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Apple's iPhone Mea Culpa: We're 'Totally Wrong'
NBC ^ | Jul 2, 2010 | JOSH KLEINBAUM

Posted on 07/02/2010 11:54:40 AM PDT by for-q-clinton

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Very interesting. So holding the antenna exposes a bug in the software to show the true signal strength. That is a very odd software bug indeed. I wonder if someone can explain how holding the antenna in a certain way would reveal the true signal strength.
1 posted on 07/02/2010 11:54:46 AM PDT by for-q-clinton
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To: ShadowAce; Swordmaker; driftdiver; PugetSoundSoldier

Tech ping please.

Looks like a new spin on the antenna issues.


2 posted on 07/02/2010 11:56:37 AM PDT by for-q-clinton (If at first you don't succeed keep on sucking until you do succeed)
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To: for-q-clinton

Good news for ‘em, though. FAR easier to issue a software update than a firmware re-design.


3 posted on 07/02/2010 11:57:44 AM PDT by RightOnline
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To: RightOnline

I’m just amazed at the issues software can cause though. I will be very interested to know how this is a software issue.

I can see software causing dropped calls which the iPhone is notorious for. Which it appears Apple’s buggy software is giving ATT a bad name. Which many people with iPhones will attest that their iPhone drops way more calls then other cell phones. But most just blame ATT because it couldn’t possibly be ATT’s fault.


4 posted on 07/02/2010 12:04:26 PM PDT by for-q-clinton (If at first you don't succeed keep on sucking until you do succeed)
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To: for-q-clinton

Josh Kleinbaum is a HATER!!!


5 posted on 07/02/2010 12:06:28 PM PDT by TomServo
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To: for-q-clinton; PugetSoundSoldier

PugetSoundSoldier has a pretty good response to this

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2545716/posts#34


6 posted on 07/02/2010 12:08:15 PM PDT by driftdiver (I could eat it raw, but why do that when I have a fire.)
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To: for-q-clinton

It appears that what they’re admitting to is having accidentally created an erroneous perception that there is a problem.


7 posted on 07/02/2010 12:09:19 PM PDT by tacticalogic ("Oh bother!" said Pooh, as he chambered his last round.)
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To: for-q-clinton
I wonder if someone can explain how holding the antenna in a certain way would reveal the true signal strength.

In all cell phones, the bars you see are calculated approximations of signal strength over time. The iPhone 4 added quite a bit more complexity to the antenna system in order to get better reception, so probably the bar calculator routine wasn't modified accordingly.

HTC had a "problem" like this a while back. People complained about low bars, but the signal was still good. HTC changed the way the bars were calculated, and customers were happy even though they had the same exact signal they had before.

8 posted on 07/02/2010 12:11:03 PM PDT by antiRepublicrat
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To: for-q-clinton

No, AT&T still sucks, I have a blackberry with AT&T and I get plenty of dropped calls.


9 posted on 07/02/2010 12:14:49 PM PDT by montyspython
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To: for-q-clinton
Apple's over-engineering occasionally causes these kinds of problems. Those of us who followed the company since the early days remember their first external CD-ROM, which had an unnecessary cooling fan. This cooling fan drew dust over the 1x CD read head causing failure. The fix was to open the case and disconnect the fan. Oh, and the failures usually came about four months in ... on a 90 DAY WARRANTY.

The 90 Day warranty for the U.S. didn't go away until a bunch of Macs were sold with bad Quantum SCSI hard drives. It seems the lubricant tended to dry out after, say 100 days. Apple was forcing people to buy new hard drives. Meanwhile, Apple was taking those defective hard rives, and returning them to Quantum, as they all had an OEM 2 YEAR warranty!

Some nice products, but not always customer friendly.
10 posted on 07/02/2010 12:15:26 PM PDT by Dr. Sivana (There is no salvation in politics)
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To: for-q-clinton

I think what has happened is:

a) the iPhone 4 has a more erratic antenna design- better in some situations, worse in others, especially when being held, and

b) this did indeed expose the - always known - bogus signal strength display.

Whomever designed or approved an antenna that could be held or put in a configuration where two antennas could be bridged - OR NOT (i.e. the end antenna situation is highly variable) - should have their engineering degree taken away....


11 posted on 07/02/2010 12:16:12 PM PDT by Yossarian (A pro-life democrat is one who holds out for something in return for his pro-abortion vote.)
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To: for-q-clinton

I guess the old “hoping that enough fans and sycophants at tech blogs to cover for us” strategy didn’t quite pan out this time?


12 posted on 07/02/2010 12:16:36 PM PDT by VanDeKoik (Iran doesnt have a 2nd admendment. Ya see how that turned out?)
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To: for-q-clinton
I can see software causing dropped calls which the iPhone is notorious for. Which it appears Apple’s buggy software is giving ATT a bad name

Turn it around: AT&T is giving Apple a bad name. AT&T is the reason I have an HTC. I was NOT going to switch to AT&T even to get an iPhone. My whole family is quite happy on Verizon, where the coverage is great, the prices are decent, and I rarely get dropped calls.

I don't like anything about AT&T. You could try to credit them with the wisdom to take a chance and partner with Apple on a groundbreaking way to make a smart phone, one that led to far better smart phones across the board, but even that was Cingular before the AT&T purchase.

13 posted on 07/02/2010 12:17:52 PM PDT by antiRepublicrat
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To: Dr. Sivana

I remember that CD-ROM drive. I clipped the fan wires the day I got it.


14 posted on 07/02/2010 12:18:35 PM PDT by NVDave
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To: for-q-clinton

I had very few drop calls with my iPhone going back to the first month the iPhone was released. this week however, I am dropping probably 80% of my calls, maybe even more than that. I cannot see any other possibility than the new G4 phones are bringing their network to it’s knees.


15 posted on 07/02/2010 12:19:05 PM PDT by coon2000 (Give me Liberty or give me death!)
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To: Dr. Sivana

Do you remember the PowerBook G3? That laptop had an issue where the battery would disconnect itself from the laptop from time to time.

Apple’s fix was to ship the affected customers a foam strip & a tongue depressor to install the foam strip within the battery compartment. The foam would force the battery to stay in position & keep physical contact with the PowerBook G3’s motherboard.


16 posted on 07/02/2010 12:21:34 PM PDT by bobcat62
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To: for-q-clinton
I don't buy it... It's not a software bug, it's a hardware issue:

Change how you display the bars all you want, you will not fix the much higher absorption you get when you hold an iPhone 4.

Additionally, this runs counter to the recommendation to hold it differently or use a case, both of which would point strictly at a hardware - not software - problem.

17 posted on 07/02/2010 12:22:20 PM PDT by PugetSoundSoldier (Indignation over the Sting of Truth is the defense of the indefensible)
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To: montyspython

I had Verizon for the last 6 years and always had dropped calls.

I bought the iPhone 4 on opening day and moved to AT&T. I’m expecting dropped calls sometime although haven’t gotten them yet. I figured both companies have dropped calls.

But the phone is awesome. I’m sorry I waited so long to get one. I love everything about it.


18 posted on 07/02/2010 12:22:35 PM PDT by BunnySlippers (I LOVE BULL MARKETS . . .)
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To: for-q-clinton
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.

Makes you wonder how much else is totally wrong doesn't it? I have to admit I thought the apple letter was a sick joke until I looked at my browser's address bar and it showed apple.com. Can anyone imagine the howls from the media if Microsoft issued a letter like this?

Only someone young enough to believe in Santa Claus would buy this apple tripe, which I've paraphrased here:

1. This happens to all mobile phones when held in the hand, even ours!

2. But we get letters from lots and lots and lots of people that say it doesn't happen to OUR phone.

3.We just discovered the bars have always been wrong for all of our phones all the time (we somehow missed that for years), and we're issuing a software patch that will show lots of bars all the time, no matter what. That will fix the no-bars problem.

Sounds like a lawyer trying out one lame argument after another until some gullible judge bites on one.

19 posted on 07/02/2010 12:22:49 PM PDT by catnipman (Cat Nipman: Made from the Right Stuff!)
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To: for-q-clinton

I have an iPhone 4. I suspect that Apple has a second problem with how their firmware selects the most appropriate AT&T tower & frequency band to place a call. I’ve had several cases where my iPhone is selecting the weakest AT&T site near my home to place a call. When this happens, the calls drop constantly. Simply restarting the iPhone will force another AT&T site to be used & the calls start working.

BTW, this is happening with the iPhone’s cell antenna facing 4 open windows while sitting on a piece of furniture.


20 posted on 07/02/2010 12:27:02 PM PDT by bobcat62
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