Posted on 07/08/2010 12:41:10 PM PDT by driftdiver
If you were hoping that the software update promised by Apple last Friday would include some special secret sauce that would prevent the new iPhone's reception from dipping when it's held the wrong way, prepare for disappointment.
Gizmodo, the iPhone-scooping tech blog that's become quite the thorn in Apple's side, says it has checked not once, not twice, but three times with the AppleCare support line, and each time the service reps said the same thing: holding the iPhone 4 in such a way that you're touching the outer steel band on the lower-left corner will indeed cause antenna interference, and the upcoming iPhone update won't do anything to change the situation.
The response isn't all that different from what Apple said in its open letter last Friday, in which it blamed the rash of complaints about the iPhone 4's "death grip" problem to a faulty reception display that's (supposedly) showing too many bars in weak signal areas.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Same here...
It would be a cool move. They might even increase sales, because anything that is forbidden becomes instantly more desirable. There would be a huge market in gray market iPads and iPhones, and Apple would pretend to not allow sales in the EU until the weenies in the EU begged them to come back.
But even Steve Jobs doesn't have the cojones, I think.
It means exactly what it says. Are you having trouble reading it?
"Another thread about the "Death Grip" on the iPhone 4 posted by a non-iPhone user"
Do you need me to parse it for you?
Not to the degree of the iPhone:
It's one thing to lose a bar or two; it's another to completely lose all the signal. And yes, it does happen.
Sword, I told you to remember this post. You seek to limit discussion on a public forum. Are you a Stalinist?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2545162/posts?page=104#104
"Puget, you seem to be under a misapprehension that YOU OWN THIS THREAD. You don't. Jim Robinson does. He has made it a PUBLIC forum,
If we wanted to test the latest patch, though, you’d need two iPhones to see if there were any differences. It would be interesting to compare it to a non-iPhone, too. My guess is you’re right. It’s the easiest solution and shifts the blame without much exposure.
Hyperbole - obvious and intentional exaggeration. Let me see if I can find a thread with obvious and intentional exaggeration...searching...searching...found it, maybe something like this very thread talking about 'death grip'...You were pinged to it already, by the initial poster, in the second comment. Go thru your own comments, I imagine most of those iPhone threads contain similar hyperbole. Many articles/blogs have been posted regarding the same issue, with the same over-the-top rhetoric. It has gotten old very fast.
Apple is a favorite of ambulance chasers and other low-lifes like Greenpeace. They know Apple is dependent in part on a good public image (and the brand alone is worth an estimated $15 billion), so they try to leverage that to force settlements.
‘Apple is a favorite of ambulance chasers and other low-lifes like Greenpeace. “
really? I didn’t know that Gp had sued Apple.
“They know Apple is dependent in part on a good public image “
Every company is dependent on a good public image.
Ambulance chasers go after anyone with money.
My kids are always bugging me to get them an iphone. I told them as long as Algore is on the Board of Directors, NO SALE!
Are you ever going to post the other part of that source article that says the iPhone 4 gets much better reception than the 3GS, allowing the reviewer to go places the 3GS couldn’t?
Of course not, that would make the iPhone 4 look good.
I won’t buy an iphone because of past problems with AT&T service and the hateful way I get treated by mac users here.
I’m also getting tired of the tread mill of spending hundreds on these devices. Then there’s the fact companies like Verizon have shipped thousands of jobs over to India. While still trying to rope you into long term contracts on expensive plans.
Those guys getting our jobs over in India pay about a $1 a month for their cell service. Here Apple wants you to pay $30 for a rubber guard to hide their antenna design problems.
Greenpeace always rated Apple very low on its corporate environmental responsibility surveys, often singling-out Apple for poor performance. They were all lies, of course. Apple had been better on environmental issues than higher-ranked companies, but refused to play by Greenpeace's rules for reporting. For example, the survey gave a lot of credit for promises of later improvement, but Apple would never promise anything where the likes of HP and Dell did (but didn't necessarily deliver). Apple also refused to donate to related Greenpeace groups, reminiscent of a Jessee Jackson shakedown.
If you wonder why Apple has been stressing this environmental thing in advertisements for the last couple years, that's why. Apple never directly kowtowed to Greenpeace, but they did start advertising it more in response.
“Are you ever going to post the other part of that source article that says the iPhone 4 gets much better reception than the 3GS”
Unless you’re holding it wrong.
PSS has made numerous posts showing the ratings of the iPhone 4 in different circumstances. He even showed it getting better reception than other non-apple products, when sitting on a table.
But how do we know which is truly better...Apple has said they’ve been artificially showing a stronger signal than what really existed.
Or as I suspect they will change thier logic to show strong signal when multiple towers are in the area so that it won’t drop calls when you touch it. But when you have only one tower (no matter how strong the signal) they will show only one bar. Now the issue has changed from an iPhone problem to an ATT issue.
Aside from actually having access to the hardware innards and the right tools, we won't know. Until then I'd say the best measure would be the quality of call and dropped calls. I never pay attention to bars on my Droid because I have come to realize there is no correlation with the quality of the call. I can get great calls at one bar, and dropped calls at three.
Or as I suspect they will change thier logic to show strong signal when multiple towers are in the area so that it wont drop calls when you touch it. But when you have only one tower (no matter how strong the signal) they will show only one bar.
I think it's more than just bar generation too. Apple advertised that they came out with a way of juggling towers and signals to get the best reception, and I bet this interferes with bar generation based on the old method, and might itself have a few places that need tweaking.
YES, the iPhone 4 is great when there is no reception problem from a person holding it; I've posted this graphic MANY times which shows the case:
Left side image is the phone sitting on a table. That's fabulous! WONDERFUL!
The problem is when you HOLD IT you can lose ALL reception. It's not that it goes down a little, or one or two bars - it drops EVERYTHING. See the middle image. Gone. Nothing. Even the upload goes completely away and the pings go up to immensely. Note the little "3G" indicator even disappears.
Putting a case on it helps, but brings it down to the "mortal" realm of normal iPhones - the image on the right.
So the iPhone 4 is really good if you're not holding it; if you hold it the reception can drop to literally nothing. It's not a small loss, it's ABOUT ALL GONE.
That's the point that the iPhone faithful are ignoring. It's not that reception isn't great when everything is fine - that's never been questioned. It's that the WHOLE THING BASICALLY STOPS WORKING AS A PHONE when you hold it "wrong".
So yes, I recognize that the iPhone 4 can have better reception than the iPhone 3GS. But I also recognize that the iPhone 4 can LOSE all it's reception if you hold it wrong. Do you recognize that as well?
I did call this a screw-up on Apple’s part.
I don’t understand why some people get so worked up about anything Apple. They jump on every thread and denigrate Apple, their products, and Steve Jobs. Why?
They often call those who like Apple products, gay, a cult, phanboyz, liberals, etc. Why?
I know all the arguments about “overpriced” and ... Well, come to think of it, that is about all I can think of they object to as far as the product itself. Their semi-hate seems more directed toward Mac users. Why?
I don’t see any threads these folks post about Toyota and their problems supposedly kill people. An Apple product has never killed anyone - that is unless someone was trampled in the stampede to get a new product.
Driftdiver, Smoking Joe, for-q-clinton what is it with you guys?
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