Posted on 07/16/2010 5:18:32 PM PDT by Swordmaker
"Apple CEO Steve Jobs on Friday announced that his company will give iPhone 4 owners free cases to address reception problems caused by the phone's external antenna, which is a metal band around the edge of the phone," John D. Sutter reports for CNN. "Mike Gikas, senior editor for electronics and technology at Consumer Reports, said in an interview that such a patch is a good "first step." But it's still not enough for his group to recommend the phone to consumers. 'What we were hoping for was a concrete, this-is-it fix for the phone,' Gikas said."
MacDailyNews Take: Consumer Reports would do well get their staff on the same page before allowing them to spout off: Consumer Reports: Apples Bumper case fixes iPhone 4 signal-loss issue - July 15, 2010
Sutter continues, "Gikas said such a solution makes it difficult to review the phone, because everyone has a different case, and it's unclear if the solution is permanent; there's a chance the phone could still be recalled after September 30, or that a new version could be issued, he said."
"During the press event in Cupertino, California, Jobs tried to spread the blame about reception issues across the smartphone industry as a whole," Sutter continues. "Gikas said that was a bit unfair. 'The human hand -- the body -- attenuates signal on all phones,' he said. 'But we haven't seen it happen to the degree that it's happened with the iPhone 4.'"
MacDailyNews Take: Did Consumer reports test iPhone 4 with iOS 4.0.1 with its the revised signal display algorithm? No they did not. They should take an iPhone back into their crap booth of flawed testing that's likely worth 1/1000th of Apple's state-of-the-art testing facilities (we're being exceedingly generous with that estimate even though it's certainly not warranted) and test the iPhone 4 running iOS 4.0.1 with and without Apple bumpers before they make any more of their conflicting and illogical non-recommendation recommendations. Again, anyone under the age of 115 who uses a Consumer Reports recommendation for any electronic device needs to seek immediate mental health counseling. The rest of you, enjoy your Aiwa boom boxes.
Sutter continues, "'The most important thing to remember is a problem was discovered with the phone and we can confirm it in a lab, and it was a significant problem,' Gikas said. 'And I don't think Apple fully admitted to it. They acknowledged it and they threw an interim solution at it. But everything spells fogginess about this thing.'"
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Fogginess?! Okay, let's talk fogginess:
In chronological order:
"iPhone 4 reception is actually better than on the 3GS according to many to some highly respectable and thorough testers, including AnandTech... There's no reason, at least yet, to forgo buying an iPhone 4 over its reception concerns." - Mike Gilkas, Consumer Reports' Electronics Blog - July 2, 2010
Apple iPhone 4 is the best smartphone on the market according to Consumer Reports' ratings. - July 12, 2010
"Apple needs to come up with a permanentand freefix for the antenna problem before we can recommend the iPhone 4." - Mike Gilkas, Consumer reports' Electronics Blog - July 12, 2010
MacDailyNews Take: You already did recommend it, you moron.
"But for those who prefer to keep their iPhone, we encourage Apple to step forward soon with a remedy that fixes the confirmed antenna issue, and not one that requires additional consumer expense." - Mike Gilkas, Consumer Reports' Electronics Blog - July 13, 2010
MacDailyNews Take: Milk the thing for all it's worth, Mike, why don't you?
"With the Bumper fitted, we repeated the test procedure, placing a finger on the Bumper at the point at which it covers the gap below. The result was a negligible drop in signal strengthso slight that it would not have any effect, in our judgment... The Bumper solves the signal-strength problem... We're still calling on Apple to provide an acceptable free solution to the iPhone 4's signal-loss problem." - Paul Reynolds, Consumer reports' Electronics Blog - July 14, 2010
MacDailyNews Take: Apple did so today, but CR still won't recommend their top-rated smartphone, Apple's iPhone 4.
"We look forward to a long-term fix from Apple. As things currently stand, the iPhone 4 is still not one of our Recommended models." - Consumer Reports' Electronics Blog - July 16, 2010
To recap the fogginess: Consumer Reports recommends the iPhone 4, then they don't recommend the iPhone 4 even as they say it is the top-rated smartphone on the market. Next, Consumer Reports calls three separate times for Apple to "step forward soon with a remedy that fixes the confirmed antenna issue" that does not requires "additional consumer expense." Consumer reports then tests Apple's Bumper case and find that it alleviates the issue. Apple then offers free Bumper cases to all iPhone owners. Consumer Reports then decides that what they asked for is not good enough (for then hits to their website from users who do not require bottled oxygen in order to click a mouse button would cease) and fails to recommed Apple iPhone to their geriatric readership which actually believe that Consumer Reports' opinions on electronic products and God-knows-what-else are worth more than a bucket of warm spit.
How many more illogical, contradictory, flawed articles can the transparent hit whores at Consumer Reports concoct regarding this non-issue?
I understand that, and I accept all that. Where I get quite frustrated is when people who are overly zealous about Apple refuse to ever acknowledge a problem and that anything NOT Apple is bug-infested crap.
I WORK for Apple, and Microsoft, and Dell, and HP, and many others. I make a living in high technology. Apple's PR stunts - like claiming other phones have the same problem (when in fact they do not - none will suffer from signal degradation to the degree the iPhone 4 does, from independent measurements) - hurts the industry as a whole.
And witness your own position; your own number for drops SHOW the iPhone 4 drops 33% more calls. If that's OK with you, great - say so! But you cannot state with any rational conclusion that the iPhone 4 has a better, "magical" antenna. The facts just don't support it, Steve Jobs' PR flak included.
Basically, if you're happy, great. Understand that Apple has problems, and that it's a big company. It is a niche player in the market that will viciously use its PR engine and rabidly-loyal-wing of its user base to denigrate and destroy any and all players in the market, even if it hurts the market as a whole. And that includes character assassination by those same zealots. Witness me being called Satan and demonically possessed. Are those the actions of a rational person?
So enjoy your Apple products. If they meet your needs, great. If you're happy, wonderful! Remember every time Apple sells a product they use some of that profit to hire ME - I like that! But to deny reality, and twist the laws of physics all around to cover a documented, predicted, and proven FUBAR leads to even more scientific ignorance by the population and ultimately hurts the consumer electronics market as a whole.
But what do I know, I'm just a GD EVIL LIAR, vile scum, demonically possessed Satan here...
Apple absolutely DID demonstrate that other phones have the same problem and it was demonstrated during the presser. Since you will never see it, I won’t bother telling you things that will make you even more irate that you would not know unless you saw it ... all the way to a half an hour after it ended.
The other companies were not happy but it is hard to argue with the evidence. Most of it is on YouTube I believe. The “drops less than one call per one hundred” is not MY number as you so state. It was what Apple stated. I have had NO dropped calls.
Don’t expect people to be upset with Apple if they have personally had no dropped calls, at least so far in its inception. People are not returning their phones in droves! i have never denied a problem, just that I do not know anyone who has had a issue with the antenna.
Apple does not have a problem. The only problem that might exist is that the brand and its concept is driven by one man who will not live forever. Apple will never be as big as Microsoft and I wouldn’t want it to be. The biggest is never the best [as demonstrated by Microsoft] and Apple is the best and will be sold to people who want the best. Not the cheapest or the one most other people use.
As for your other “gripes”, I would characterize your behavior on these threads as excessive especially as you have not one iota of first hand experience with the iPhone 4. That is why I have related my experience and those of the 7 people who I knew that bought the iPhone 4 the first week. You come off as someone who simply hates Steve Jobs, which is a fashionable position these days. Congratulations for being trendy.
If you have a problem with another poster you should either live with it or solve it. But to declare in almost every post your displeasure with what one person called you is silly. You’re like a broken record.
Well, I'm with you on that. My first Apple product was an iPod. I have now imported my entire CD collection into iTunes. And it's all backup up to DVDs. And I have synched it all to my iPod. So now wherever I travel, I have my entire music collection in my pocket. That's just amazing! And then there are all the great apps from the Apple app store for the iPod.
I also do a bit of programming. The basic Mac OS X system comes with all the scripting languages any programmer needs pre-installed: Python, Perl, Ruby, PHP. And Java is installed. Also the Safari browser has most of the new extensions to JavaScript already included. And for systems programmers, it has all the shells they might like: bash, C-shell, Korn shell.
I needed a C compiler. All it took was one free download of Xcode. I didn't have to configure anything. Now I can compile C, C++ and Objective C programs.
So I'm with you. I cannot say enough good things about Apple and the Mac.
YOUR FIRST? Very belated congrats. I had the great pleasure of growing up mac and using my moms old Franklin 2200. Which was an Apple IIe clone. I learned to program in Basic and then in the early 90’s migrated to windows as well, running a linux server out of our basement for my websites. I was a very early adapter and Applephile.
So then for over 10 years I had a PC and MAC running side by side. It was then I could see the huge differences as the OS’s all improved and the “war” heated up.
Finally, when Mac went Intel in 2006, I sold my PC and now have all Mac. I still run Lunix and Windows in bootcamp and Virtual Machines. My Macbook Pro runs Windows XP twice as fast as my old Acer.
I really can’t understand the hatred. After all, in 2007 and 2008, two years running, the #1 ranked PC by PC Magazine, was a MAC. LOL
Thanks, yes, my very first Mac. My only regret is that I didn't do this years ago. But I had such a problem with my main Windows machine a couple of months ago, I knew that the time had finally come to buy a Mac.
I learned to program in Basic and then in the early 90s migrated to windows as well, running a linux server out of our basement for my websites.
I used to run Apache on Linux as well. But I was very surprised to find that every Mac OS X system comes with the Apache web server. And so easy to run: Apple -> System Preferences -> Sharing and then click on the little box in front of Web Sharing. Then drop a few web pages in the Sites folder in your home folder, and you have a private website for all the rest of the family with computers on your home network. I'm really impressed.
I still run Lunix and Windows in bootcamp and Virtual Machines.
And which do you find to be more convenient? Partitioning with BootCamp and dual booting or using a virtual machine? And for your virtual machine, are you using Parallels or VMWare?
I actually do all three. I have a Parallels Partition and I dual boot to native Windows for my gaming. I love Fallout 3. And I use the same partition in VM to work on files while surfing safely in OSX. I also have a VMWare Fusion for my Suze and Ubuntu and Win 7 which are smaller 20GB virtual drives only. My Suze is just a play box, and my Ubuntu runs some of my remote torrent sites hosted in France. Win 7 is also just for play, before I finally ditch my Acer copy which is my main XP VM.
That's very interesting. I had never thought of doing all three. But I could start out with one. I don't do much gaming, so I don't think I need to run Windows natively. Or Linux for that matter. So I am leaning toward a virtual machine.
Since you have a lot of experience in this area, I would like to avail myself of your expertise. Have you found any advantages or disadvantages to Parallels versus VMWare?
Yes. Sure. Parallels will let you clone an existing PC drive and then mount it. So if you have one with all your best programs on it and do not want to reinstall everything, this is a great tool. My primary drive is a clone of my 4 year old 2005 Acer PC. Still runs with SP3 flawlessly, with the great advantage that if I get a virus or attack, and I do from time to time, I can just restore a back up image of the drive in about an hour and be fine without wondering.
VMWare however is faster and more stable for a stand alone fresh out of the box install, which is why I use it for all my other VMs. Fusion is what I recommend to you if you just want an on the fly, sometime use, fast and solid VM.
Parallels does far more but has been known to be buggy. Check out BOTH user forums for a few weeks before you jump in.
No, they didn't. The videos you see look interesting to non-technical folk, but anyone with a technical/engineering background will tell you that it does NOT show the problem. Anandtech PROVES the difference between what Apple is showing and what the REAL problem is. Yes, all phones will lose some signal when you hold them. The iPhone 4 loses 8 dB MORE because you also touch the metal of the antenna.
What you saw was a bunch of smoke and mirrors and non-relevant data put up by Apple's PR team to mask their problems and NOT address the real problem, which Anandtech - and many more - have documented.
There's a reason Consumer Reports and other technically inclined sites all call the presentation bogus, and that Apple still has not admitted the problem. It's nothing about the fact you're holding the phone, it's the fact you're touching the antenna.
Put it this way - all cars, if you drive them through a puddle - will hydroplane to some extent. However, drive a light car with bald, wide tires and it will hydroplane to the extreme! Heavier cars with good tread and narrow tires will still be controllable, even though they're hydroplaning to some degree; the light car with bald, wide tires might as well be on ice.
Apple's videos are basically lies, and it's why Nokia, RIM, Anandtech, CR, and many others have come out and said as much.
Talk to someone with an actual engineering or RF background, someone you trust. They'll tell you the same thing. What you're seeing is Apple's PR engine doing everything they can - including lying to the general public - to protect their image. That's the issue, and that's what most of the staunchest, most rabid iDrones refuse to admit.
The laws of physics cannot be broken, even by Apple. What they're asking you to believe with those videos and their marketing spin is that they have just done such a thing.
OK, I will try and make this as clear as possible. And take every one of your points and then sum it up.
Does the 4 drop MORE calls than the 3?
YES. So far. With 22 days of data, yes.
Does the amount seem to matter to the 99.5% of actual customers.
NO.
Do the customers report HIGHER satisfaction.
YES.
So, why in the HELL should these 99.5% give two hoots of a horn about some fractional statistic that says the AVERAGE is slightly lower?
They should not and DO NOT.
And there are any number of explainations for this.
First, maybe cell towers and ATT have gotten better over time and this covers up a real problem.
Second, maybe the scientific facts are it drops 8db but doesn’t actually drop more calls per se?
Third, maybe we just do not give a crap and are Mac Zombies.
In any of those cases, why should we give two hoots about what some rabid haters who DO NOT LIKE APPLE and DO NOT OWN ANY APPLE PRODUCTS say?
We shouldn’t care and we don’t so get over it.
Just like with the Virus nonsense.... OK, you might be right and Mac COULD get viruses... someday, far far away.
Until it HAPPENS. And until it happens OFTEN. We do not NEED to run any sort of anti virus apps.
And we won’t.
So, what? We are still virtually bullet proof and you who choose to live in the ghetto and get shot at every day don’t like us who live in our nice gated community.
We do like it. We like golf and the private beach. We like our good schools. We are successful and you think we look down at you. We don’t. We strongly suggest YOU build and live a gated communities too. We tout our strengths.
YOU are the one with the better than thou attitude. You are the ones on these threads judging us and calling us snobs and prudes. We are just trying to show the people getting mugged daily that their is a better way of life and that they too can be safe and happy living in their online world of Apple.
So, none of the facts, either the accurate but insignificant ones, nor the phony FUD and distorted facts, will or HAVE effected the 99.5%.
We are happy.
Join us. Or leave us alone.
Why are people not returning them?
Why has mine, and everyone else I’ve asked, not dropped calls?
Excellent! ;-)
Thanks, that is what I will do.
I think this article explains the two issues [attenuation & detuning] in layman’s terms and references your article as well. It also answers the question of why the phone is not dropping calls:
What Exactly Did Apple Do?
http://www.businessweek.com/idg/2010-07-17/iphone-4-faq-what-exactly-did-apple-do-.html
Here’s the quote answering my question [Quoting]
So, even though the iPhone 4 experiences the customary cell phone signal reduction, and in addition significant detuning, the vast majority of users won’t see dropped voice calls (though they could have slower 3G data transfers, which may or may not be noticeable).
The reason, says Webb, is because 1) you don’t need a big channel for a voice call and 2) the voice codecs and compression algorithms and all the rest of the related technology is really forgiving: your signal has to be really stomped on or really weak to start with to drop a call.
It’s pretty clear, Bunny and Rachel, you don’t have a technical background nor do you care about it. If you’re happy supporting a company that is outright lying to cover their butts, if the ends justifies the means, then by all means continue to state that Apple is the same as all others.
Read the quote you selected; it CONFIRMS EXACTLY WHAT I STATED. The iPhone has ADDITIONAL ATTENUATION that other phones don’t have. Apple freaking LIED about it, and you bought it. Stop and think - the company you so love is LYING OUTRIGHT TO YOU, and slandering other companies and the industry as a whole just to keep their precious fanatics happy.
NO OTHER PHONE has the same problem. None. Nada. You claim they do, but you’re just parroting a lie from apple. You’re proving your ignorance time and again, and really don’t have a clue about reality. If you don’t want to learn, then don’t get upset when you’re treated like technological children.
Enjoy your iPhone 4!
You Tube: Reality distortion field remains strong with Steve Jobs after antennagate
A minute into it, Jobs uses a light saber to solve the problem for a user.
You are the perfect user of apple products. I think where people get frustrated is when the not-so-informed apple user believes they have the best system money can buy so they try to convince others that it's the best and you don't need all those other things the other systems can do.
Apple definitely has it's niche market in terms of computers. The phone on the other hand they do a good job of appealing to more people because unlike a PC most people just want a phone with some apps and have it look sexy cool. Apple screwed up this time with the phone part of the phone, but I'm sure it's a one time mistake. Users would be smart to stay away until this is fixed for good and the next revision.
Now this is a bit over-the-top. You're going to believe Apple's word over its competitors when Consumer Reports (INDEPENDENT) has confirmed iPhone 4 has an issue. Keep in mind no one said the previous iPhones have this issue just the iPhone 4.
But now we are to believe this is a problem with all phones including previous iPhone series. As apple zealots like to claim everyone else is spreading FUD....this is clearly Steve Jobs obfuscating the issue and spreading FUD about other phones.
When independent tests prove all phones suffer as badly as iPhone 4 then I'll believe it.
I guess you waited for the right time to test a Mac. My first experience was in the hayday of blue screens on windows machines caused by poorly written 3rd party hardware drivers. The mantra at the time was Macs don’t crash or Macs don’t blue screen.
So my roommate at OTS (Air Force Officer Training School) had a Mac laptop. I loved the trackball on it, but everything else kind of stunk. And worst of all it crashed more often than any windows machine I ever used. But it didn’t give me a blue screen instead it gave me a cute little bomb picture as opopsed to the text in a blue screen.
For the typical user that may be better and it does mask the severity of the crash. I prefer the blue screen because I know how to read them and can usually guess where the problem is by just reading the blue screen.
I recently used a Mac and while it appears to have caught up to windows in regards to not crashing it is still too much of a simplified system for my taste. But the real issue I have with them now is that bang for the buck and not enough 3rd party software are on them yet.
Plus I don’t like the smell of my own farts so I wouldn’t fit in with the Mac crowd :-)
So much for an objective review of the CR comments. I stopped taking the article seriously when its authors revealed their 5th grade intellects.
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