Posted on 08/08/2010 9:13:10 AM PDT by dayglored
Mark Papermaster, the Apple executive in charge of hardware for the company’s flagship iPhone, has left the company in the wake of widely reported problems with the antenna of the recently introduced iPhone 4.
It is not clear if Mr. Papermaster was ousted or left on his own accord.
Reached on his cellphone, Mr. Papermaster declined to comment.
In a statement, an Apple spokesman, Steve Dowling, confirmed Mr. Papermaster’s departure. Mr. Dowling said Mr. Papermaster “is leaving the company and Bob Mansfield, senior vice president of Macintosh hardware engineering, is assuming his responsibilities.”
... Mr. Papermaster, who was listed as an executive on Apple’s Web site earlier Saturday, had vanished from the site later in the day.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Looks like it's starting. It's not clear whether this fellow is fingered as The Problem, is falling on his sword by choice, or is being ousted against his will.
But "vanished from the site" sounds a little ominous. :)
More on Mr. Papermaster here (wikipedia)
Good morning! Pings, please...
He might have been a Papermaster, but he couldn’t do $hit with hardware....
It is NOT an Apple-bashing thread -- anti-Apple trolls (and for that matter pro-Apple trolls) are encouraged to vent somewhere else. NO FOOD-FIGHTS, FLAMEWARS, etc.
Thanks, all!
Seems appropriate, the antenna issue was completely avoidable but it seems clear that other factors overrode good engineering judgement. As the executive in charge of hardware, Mr. Papermaster WAS responsible.
Thank You for the reminder
Jim Robinson himself has called a truce on this
No Pro / Anti Flaming
Actually, the fellow has a long background with IBM doing hardware -- but it's all microprocessors, servers, semiconductors, large systems.
I don't see anything in his background about radio, antennas, or the like. Real curious.
Irony alert!
Yep, that's my take also. He may have had nothing to do with the antenna design except that he was overseeing the project, but as such, it's his fall to take. That's what executive responsibility IS.
> Irony alert!
OMG!! That went right by me! Good catch, Martin!
I’ve seen one or two people here talk of a problem they have with their iPhone4, due to the antenna issue. Other than that, I haven’t found a single iPhone4 person who has had major problems or is unhappy with it.
What I hate to see is people who are cut loose from their jobs, so the corporation can save face, when there really isn’t an issue to begin with.
I’d be curious to know how many people actually took advantage of the Apple iPhone4 plastic cover fix. I didn’t bother.
With a name like Papermaster, maybe he can find work at Adobe.
Well, I'm not an iPhone user (waiting for an Apple/Verizon deal). But I do believe there is a susceptibility to trouble, due to the wrap-around antenna design, that should never have made it into the released product. A simple non-conductive coating over the bare metal would have sufficed to prevent this before it got into production.
> I’d be curious to know how many people actually took advantage of the Apple iPhone4 plastic cover fix. I didn’t bother.
I would guess that the severity of the problem varies widely with where one is relative to a cell tower. The vast majority of users are in strong-signal areas where degradation won't result in a dropped call.
My home is in a notoriously bad area. Over the years, some of my cell phones haven’t worked at all. With others I had to stand in one place to get reception.
My iPhone3 got excellent reception throughout my home. My iPhone4 does as well.
That’s what baffles me about this claim. I’ve never had a phone that got better reception than these two phones.
You are addressing the right area. I’m just not seeing the problem. Far from it...
I guess that’s why I don’t really buying into the supposed fixes that Appple could’a or should’a done. It’s fine already.
The issue was mainly a Public Relations issue. If Apple had included a free bumper from the start, their competitors wouldn’t have had much of a case ; -)
In Los Angeles, I know 8 people including myself who have the iPhone 4. None of us have the antenna issue at all.
We don’t know why Papermaster left Apple yet. He may have wanted to leave or was pushed. I wonder if he was the person who said that Apple “knew” about antenna issues. Apple is a very secretive company.
I am an Apple Fangrrl with 5 Macs and many iPhones, iPads, iPods, etc ... but I got my free bumper. Hey, they’re giving away free stuff! I’ll sell it on eBay. I love the elegant look my my unadulterated iPhone 4. It’s a beauty!
Well, there are many other factors that I imagine might contribute to the problem or lack thereof. For example, the conductivity of human skin is a complex function of surface moisture (e.g. sweat), and salt or other ionic content. That varies widely with the person, their body state of health, hydration, electrolytes, etc. and is also affected by atmospheric humidity. Even state of excitement can be a factor.
So perhaps you have fairly dry hands and a calm demeanor, whereas the folks experiencing trouble are anxious, and have sweaty palms?
Only half joking... :)
I’m in Hollywood Hills. My reception with Verizon was spotty. I was with them for years ... no real big issues.
Admittedly, my experience with AT&T is short ... but, so far, they are better than Verison. No dropped calls.
The very low percentage of reported problems (down around a percent or so) corroborates your statement.
But you see, tech writers LOVE to bash Apple and Apple products. Anything that smacks of a mistake, or a security issue, or a service issue, is trumpeted to the skies.
Including a bumper with each phone would have masked the problem, but not having bare metal where it could be contacted by the hand would have been even better. A simple non-conductive coating would have prevented this debacle, and I have a bet that the next release this fall will have such a coating.
You know what, I love mine bare too. I wouldn’t put anything on it.
I’m not the Apple fan you are, but I do have a history with them. I bought the first Apple Mac on the first day.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.