AT&T network about to look worse...

[amirm]

Either that or Apple is playing games with its users . Making the smaller bars bigger? Really? Couldn't they think of a more subtle way to make you think smaller bars look like the larger ones?

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/07/02appleletter.html

July 2, 2010

Letter from Apple Regarding iPhone 4

Dear iPhone 4 Users,

The iPhone 4 has been the most successful product launch in Apple’s history. It has been judged by reviewers around the world to be the best smartphone ever, and users have told us that they love it. So we were surprised when we read reports of reception problems, and we immediately began investigating them. Here is what we have learned.

To start with, gripping almost any mobile phone in certain ways will reduce its reception by 1 or more bars. This is true of iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, as well as many Droid, Nokia and RIM phones. But some users have reported that iPhone 4 can drop 4 or 5 bars when tightly held in a way which covers the black strip in the lower left corner of the metal band. This is a far bigger drop than normal, and as a result some have accused the iPhone 4 of having a faulty antenna design.

At the same time, we continue to read articles and receive hundreds of emails from users saying that iPhone 4 reception is better than the iPhone 3GS. They are delighted. This matches our own experience and testing. What can explain all of this?

We have discovered the cause of this dramatic drop in bars, and it is both simple and surprising.

Upon investigation, we were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong. Our formula, in many instances, mistakenly displays 2 more bars than it should for a given signal strength. For example, we sometimes display 4 bars when we should be displaying as few as 2 bars. Users observing a drop of several bars when they grip their iPhone in a certain way are most likely in an area with very weak signal strength, but they don’t know it because we are erroneously displaying 4 or 5 bars. Their big drop in bars is because their high bars were never real in the first place.

To fix this, we are adopting AT&T’s recently recommended formula for calculating how many bars to display for a given signal strength. The real signal strength remains the same, but the iPhone’s bars will report it far more accurately, providing users a much better indication of the reception they will get in a given area. We are also making bars 1, 2 and 3 a bit taller so they will be easier to see.

We will issue a free software update within a few weeks that incorporates the corrected formula. Since this mistake has been present since the original iPhone, this software update will also be available for the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G.

We have gone back to our labs and retested everything, and the results are the same— the iPhone 4’s wireless performance is the best we have ever shipped. For the vast majority of users who have not been troubled by this issue, this software update will only make your bars more accurate. For those who have had concerns, we apologize for any anxiety we may have caused.

As a reminder, if you are not fully satisfied, you can return your undamaged iPhone to any Apple Retail Store or the online Apple Store within 30 days of purchase for a full refund.

We hope you love the iPhone 4 as much as we do.

Thank you for your patience and support.

Apple

 

[Steve Williams]

From what I read it is the software Apple uses to determine signal strength and number of bars and they are working on a patch. In the meantime You Tube has some cute videos of the new ways people are holding their phones to get re4ception.

 

[Steve Williams]

 

[Steve Williams]

 

[vinylphilemag]

From what I read it is the software Apple uses to determine signal strength and number of bars and they are working on a patch.

The number of bars displayed (incorrectly or not) is only a symptom of the bigger problem that when one touches both of the antennas together, a signal drop of roughly 20 dB occurs. All cell phones lose some signal when they're held near the antenna, but the iPhone 4's attenuation is bigger than most. Insulating the antenna (e.g., by using the Bumpers that were conveniently released at the same time as the iPhone 4) will mitigate the problem.

I'll probably still get one, but I will thoroughly check the signal strength before dropping a pile of cash.

BTW, judging by Amir's comments, I don't think I'm the only one who thinks that Apple is insulting the intelligence of thier users by changing the bar size...

 

[Albertporter]

I read a report that said a simple protective cover for the new iPhone resolved all reception issues. The cover insulates fingers from contacting the antenna. A pretty easy cure if this is true and you wanted this phone.

My cover is the Flick "Contour" with shiny black finish. It's so sleek and so close fitting my wife did not notice I added the cover until months later. My iPhone is the old 3G, not even the 3GS, didn't feel need to change since I've have good service, reliability and reception with it.

What's tempting is this new iPhone has multitasking and an improved screen, but knowing Apple I will wait a few months and let them update and throw in a few extra features for same or less money.

Link to the contour cases I mentioned: http://retail.contourdesign.com/?/products/1

 

[amirm]

Amazing for Apple to have such PR problems but problems they have. Someone is giving them bad advice to cover all of this up. With so much money they are making with these products, they should just bite the bullet, redesign the case and release it to everyone: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2366358,00.asp

"Consumer Reports Won't Recommend iPhone 4
ARTICLE DATE: 07.12.10
By Mark Hachman


Consumer Reports said Monday that the consumer testing organization can not officially recommend the Apple iPhone 4 because of antenna issues.

In a post to the organization's electronics blog, CR's Mike Gikas said that the company had confirmed the so-called "death grip" problem reported by PCMag.com and other sites. Apple later blamed the issue on a faulty software algorithm.

"When your finger or hand touches a spot on the phone's lower left side—an easy thing, especially for lefties—the signal can significantly degrade enough to cause you to lose your connection altogether if you're in an area with a weak signal," Gikas wrote. "Due to this problem, we can't recommend the iPhone 4."

Gikas said that the magazine had purchased three iPhone 4s and tested them in a special RF lab. "In this room, which is impervious to outside radio signals, our test engineers connected the phones to our base-station emulator, a device that simulates carrier cell towers (see video: IPhone 4 Design Defect Confirmed). We also tested several other AT&T phones the same way, including the iPhone 3G S and the Palm Pre. None of those phones had the signal-loss problems of the iPhone 4."

For that reason, even though the iPhone 4's other features placed it atop the magazine's review rankings, the iPhone 4 was not recommended..."

 

[vinylphilemag]

Amazing for Apple to have such PR problems but problems they have. Someone is giving them bad advice to cover all of this up. With so much money they are making with these products, they should just bite the bullet, redesign the case and release it to everyone:

I agree. I'd like an iPhone 4 to replace my steam-powered Treo 680, but the antenna issue gives me pause. I'm sure a company with Apple's resources can come up with a way to fix this without adversely effecting the iPhone's aesthetics--and then supply said fix to users for free if they request it.

One advantage of the delay getting the iPhone up here (it's not scheduled to arrive until "late July") is that Apple have a month or so to sort out teething problems like this.

 

[ggendel]

I agree. I'd like an iPhone 4 to replace my steam-powered Treo 680, but the antenna issue gives me pause. I'm sure a company with Apple's resources can come up with a way to fix this without adversely effecting the iPhone's aesthetics--and then supply said fix to users for free if they request it.

One advantage of the delay getting the iPhone up here (it's not scheduled to arrive until "late July") is that Apple have a month or so to sort out teething problems like this.

As a Treo owner, you'll find that the WebOS phones come very close to the simplicity of PalmOS. I'm a long time Palm owner (III, IV, V, 270, 600, 700) myself. You should try and play with the Pre as well as the iPhone. Personally, it only took me a few minutes of playing to realize that WebOS was for me. The nice thing is that there is no jailbreaking, WebOS tools to put a homebrew program or patch has been available and supported all along. Since every view in WebOS is a web page... Don't like anything about the page, then change it! I've added operations to menus, changed icons, changed the number of apps displayed on a page, etc. with some simple javascript patches, all readily available from the homebrew community.

 

[vinylphilemag]

As a Treo owner, you'll find that the WebOS phones come very close to the simplicity of PalmOS. I'm a long time Palm owner (III, IV, V, 270, 600, 700) myself. You should try and play with the Pre as well as the iPhone. Personally, it only took me a few minutes of playing to realize that WebOS was for me. The nice thing is that there is no jailbreaking, WebOS tools to put a homebrew program or patch has been available and supported all along. Since every view in WebOS is a web page... Don't like anything about the page, then change it! I've added operations to menus, changed icons, changed the number of apps displayed on a page, etc. with some simple javascript patches, all readily available from the homebrew community.

Yeah, I've played with the Pre a few times and I quite like it. I'll have to have a closer look at the alternatives when it comes closer to buying time but (modulo antenna issues) the iPhone 4 is currently top of my list. I keep all my contact info on my phone, so the ability integtrate well with computer-based contact managers is important to me.

 

[rblnr]

I'm having no problem w/my iPhone 4 in actual use, and I hold the phone left handed. A bit of my palm touches famed gap between antennas. It is certainly no worse reception-wise than the GS.

I do see a drop in bars after a few seconds if I hold my fingertip over the gap. Ironically, played around w/some tape a few days before the CR note and that did solve the prob.

Whatever the real world actuality, it's obvious Apple has to address the issue definitively to protect their brand. I've heard that there are coatings that can be applied to the stainless steel that make it non-conductive; this would seem to be the best solution from an aesthetic POV, but would require a massive exchange program. Perhaps they could then refurbish and resell the returns at a discount as they do w/their computers. Whatever the cost of this would be dwarfs the cost of not acting. I suspect they are working on a solution(s) now but this takes time -- an announcement that they are doing so would help greatly. They have an opportunity -- and certainly the incentive -- to set the bar here on how these things are handled. Biggest obstacle is likely ego.

 

[The Smokester]

My wife is a Apple fangirl with the original iPhone. I pre-ordered the 4 for her birthday and before the antenna problem surfaced. She will keep it in a case so I don't really expect any performance problems.

However, every iPhone 4 that Apple sells carries with it a slight liability for them. How they allowed this to happen should result in a shakeup within their engineering team as well as their PR department.

The other day I was looking at the various top-end Android offerings from Verizon. There is the Moto Droid, HTC Incredible and a new Moto Droid X (due tomorrow but I got to preview it). There are two others (from HTC and the Moto Droid 2) coming soon which are responsive to the slight criticisms leveled at the previous models. These new Android-based phones are every bit as technically advanced and their gui's are superb. There is a selection of formfactors and performances from which to choose rather than the one-size-fits all of the iPhones. These phones don't need to be "jail broke" to put on the "censored" software of your own choice. There are several reasons why I personally didn't go iPhone but iTunes and Apple's need to control is stiffling and I can't bring myself to support it in principle or in practice. I think it may be the ultimate stratgic mistake on their part...One made before they realized what Google could bring to the table and how they would bring it.

No doubt Apple has led the way in the smart phone genere. A month ago I was buying into the notion that the iPhone had gone "viral". What a difference a month makes.

 

[rblnr]

Press conference Friday

 

[The Smokester]

Press conference Friday

Yes. I am all ears. It will be interesting to see if they spin or are straight with their customers. A critical time for Apple.

 

[The Smokester]

As a follow-up, we are now trying to return my wife's new iPhone 4. At our house, it is performing worse for phone calls than the original 2007 iPhone she had before. Since we have all but given up our land line phone, being without reliable reception at home is a non-starter.

Yes, we are using a cover. I think every iPhone 4 that Apple now sells is a liability for them.