Apple iPhone and related items (cont.)

[Vintage Paw]

I like the Android platform and the HTC Desire looks to be a good phone - it's not massively cheaper (£100?) and at the moment I'm contract phobic.

The reason I'm such a "Apple wanker" is their accessibility - in my case, I'm partially sighted - few companies can match them on this.

I actually really like the iP4 and as a device it's ace, but it's actually a phone I need and on that score, at the moment, it's simply not delivering.

Sorry if I've missed this elsewhere in the thread, but is it still cutting out while using a bumper?

It is mind-boggling this issue wasn't flagged up as a potential problem before release. Apple might inspire tribalism from some, but at the end of the day the power of consumers comes from their loyalty to their own purchasing power first and foremost. The media and more outspoken and loud consumers can turn on companies, and Apple would be shortsighted to not realise this. They are not made of teflon, even if they have proven to be more non-stick than other companies in the past.

I've still got one on order, not due to come for another 2 weeks. There are still thousands of very happy customers. Best thing to do is keep your ear to the ground and stay informed if you're thinking of getting one.

(Incidentally, I'd ordered a bumper when I placed my original order, simply because I always buy a case to protect my phones. So if it also fixes this reception issue, I don't feel out of sorts that I've been forced to spend extra money.)

 

[maldwyn]

Sorry if I've missed this elsewhere in the thread, but is it still cutting out while using a bumper?

Even with the bumper It helps if you have a strong signal, anything less than 3 bars and I still lose service.

I got a free bumper from the Regent Street store on the 25th June - just by whining at the till, asking why do I need this to make the phone work properly, who I should contact for a refund, etc.

 

[sim667]

Well I'm still arguing the toss with HTC over my broken phone (after only 1 month). I contacted them first on the 17th and am still waiting for a resolution.

My collegue has also had problems with hers where it won't charge via the cable.

All this has made me wish I'd stuck with Apple despite the iPhone 4's reported issues.

They may not charge of USB 1.1, probs only 2......

 

[sim667]

yeah, that's one of the features.
http://www.apple.com/accessibility/iphone/vision.html

It really fucking confused me for about 20 mins.....

I turned the phone off and on again iirc, before someone told me how to zoom and unzoom

 

[editor]

If this is email exchange is the real thing, Steve Jobs sure seems to be coming over as incredibly arrogant:

Original mail
[Apple engineer name redacted],

When we spoke, you would not tell me that there is a fix for this phone?

A friend just sent me this.

I assume there is no fix then. If this is legit, I have lost all respect for apple and just want to go back to Verizon and get a nice Android phone. And don't tell me they have the same issues, all our co-workers with Androids are just mocking us right now…. "Hey, I am going to go in the basement and continue my call. You can use my office on the 2nd floor so you can get a signal". You are going to kill your brand over one product. Apple is coming off arrogant and rude. If there is no fix just tell people so they can return their phones. We have work to do. I have bought just about every apple product made in the last 20 years and this is the 1st time I am ashamed to be a MAC fan.

This is just sickening,
[Tom]

Steve Jobs' reply
No, you are getting all worked up over a few days of rumors. Calm down.

iPhone 4 User
I am really insulted… "Calm down"…. "rumors"… What arrogance. This is will be marked as the begging of the end of Apple. Seriously, DO THE RIGHT THING. I just had dinner with 3 people who had iPhone 4s we all cant make calls without dropping. There is no rumors it is reality.

Steve Jobs
You are most likely in an area with very low signal strength.....

http://gizmodo.com/5577316/steve-jobs-to-angry-iphone-4-user-relax-its-just-a-phone

 

[Crispy]

Steve Jobs sure seems to be coming over as incredibly arrogant:

Say it aint so!

 

[editor]

Say it aint so!

He's always been arrogant of course, but Apple usually manages this kind of thing much better - which kind of suggests that the phone really has shipped with a serious fault and he's not every good at admitting it and saying sorry.

Least that's how it reads to me.

 

[fen_boy]

I don't believe that that exchange is real.

 

[editor]

I don't believe that that exchange is real.

BGR think it is, and they're usually pretty reliable (but not infallible, obviously).

We have verified the email headers and information, and believe this exchange to be 100% legitimate.

http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2010...-steve-jobs-on-the-iphone-4-antenna-problems/

 

[Kanda]

Our reader again:
Stop with jackass comments. I have has every iphone made. They all had a bad signal but this is the so much worse X3. The whole country is is in a “low signal strength” in reality… all but apple campus and your house it seems? AT&T maps are a joke. I am in “excellent” to “good” coverage and on my iPhone 1, Iphone 3G, and my iPhone 3Gs, I could at least make a telephone call. After all, it is a phone. Iphone 4…. 5 bars….. touch the phone… ZERO bars call drops.
Steve. IT DOES NOT WORK! Geezzz I hope this this is not really you. Are we on a different MHz? I have yet to see an iPhone [4] work in Richmond when you hold it in your hand. It is not “isolated”. I was a big fan. But I am done.

Steve responds once again:
You may be working from bad data. Not your fault. Stay tuned. We are working on it.

Sent from my iPhone

And lastly, Steve emails in again even though our reader didn’t respond to that last message:
Retire, relax, enjoy your family. It is just a phone. Not worth it.

lol

 

[ChrisFilter]

Why not stop being an Apple wanker, take refund and get yourself a HTC desire or Samsung galaxy s for much cheaper and on a better contract?

Because Android isn't yet as good as iPhone OS. I know, I had a Desire and swapped it for a 3GS as I much prefer it.

 

[tarannau]

Weirdly fwiw, we've got plenty of iphone 4's being tested globally, with not one tester reporting this reception fault prior to this hoo-ha.

Clearly a fault does exist and we can recreate the issue with a little effort, but there does seem to be more than a little hyperbole floating about. The testers and handful of early adopters I know seem happy enough. Difficult - amongst the usual near hysterical suspects - to sort the wood from the trees really.

 

[editor]

Because Android isn't yet as good as iPhone OS. I know, I had a Desire and swapped it for a 3GS as I much prefer it.

*cough!
I beg to differ, squire!

 

[sim667]

Weirdly fwiw, we've got plenty of iphone 4's being tested globally, with not one tester reporting this reception fault prior to this hoo-ha.

Clearly a fault does exist and we can recreate the issue with a little effort, but there does seem to be more than a little hyperbole floating about. The testers and handful of early adopters I know seem happy enough. Difficult - amongst the usual near hysterical suspects - to sort the wood from the trees really.

I was having a play with a couple of freinds iphones the other day, and on all of them i could only get the reception to drop if i bridge the gaps between all 3 antennae with my fingers....... tbh ive not seen many people in the UK complain about it at all.....

maybe its something to do with the american diet

 

[Kanda]

*cough!
I beg to differ, squire!

People having different opinions shocker...

 

[editor]

Clearly a fault does exist and we can recreate the issue with a little effort, but there does seem to be more than a little hyperbole floating about. The testers and handful of early adopters I know seem happy enough. Difficult - amongst the usual near hysterical suspects - to sort the wood from the trees really.

Have you tried it yourself? I had no problem recreating the error, and there certainly seems to be enough credible sources reporting the problem as being widespread, as well as several suitably qualified engineers identifying the design as the problem.

 

[tarannau]

FWIW I can affect the signal on the iphone4s behind me, but no way can I get them to drop a call. <shrugs>

We're in a good strength area admittedly, but maybe you need a combination of situation and ropey hardware.

 

[editor]

People having different opinions shocker...

Pointless post is pointless post shocker.

 

[fen_boy]

This Anandtech review of the iPhone is the best one I've read.
It has a really thorough investigation of the signal attenuation problems and explains why you don't see it so much in high signal areas and why the drop in signal bars is misleading.

 

[stupid dogbot]

*cough!
I beg to differ, squire!

Now there's a shock.

 

[ChrisFilter]

Now there's a shock.

Before the ed-hate kicks in, it was a little joke between us as I swapped my Desire for his 3GS.

 

[editor]

Before the ed-hate kicks in, it was a little joke between us as I swapped my Desire for his 3GS.

Indeed. And it was a win-win all round as I wanted to get rid of the iPhone and you wanted to get rid of the HTC!

 

[Sunray]

A lot of the US isn't in good signal strength due to its general size, so it may well be much more of a problem there than here.

I'll leave the people to suffer the problems, perhaps wait till next year when they will release a new re-engineered version without the issue.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

People having different opinions shocker...

And on urban75 too, who'd thunk it!?

 

[Kanda]

BGR think it is, and they're usually pretty reliable (but not infallible, obviously).



http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2010...-steve-jobs-on-the-iphone-4-antenna-problems/

Turns out it's fake.

 

[stupid dogbot]

My 3g has just moved to "No Service".

I'm guessing this means it's ready for the port.

 

[editor]

Yep. Mind you it's funny that people are now having trouble working out the real stroppy Jobs emails from the fake ones.

Engadget highest ranked user comment: "So all the older snarkey, smug ones are [fake] too?"

 

[internetstalker]

Had my iPhone a few weeks now

and have to say it's amazing

 

[Kanda]

Software update for iPhone signal bar issues due: http://www.macrumors.com/2010/07/02...th-display-issue-only-software-update-coming/

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.

 

[editor]

Software update for iPhone signal bar issues due: http://www.macrumors.com/2010/07/02...th-display-issue-only-software-update-coming/

Engadget's response:

Sure, the odd way Apple calculates bars has been noted before, but what's troubling is that this is the second time Apple has blamed signal strengh / reception issues on software and it doesn't fully explain calls dropping and data degradation when the iPhone 4 is held in a very particular (but common) way. It's also worth noting that Apple in no way admits to an antenna design flaw.