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Proximity Sensor Presents Latest iPhone 4 Issue
tekgoblin sends news of the latest iPhone 4 glitch being reported in user forums and elsewhere: the phone's proximity sensor seems not to be detecting nearby faces, as it is designed to do, in order to deactivate the screen during a call. The result is often unintended input. "On the iPhone 3GS, the proximity sensor was located to the left of the earpiece speaker. But that space on iPhone 4 is now occupied by the front-facing camera, and the proximity sensor is above the earpiece. What's not clear is whether the iPhone 4 screen's misbehavior is due to the new location of the sensor, or it's because Apple tweaked the sensor's responses in [some] way."
The antenna issue hasn't bothered me a bit. But this problem affects me every day. Since I got my iPhone, I haven't had one day where at least one call wasn't accidentally disconnected, muted, or interrupted by touchtones as my ear hit various buttons on the keypad. There are a couple of workarounds (use the earphones, or lock the keyboard), but those take time to establish at the beginning of the call.
My bet is that this can be fixed with a simple software update, but I really don't see how Apple could possibly not have found this issue in their testing. Some reports I've seen suggest that the problem goes away if you put it in a case of some sort, so maybe Apple only tested it with those silly cases that made it look like a 3G when they sent it out in the wild for testing, and the case kept it from having the problem.
And it seems to me that they could combine the proximity sensor input with the accelerometer and gyroscope inputs. When you hold the phone within a certain range of angles AND the proximity sensor reads X, then turn off the touchscreen.
I now have an iPhone 4. Before that, I was a 3GS user. Before that, Palm Centro, Treo 680, and Treo 650.
All I can say is that I have absolutely no complaints. Phone gives better audio quality and apparently better signal strength than my 3GS, which also rarely dropped calls and generally had little trouble accessing the 'net even though I live in NYC and supposedly ought not to have even been able to place a call, period.
I haven't had any issues with the proximity sensor, any issues with signal loss/degredation, etc. No yellow spots, beautiful screen. The device works better than just about any other electronics device (save the 3GS) that I've bought in the last few years. It seems to me that people hold Apple to impossibly high standards compared to other electronics vendors. Few devices or even major computer items (printers, laptops, monitors) I've bought over the last few years have been defect free. Every single one of them has had issues. Many I've exchanged several times trying to get a "good one" (for example, Kensington Expert Mouse with misaligned laser so that motion isn't properly detected, or AOC LCD monitor with control panel buttons that don't register presses).
People only get into "OMIGODSCANDAL" mode when it's Apple for some reason.
I'm happy to say that the two Apple devices I've bought (iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4) have satisfied me enough that I'm seriously thinking of getting an iPad (despite previously thinking I wouldn't) and making my next computer a Mac rather than a Thinkpad.
STOP . AMERICA . NOW
Actually, if you are fine with the slowdown apparently there is a way to enable iPhone OS 4 features restricted for the 3Gs on a 3G (see http://lifehacker.com/5574507/how-to-enable-multitasking-and-background-wallpaper-on-your-iphone-3g-and-2nd-gen-ipod-touch ) now I haven't used them so I can't vouch for if they work or not so your results may vary, but if you are looking for a way to enable them while waiting for a new phone, that might be a way. I think on that same site there is a link that tells how to downgrade to 3.X also if you want to go that route.
Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
i think that's why poster said "if".
I have tried the jailbreak route. Even enabling the features through activating Apple's own implementations (the .plist edit to enable multitasking and wallpaper) left my phone running unacceptably slow, compared to just acceptably slow with non-jailbroken iOS 4. It also killed my battery life, and the funny thing was it wasn't even the multitasking doing it. I tried just enabling the wallpaper and I had a good 30-40% reduction in battery life while using the phone. Standby time seemed to be unaffected.
If you build it, nerds will come. Soylentnews.org
Not sure if its Honda, but there's a debate that 9-3 is safer if the air bag deploys: http://www.smartmotorist.com/driving-guideline/hands-on-the-steering-wheel.html
In pretty much every country that I know of, Honda cannot revoke the warranty on my car if I install an espresso machine, or use Goodyear tires. My engine and suspension are still under warranty as long as I use tires of the correct size...
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
Except the iphone 4 drops less calls than the 3GS. http://www.anandtech.com/show/3794/the-iphone-4-review/2 I have no reception issues with my iphone, and I am not an apple apologist. Yes they should test better, yes they should have added non-conductive coating, yes itunes felches, but in actual use it works better than the 3GS as from the article: "There's no doubt in my mind this iPhone gets the best cellular reception yet, even though measured signal is lower than the 3GS."
this seems to be an issue with ios4 (happens on 3gs also) to do with importing from old phone sensor settings on restore...
after some searching found that
the fix was to go into settings/general/reset all/ then it recalibrated the sensor....
have had zero issues since
locked out of this slashdot account for 10+ years... Im back
I think the RAM is the biggest issue on the 3G. If you plug it into XCode while using it, you can view the console log and apps are getting memory warnings almost non stop. I sometimes can't even listen to the iPod while opening another application and having the iPod quit. I used iOS4 since the first beta and actually beta 1 and 2 were even slower than beta 3 and the final version. Every time the iPhone 3G hits the memory limit, it slows down until it purges things from memory. This is happening a lot more often with iOS4 than it was with 3.x.x
Sez you.
Sony Ericson p800, p900.
"cache"? "cachet" maybe. Do you really think having a particular brand of mobile phone gives you "cachet". How sad.
You've got a buzzing ecosystem? Call rentokil.
What?
Bugger, I've been trolled.
Watch this Heartland Institute video
iPhone 4
Nexus One
The iPhone 4 came out almost seven months after the Nexus One and is only marginally (technically) better. Either the GP is a troll or they simply have no idea what they're talking about.
All of the specs used for comparison were taking from each device's Wikipedia article.
No one cares what your captcha was
Houston TX, USA
I cannot reproduce the signal-loss issue. I am plagued by the proximity sensor issue. And just an FYI- after the phone hangs up, it takes you back to your contacts; if the call is dropped, it tells you "call failed" and gives you a redial button.
I hear "It's not the sensor it's ATT, lolz!!1" all the time from people who don't use iphones but feel the need to comment on them.
So let's be clear about this: I can tell the difference between a dropped call and a call that has been ended inadvertently.
Don't take this as a personal attack, since I'm addressing all of /.
-b
No offense, but I've stopped responding to AC's.