This is my last article on the subject for a while, but it seems as though Apple competitors have been quick to come out fighting-
“Apple’s attempt to draw RIM into Apple’s self-made debacle is unacceptable. Apple’s claims about RIM products appear to be deliberate attempts to distort the public’s understanding of an antenna design issue and to deflect attention from Apple’s difficult situation. RIM is a global leader in antenna design and has been successfully designing industry-leading wireless data products with efficient and effective radio performance for over 20 years. During that time, RIM has avoided designs like the one Apple used in the iPhone 4 and instead has used innovative designs which reduce the risk for dropped calls, especially in areas of lower coverage. One thing is for certain, RIM’s customers don’t need to use a case for their BlackBerry smartphone to maintain proper connectivity. Apple clearly made certain design decisions and it should take responsibility for these decisions rather than trying to draw RIM and others into a situation that relates specifically to Apple.”
- Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie (RIM)
“Antenna design is a complex subject and has been a core competence at Nokia for decades, across hundreds of phone models. Nokia was the pioneer in internal antennas; the Nokia 8810, launched in 1998, was the first commercial phone with this feature.
Nokia has invested thousands of man hours in studying human behavior, including how people hold their phones for calls, music playing, web browsing and so on. As you would expect from a company focused on connecting people, we prioritize antenna performance over physical design if they are ever in conflict.
In general, antenna performance of a mobile device/phone may be affected with a tight grip, depending on how the device is held. That’s why Nokia designs our phones to ensure acceptable performance in all real life cases, for example when the phone is held in either hand. Nokia has invested thousands of man hours in studying how people hold their phones and allows for this in designs, for example by having antennas both at the top and bottom of the phone and by careful selection of materials and their use in the mechanical design.”
Nokia
Antennagate distracts from real fault IMO
Gav, can you elaborate a bit? Too cryptic for me.
Going down the “others have this problem too” when they probably don’t was a mistake….
@lazyboy all the fuss is so far focused on the antenna which whilst embarrassing that such a mistake was made and now Apple are trying to sort out the mess, there is another error more important. So all the attention moves one way distracting away from the proximity sensor.
So Apple have $100m worth of kit and facilities to test antenna designs but when showing the so called problems with other Smartphones they did not use testable scientific analysis. Apple’s unethical approach continues…very sad that such a big an powerful company has to behave this way. Why not admit that there is a problem and fix it, no need for the magic act as well.
I’m starting to wonder if there was some truth in the rumour that the iPhone 4 should have been the iPhone 5, and they were actually planning a smaller iteration in between. This was allegedly ruined by the prototype iPhone lost in the bar incident and so they had to rush this one out. Most apple rumours are garbage though!
jah,
I simply do not understand your post. I am an iPhone4 owner, and I hold my iPhone in my left hand. I can replicate the ‘death grip’ phenomena in seconds using the natural way I hold the phone. But with a case, this is absolutely the best phone I’ve ever owned. I do not mind – I’m clumsy, so a protective case is easy insurance for me.
I know several other iPhone4 owner, and they simply do not hold the phone the same way I do – and they have not seen the issue.
Apple has provided two significant option for the minority of consumers who are impacted by the design choice of the iPhone4 – return the phone for full refund or use a (free) case.
Nokia’s posting admits that ALL cell phones can be held in a way that will compromise reception.
I see nothing wrong with Apple’s response. If they had continued to deny the issue or refused to offer a full refund, then you could have blamed them. And the videos they post about the ‘death grip’ issues with other phones and other cell phone networks seemed fair criticism to me (and confirmed by Nokia’s press release).
I purchased an iPhone4 for my wife as well. If the case had not resolved this issue, I would have sent at least mine back and used an iPhone 3GS.
SCE