec referenced in the source, allowing the signal-strength-to-bars mapping for both Android and the iPhone 4 to be plotted on the same axes. This shows that the iPhone 4 consistently reports a higher percentage signal strength (as defined by the fraction of bars lit) than Android GSM devices at the same signal strength."

16 of 253 comments (clear)

  1. Well duh ... by Nerdfest · · Score: 5, Funny

    The actual signal is amplified across most frequencies by an obscure side effect of the reality distortion field. If you were an Apple antenna engineer you'd know that.

    1. Re:Well duh ... by dattaway · · Score: 2, Funny

      I believe the correct engineering term for this reality distortion field is called the Bogon force field. The Bogon flux is measured by a Bogometer, in units of "bars." Apple has the most respected Bogonomists in the industry, but the Bogon is a strange quark that mysteriously vanishes when a detector is used.

    2. Re:Well duh ... by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 2, Funny

      What the difference between a Mac fanboy and a bicycle?

      Slap a chain on a bicycle and it doesn't blog endlessly about how being chained up is an improvement.

      What's the difference between a Google fanboy and a bicycle?

      Slap a chain on a bicycle and it doesn't blog endlessly about how iPhone users are chained up.

      --

      "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

    3. Re:Well duh ... by mjwx · · Score: 4, Funny

      What is the difference between an Apple fanboy and a terrorist.

      You can negotiate with a terrorist.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    4. Re:Well duh ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      11 out of 10 on my bar graph

  2. Re:dB attenuation? by BasilBrush · · Score: 4, Funny

    Of course. Because the average phone user knows what a dB is and would much rather see it than a bar graph. My mother was just telling me the other day that she gets a -10dB attenuation in the kitchen compared to the lounge.

  3. Re:because most people don't understand decibels? by gEvil+(beta) · · Score: 2, Funny

    Because 90% of the population has no fucking clue what decibels are?

    Are you serious? Do they not teach the Dewey Decibel system in school anymore?

    --
    This guy's the limit!
  4. Re:Smelly code! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    :((
    Why isn't this modded insightful?

  5. Re:iPhone wins by Anarchduke · · Score: 4, Funny

    that's okay, my Spinal Tap smart phone goes to 11 bars !!

    --
    who prays for Satan? Who in 18 centuries has had the humanity to pray for the 1 sinner that needed it most? ~Mark Twain
  6. Re:Two antennas! by onefriedrice · · Score: 2, Funny

    That's been known for a while. The question is, why on Earth did they not test the phones properly? And by properly, I mean in real world circumstances.

    They did have a long testing period, but apparently the only left-handed prototype tester lost his iPhone at a bar.

    --
    This author takes full ownership and responsibility for the unpopular opinions outlined above.
  7. Re:dB attenuation? by houghi · · Score: 5, Funny

    An alternative could be to have it show a percentage between 0 and 100. As this might be too distracting perhaps just show them in groups of 20% each. To save space, you could leave out the number and just show a block.

    That way you can easily show the strenght of the reception and made it understandable for everybody.

    --
    Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
  8. Re:dB attenuation? by bmxeroh · · Score: 2, Funny

    Perhaps we could make each block bigger than the last?

    --
    Central Ohio Home Theater Installation - The Theater People
  9. Re:noise floor? by MichaelSmith · · Score: 3, Funny

    Careful there: a whole bunch of fanboys will start keeping their phones in the fridge for a better facebook experience.

    --
    http://michaelsmith.id.au
  10. Steve Jobs to Gray Powell by andy1307 · · Score: 4, Funny

    You fucking idiot..I asked you to test the the phone for bars...not test the phone in a bar...

  11. Jobs is channeling Nigel Tufnel by PPH · · Score: 2, Funny

    Ours go up to eleven.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  12. Re:dB attenuation? by uninformedLuddite · · Score: 2, Funny

    is she single?

    --
    The new right fascists are bilingual. They speak English and Bullshit.