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'Consumer Reports' Smacks Verizon iPhone Over Antenna Issues
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Apple knows damn well phone has an antennae problem. And most of you do, too. I live in Miami and my iPhone 4 service is brutal at times with repeated dropped calls my 3GS never experienced.
And yet, when CR writes anything about the iPhone or Apple, they sure seem to have influence over pissing people off...
So I would say they have influence. And are certainly relevant enough to be quoted by other media and in other mediums.
You don't like what they have to say or don't agree with them - that's fine. But that doesn't make them any less credible or well read.
Most of the audience who visits this site are not the demographic that visit CR anyway.
So I would say they have influence. And are certainly relevant enough to be quoted by other media and in other mediums.
You don't like what they have to say or don't agree with them - that's fine. But that doesn't make them any less credible or well read.
Most of the audience who visits this site are not the demographic that visit CR anyway.
Here's my reception test:
Can it stream an internet radio station, over 3G while in an elevator without a glitch?
iPhone4 - Yes.
That's as far as I got. Happy with the outcome.
C.
Can it stream an internet radio station, over 3G while in an elevator without a glitch?
iPhone4 - Yes.
That's as far as I got. Happy with the outcome.
C.
Nahh... I gave up on them when I was looking at cars and one I was interested in scored high across the board, yet the recommended another manufacture's vehicle because they felt the other manufacture had a better reliability record. So, they seem to test, score and then recommend whatever they want.
Come on CR!
While I am a CR subscriber, and generally like their ratings.... there are just some things they really don't understand how to rate. (ie: computers, stereos, etc.... apparently phones).
It would be kind of like testing a car and saying... 'when I crank the wheel like this, while slamming on the brake pedal, the car goes into an uncontrollable spin... therefore we can't recommend this car.' Sheesh!
(On a side note, the other thing that has been bothering me about CR in the last several years, is they have become very cheap consumer oriented on a number of kinds of products, rather than focusing on long-term quality and paying a bit more. They don't seem to do that with cars... I'm not sure why they can't translate that to all types of products.)
While I am a CR subscriber, and generally like their ratings.... there are just some things they really don't understand how to rate. (ie: computers, stereos, etc.... apparently phones).
It would be kind of like testing a car and saying... 'when I crank the wheel like this, while slamming on the brake pedal, the car goes into an uncontrollable spin... therefore we can't recommend this car.' Sheesh!
(On a side note, the other thing that has been bothering me about CR in the last several years, is they have become very cheap consumer oriented on a number of kinds of products, rather than focusing on long-term quality and paying a bit more. They don't seem to do that with cars... I'm not sure why they can't translate that to all types of products.)
Dropped Subscription
I dropped my subscription of CR last year when they came out with the iP4 review of the AT&T release. They are at it again. I just don't think they are being truthful. I know 10 people with the phone and none of them have this issue. It's bogus, just like the "I can't stop my car" Toyota liars.
I dropped my subscription of CR last year when they came out with the iP4 review of the AT&T release. They are at it again. I just don't think they are being truthful. I know 10 people with the phone and none of them have this issue. It's bogus, just like the "I can't stop my car" Toyota liars.
One could only imagine how many units of the iPhone4 would have sold if it had gotten the CR benediction. 
At least 1 company is willing to criticize Apple. I noticed this problem right away when I got my phone. I bought a case and it was fixed. But it is still a major design flaw in Apples flagship product.
Not saying your wrong... and not saying that the Antenna design is not optimal. But in my neck of the woods I see no difference. It works like all my other phones have in the past. And I do know my other Samsung phone had the same issue as the iPhone if you played with it enough. You could drop the bars with just the right hold.
So my evaluation... because we know where to hold the iPhone to make it fade... it's an issue. But still... I feel grossly over hyped. Again... based on my experience and not just fanboiism talking.
This is basically it...
Negative press about the iPhone from consumer reporting agencies (not actual consumers), rumors of the iPad3 coming out just a few months after the iPad2... Companies will do whatever they can to defer Apple's business - The more of a monopoly Apple becomes, the more impossible it is to stop.
....
Except Verizon isn't a better network as it uses CDMA, you do know that CDMA is old technology and the rest of the world is using GSM for obvious reasons... And I don't know why people complain about the iPhone 4 antenna issues, tests proved that it still gets better signal than the 3GS.... But as soon as you fix one problem people will find something else to whine about....
I feel like I made a lateral move. I got off of AT&T's network to get decent reception. I got onto a better, more reliable network in Verizon, except now, the phone is the problem.
Except Verizon isn't a better network as it uses CDMA, you do know that CDMA is old technology and the rest of the world is using GSM for obvious reasons... And I don't know why people complain about the iPhone 4 antenna issues, tests proved that it still gets better signal than the 3GS.... But as soon as you fix one problem people will find something else to whine about....
I hear you on that to some extent. It seems they tend to sometimes get a 'bug up their you know whats' about certain things which are largely irrelevant. I agree fully with pointing out something like this so the consumer knows.... but adjusting their overall rating over something trivial seems.... um, petty.
While they might be unbiased due to advertising... they don't seem to often be without their own internal biases. You just have to kind of figure those out and factor them in.
What I've found... is that I read their articles to glean info. I glance at their overall rankings. But, when making my purchases, I generally ignore the actual product ranking. So many times, I've found they place 'deals' at the top that don't turn out to be deals in the long run... especially for certain kinds of products.
Ready for some Raige?
These old morons have nothing better to do with their lives (kinda like me hanging out in the forums). My phone runs PERFECT! I haven't gone below 4 bars yet. Can't recommend the phone? Idiots. The most powerful phone on the planet and you can't "recommend" it because when you hold it like an idiot it loses signal.
The iPhone is the best purchase I have ever made. THERE ARE NO PROBLEMS WITH THE PHONE! I wanna smack this old goon!
These old morons have nothing better to do with their lives (kinda like me hanging out in the forums). My phone runs PERFECT! I haven't gone below 4 bars yet. Can't recommend the phone? Idiots. The most powerful phone on the planet and you can't "recommend" it because when you hold it like an idiot it loses signal.
The iPhone is the best purchase I have ever made. THERE ARE NO PROBLEMS WITH THE PHONE! I wanna smack this old goon!
Been using my Verizon iPhone since February 7th, and I've not had one dropped call, even when holding the phone like this.
I've traveled all around New England and have failed to replicate the poor signal issue that everyone tried to make a big deal of.
I've traveled all around New England and have failed to replicate the poor signal issue that everyone tried to make a big deal of.
Right, but then the headline should be: iPhone 4 can't make calls in places where iPhone 3GS can't make calls!
(Assuming that's true, I mean.)
So if that is the case, as you seem to agree, then why is this even a story? Who cares?
Oh. And nice lab from the 80's old dudes. I'm sure that equipment is up to par. And what's with the lab coats? You're not dealing with chemicals.
Still overblown
Personally, I find the issue just as overblown now as it was back in June. I now own an iPhone 4, upgraded last month from an iPhone 3G (not s) and find it to be more sensitive and more reliable than my previous one and, as yet, has not dropped a single call on the AT&T network or any other unless I was in a known dead zone that no phone I have ever used or seen used has managed to defeat; this includes my old home in a valley not even a half-mile from the nearest tower.
Do I use a case? Yes, but I didn't when I made my tests simply because I was waiting for the case I wanted to be delivered. I didn't buy my case to bypass a perceived weakness but rather to offer some level of protection against scrapes and bumps my phones get in everyday use.
In this case, I consider Consumer Reports' non-recommendation as more prejudicial than realistic since the issue has no practical degradation to service that didn't already exist.
Personally, I find the issue just as overblown now as it was back in June. I now own an iPhone 4, upgraded last month from an iPhone 3G (not s) and find it to be more sensitive and more reliable than my previous one and, as yet, has not dropped a single call on the AT&T network or any other unless I was in a known dead zone that no phone I have ever used or seen used has managed to defeat; this includes my old home in a valley not even a half-mile from the nearest tower.
Do I use a case? Yes, but I didn't when I made my tests simply because I was waiting for the case I wanted to be delivered. I didn't buy my case to bypass a perceived weakness but rather to offer some level of protection against scrapes and bumps my phones get in everyday use.
In this case, I consider Consumer Reports' non-recommendation as more prejudicial than realistic since the issue has no practical degradation to service that didn't already exist.