Obligatory iPhone 4 Thread...

[Scott_Arm]

From the conference details it looks like the whole antennaegate is much ado about nothing.

<1 extra dropped call per 100 calls compared to 3GS. Antennae problems affect all smartphones. AppleCare reports fewer complaints about iPhone 4G than 3GS. 0.55% of AppleCare protected iPhone4 users have called about reception problems. 1.7% return rate vs 6% for 3GS.

Free cases for all owners. Apple can't make enough bumbers, so they're sourcing a variety and you'll get to pick. If you already have a case, they'll give you some money as a refund.

Full refund on undamaged iPhone4 within' 30 days of purchase.

White iPhone 4G at the end of July.

July 30 launch for iPhone in many other countries including Canada.

Working on proximity sensor issue.

 

[RobertR1]

Fuckin embarrasing conference. Is Apple usually this full of themselves?

 

[Scott_Arm]

I'm just reading a summary. What's the bad stuff?

 

[Scott_Arm]

Some of the questions they're getting are pretty stupid: "Are you willing to make an apology to investors?"

 

[RobertR1]

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20010731-37.html?tag=topStories1

Check out the live blog. He spends 30mins basically calling out other companies, not taking blame, showing stats on how it's not an issue and then his fix is a free bumper to iphone4 users but only until Sept. Basically he turned it into a sales pitch with "buy an iphone 4 now until sept and get a free bumper!"

Frankly, the bumper is not a fix, it's a bandaid. One of the biggest draws of the Iphone4 are the aesthetics. The bumpers/case goes a long way to diminishing that.

 

[idsn6]

He spends 30mins basically calling out other companies, not taking blame, showing stats on how it's not an issue...

He spent thirty minutes explaining how and why they have nothing to be blamed for. I don't see what you're taking issue with.

Frankly, the bumper is not a fix, it's a bandaid. One of the biggest draws of the Iphone4 are the aesthetics. The bumpers/case goes a long way to diminishing that.

Then don't get one. If the numbers are correct, then the bare iPhone 4 is in line with the rest of the industry and the case offer is a palliative more for a manufactured controversy than any real issue.

 

[BRiT]

iPad caught on fire while charging...

Not iPhone related, but this seemed to be the nearest suitable thread for iPad issues. In similar fashion to previous cord or battery recalls, Apple may have to do something similar for the iPad. I spotted this thread over at TechReport where a user had his iPad nearly catch on fire.

Holy crap! That's melty! It's almost on FIRE!

I grabbed the cord and pulled it out. It was very melty, but more or less in one piece. Oh noes! My precious!

I grabbed up my iPad, and it promptly slid out of the limp rubber shell I normally have it in. I grabbed it! Holy sweet dear zombie of deliverance!!!! I'm not sure how hot it was, but it was a lot. Very a lot. My spine intervened, I let go, and my hand shot into the air.

 

[Grall]

That's obviously sabotage, and the poster of those images is a lying sack of shit.

There's not enough ampearage in that cord to cause the entire connector to melt and catch fire - FROM THE OUTSIDE NO LESS...

Just another lying attention-seeker on the internet.

As for the aesthetics-breaking aspect of the "bumper", I don't think so personally. It's so small I don't see the problem, as long as you can pick a more neutral color than friggin' ORANGE... Anyway, Jobs said you could pick from several different cases amiright? Chances are most of them will be better than Apple's bumper, which is just a rim around the outer edge from what I understand.

Personally I would suggest putting the iphone in a pocket and talking into it using a headset, since holding up a cellphone that big to your ear - regardless how nicely designed - just looks ridiculous IMO. Thus circumventing the antenna issue as well. Furthermore, you won't grease up your screen by touching it with your cheek either, heh...

 

[aaronspink]

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20010731-37.html?tag=topStories1

Check out the live blog. He spends 30mins basically calling out other companies, not taking blame, showing stats on how it's not an issue and then his fix is a free bumper to iphone4 users but only until Sept. Basically he turned it into a sales pitch with "buy an iphone 4 now until sept and get a free bumper!"

a: Your widget is broken I want all your money.
b: our widget performs within the parameters of all the other widgets in the industry
a: broken
b: here's data from a sampling of the other widgets in the industry and one of ours, notice they all have the same issue and have for quite a while.
a: oh, trying to bash your competitors now? Why won't you take the blame for your widget not being idiotproof.
b: oh, I give up, here's a lolipop kid, go choke on it.

Frankly, the bumper is not a fix, it's a bandaid. One of the biggest draws of the Iphone4 are the aesthetics. The bumpers/case goes a long way to diminishing that.

There is no fix, there is no fix required. This has been all about people being idiots from day 1.

 

[wco81]

Apparently they referred to all the PhDs they have and the money they invested in anecheoic chambers.

So much for the snark about them not having antenna engineers.

And he said the Bloomberg article about him being warned was a crock or something like that.

But when he talked about how people want to tear you down if you're at the top sounded like celebrities whining about paparazzi, when those celebs depend on publicity for their success.

It goes with the territory so if you don't want to be subject to shots, be less successful.

 

[RudeCurve]

I think the people who are unsatisfied with the iPhone antenna "issue" needs to return it for a refund and stop complaining. It's getting to a point where it seems they want to keep the phones for free...lol...yeah keep on dreaming.

Anyway...just downloaded one of the new FREE LED flashlight apps...haha...friggen brilliant! Much better than the old LCD flashlight app on the 3G iPhones.

 

[Pressure]

Not iPhone related, but this seemed to be the nearest suitable thread for iPad issues. In similar fashion to previous cord or battery recalls, Apple may have to do something similar for the iPad. I spotted this thread over at TechReport where a user had his iPad nearly catch on fire.

Wow, 1 user out of 3 million+ had his 30-pin connector shorted.

Better recall that sucker immediately!

Honestly, if you want to be scared try to search for the following in a search engine of your choice.

MacBook or MacBook Pro power adapter caught fire.

I've experienced this first hand and Apple promptly exchanged it for me.

Back to the topic.

I can't help but believe this has something to do with cell coverage as well. No matter how I grip my iPhone 3GS (even with both hands) I cannot get the signal to degrade. Of course, here in Denmark we have WAY better cell coverage.

 

[Grall]

There is no fix, there is no fix required. This has been all about people being idiots from day 1.

That you can "short out" (bridge) the antennas by holding your phone in your left hand shows the iPhone 4 is obviously B.A.D. There's workarounds for it (Jobs: "don't hold the phone that way" User: "but I'm left-handed, dammit!" Jobs: "Oh, alright then. Here's a free bumper kid, go choke on it"), but it doesn't change the fact it's a crap design from the start.

They should have galvanically isolated the antennas during production with some kind of non-conductive surface treatment. Btw, this would have improved signal reception even when holding the phone NOT "like that"...

On the whole it doesn't look as if this issue is the end of the world, partially because the radio transciever in the iP4 seems inherently more sensitive than previous hardware, but why create more problems for yourself with bad design decisions if you don't have to?

Now they gotta deal with a shitstorm of bad PR (partially created by trolling internet apple-haters and clueless ignoramus users) that was completely unneccessary to begin with, and give out free cases. This is gonna cost 'em money directly, and in lost sales and returns. Lesson 101 in how to be successful is to not deliberately fuck up.

 

[aaronspink]

That you can "short out" (bridge) the antennas by holding your phone in your left hand shows the iPhone 4 is obviously B.A.D. There's workarounds for it (Jobs: "don't hold the phone that way" User: "but I'm left-handed, dammit!" Jobs: "Oh, alright then. Here's a free bumper kid, go choke on it"), but it doesn't change the fact it's a crap design from the start.

You can't short out the antennas and they both still work even when you hold it that way. All phones have this issue.

They should have galvanically isolated the antennas during production with some kind of non-conductive surface treatment. Btw, this would have improved signal reception even when holding the phone NOT "like that"...

no it wouldn't. It would of made almost no difference: ~5-6 db. which wouldn't have made much difference.

On the whole it doesn't look as if this issue is the end of the world, partially because the radio transciever in the iP4 seems inherently more sensitive than previous hardware, but why create more problems for yourself with bad design decisions if you don't have to?

And the fact that the antenna has higher gain than the antenna in the 3gs. Its actually a pretty good design quite honestly.

Now they gotta deal with a shitstorm of bad PR (partially created by trolling internet apple-haters and clueless ignoramus users) that was completely unneccessary to begin with, and give out free cases. This is gonna cost 'em money directly, and in lost sales and returns. Lesson 101 in how to be successful is to not deliberately fuck up.

What's funny is that there have been youtube videos of people showing thing like this with other phones for MONTHS on youtube and no one noticed. At this point I think its just an issue of the law of large numbers more than anything else.

 

[Grall]

You can't short out the antennas and they both still work even when you hold it that way. All phones have this issue.

If you put your hand over the gap on the side of the phone you undisputably degrade the efficiency of the antennas more than if you don't put your hand over the gap. That's bad, flawed design.

no it wouldn't. It would of made almost no difference: ~5-6 db. which wouldn't have made much difference.

You contradict yourself in just one short paragraph... Either it would improve reception (which you say it wouldn't), or it won't improve reception (which you then say it would). Make up your mind willya!

Anandtech's examination shows that insulating your hand from the antenna clearly improves antenna sensitivity significantly. Holding the phone in your naked hand vs. inside a case produces a more than 12.5db difference. The Nexus One held in a naked hand vs. the iPhone 4 in-hand shows a 9db difference (in the Nexus' favor), showing the iPhone's antenna design to be flawed. Both figures are higher than your claimed difference of only 5-6db I might add...

Its actually a pretty good design quite honestly.

I'm sure it has its merits, but they should still have insulated the antenna; it's just plain common sense. Heck, if you put your hand on a table TV antenna (back when there were still analog TV transmissions) you would have seen the image go all to hell, it's the laws of physics, even Apple's smart visual product design can't break those!

What's funny is that there have been youtube videos of people showing thing like this with other phones for MONTHS on youtube and no one noticed.

People might not have noticed it so much with the iPhone4 either if the on-screen signal indicator hadn't had such a compressed dynamic range, but the underlying flaw/problem/issue/niggle/whatever is still there despite Apple fixing the indicator.

Btw, I myself would love to own an iPhone4, I'd buy one immediately if I hadn't bought a phone already last year, and I'm still contractually bound for another 13 months... If I did have an iPhone4 though, I would stick it in a bumper or similar as a workaround to the antenna issue. Also, I'd hate to scratch up those nice glass front and back panels by laying down the phone on a table etc; the bumper would help there by raising the phone slightly up from the surface...

 

[London Geezer]

Cheeky buggers!!

 

[Mariner]

Cheeky buggers!!

Hmmm. Notice how the background scenery of those pictures seems to differ between the different phones? The videos of the two iPhones seem to have been recorded in a different place to those of all the other phones.

However, no need to worry as I'm sure that Apple wouldn't dream of trying to mislead people by recording some of those videos in an area with poorer signal than others...

 

[Simon F]

Not wanting to ruin a good conspiracy theory but....

Hmmm. Notice how the background scenery of those pictures seems to differ between the different phones? The videos of the two iPhones seem to have been recorded in a different place to those of all the other phones.

Or maybe they weren't all recorded simultaneously and the balance of day / fluorescent lighting had changed?

However, no need to worry as I'm sure that Apple wouldn't dream of trying to mislead people by recording some of those videos in an area with poorer signal than others...

Again, just acting as devil's advocate, what if you had to move somewhere else? If they were adjacent to a tower, would any level of "manual attenuation" make any significant difference to the received signal, and were all the phones using the same carrier?

To me it all just sounds like "tall poppy syndrome".

 

[Rys]

I didn't notice the lighting, but I did notice that the hand used to hold the phone changed (right/left). Maybe a different human too. Oh noes.

 

[wco81]

You can find videos on Youtube of other smart phones seeing signal drops, including those which predate the release of the iPhone 4 or even its announcement.