'Antennagate' Reactions: RIM, Nokia, Taiwanese Animation

[Treefu]

Exactly! I have taken two cellphones into the Mt. Baker National Wilderness --- one an iPhone on ATT -- that lost signal in the trailhead parking lot --- the other, an LG Decoy on Verizon --- that still had two bars in the middle of nowhere at the end of the Ptarmigan Ridge trail.

I just realized, if smartphones really are more prone to issues like this, then not having smartphones/iPhones apparently saved me & my family from spending nights in the wild freezing (if not death) on more than one occasion.

Does anyone know why smartphones are more prone to this attenuation than dumbphones? Can't they use the same antennas in smartphones?

(while I appreciate being aware of the issue, I wish Apple could've done so without making the iPhone "lacking")

 

[qtx43]

Standard flip-phones don't have the issue, which is why I'm holding on to my Motorola V330 for now. I'm gonna give any smartphone the full proctology exam on the antenna.

I don't see how this is a smartphone only issue, they all have antennas. I just use a basic flip phone (Samsung M300), it has 1 to 5 bars, right now I'm holding it with 2 fingers and a thumb by the hinge and it has all 5 bars, then I hold it with 2 fingers around the bottom half of the bottom half and my thumb up along the side, it has dropped to 3 bars. The latter is how I normally hold it in my left hand, but I never bothered to look at the bars before. And I don't get dropped calls because I'm rarely in weak signal areas. But I'll be aware of that now when I am in weak areas; I wasn't before.

 

[DMann]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KJSf8Par7I

Ouch iPhone 4 single point of failure.
Please find me another smart phone that will be that effected by a 1 finger.

Oh wait. That is an iPhone problem Only.

Please find me any smartphone which is used by balancing it upon a single point of contact.

Single point of failure is irrelevant, unless you plan on suspending the phone in the air while touching it on only one point.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Please find me any smartphone which is used by balancing it upon a single point of contact.

Single point of failure is irrelevant, unless you plan on suspending the phone in the air while touching it on only one point.

No it is relevant because that means that anything touching that point will cause it to fail. If I am holding it in my hand and I touch that point with my finger (any finger) it will failed.

Your video of the blackberry showed it required some effort to cause it to fail.

iPhone video I posted proves it requires very little effort to cause it to failed.
Also you are proving you have ZERO understanding of a single point of a failure.
Stop pulling an Apple and trying to muddy the waters.

 

[DMann]

Also you are proving you have ZERO understanding of a single point of a failure.

How so?

I fully understand the meaning and concept, I simply don't believe it is relevant here - you handle a phone with two points of contact, regardless.

If the regions of failure are larger on other phones, it hardly makes it that much better, especially if those regions are easily touched, while holding.

Accusing someone of having ZERO understanding of a basic concept certainly doesn't help your assertions any.

 

[PerfSeeker]

It's not a plus for Apple that it takes just a light touch of one finger to disable the phone. Keep spinning!

 

[rsocal]

I’m very surprised with the review of iPhone 4, I have one and never once have had a problem with dropped calls and did not notice the “sweet spot” issue until it was pointed out. Still when I have a week signal, touching the “sweet spot” and dropping bars no drop calls or data. When signal is good the "sweet spot" trick does not work. This is in everyday normal use just as most people will use the phone. Your test (CR) has gone out of the way to exploit this so called issue to find a way to fail the highest ranking phone by your own review! Do you find the antenna "week spot" on other phones and make a test to exploit those? I find your review Hypocritical and a contradiction, you rate it 76/100 2 points better than second place (iPhone 3gs) and say it’s the best smart phone but now "we can’t recommend it” due to an issue common to all cell phones in general. One only needs to look to Youtube to see Attenuation is common. Then you pointed out Apple needs to do something “a free fix” like a case and you also showed people how simple it really was to fix (tape) as well said a case solves it! Well, Apple did just that and then CR, in another Hypocritical move said "we still can’t recommend it”!
I think CR saw the press and attention they got and it made them feel relevant again! Then it was well, lets turn the knife one more time and see how long we can keep our name in the press, because this is Apple, we might be able to ride this for a while! I find CR to be nothing more then a hypocrite, it’s to bad I did have respect for CR before this even though I have found some of their reviews questionable in the past but a Hypocrite?
My iPhone 4 works awesome no drop calls or data no matter how I hold it or what signal I have!!!
|

 

[DMann]

It's not a plus for Apple that it takes just a light touch of one finger to disable the phone. Keep spinning!

No one is calling it a plus, unless of course, the delineation makes this point easier to avoid, for some people.

I haven't experienced problems, to date, while touching the gap.

 

[thedoctor9]

Moment of SILENCE...

With all the good and bad articles, news and coverage about the iphone 4, one news got buried.... I just read it today... Sorry...
Google Nexus One is dead...
Ceased production... as announced on July 16, 2010... 6 months in the market...
Thanks to the thousands who bought this Android phone... Helped google/android/HTC a lot for their experiment in developing the phone... And YOU PAID them... A LOT... I don't know what to say... Maybe, you've been had???

A moment of silence please.......

So, which of the HTC Droid phones will be replaced in the next few months???

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/mobile/07/19/nexus.one.discontinued/index.html?hpt=Sbin

 

[Rodimus Prime]

How so?

I fully understand the meaning and concept, I simply don't believe it is relevant here - you handle a phone with two points of contact, regardless.

If the regions of failure are larger on other phones, it hardly makes it that much better, especially if those regions are easily touched, while holding.

Accusing someone of having ZERO understanding of a basic concept certainly doesn't help your assertions any.

what your video has proved is it requires a larger areas on the bold to be touch. Compared to a single finger size area to be touch on the iPhone.

Required area to be covered and touch on a bold is greater than the iPhone.

you still are failing to understand that.

 

[PerfSeeker]

what your video has proved is it requires a larger areas on the bold to be touch. Compared to a single finger size area to be touch on the iPhone.

Required area to be covered and touch on a bold is greater than the iPhone.

you still are failing to understand that.

I still find it outrageous that any of these "smartphones" can be disabled by a touch or holding them. No wonder standard flip-phones will continue to sell well. They aren't fancy touch-screen computers, but they do one thing excellently - PHONE.

 

[Castiel]

what your video has proved is it requires a larger areas on the bold to be touch. Compared to a single finger size area to be touch on the iPhone.

Required area to be covered and touch on a bold is greater than the iPhone.

you still are failing to understand that.

Not every iPhone 4 cripples to a single finger. A large portion of people can't even reproduce the problem even while man-handling the phone.
So really? You found a video on YouTube that you're running with. Congrats?

 

[PerfSeeker]

Not every iPhone 4 cripples to a single finger. A large portion of people can't even reproduce the problem even while man-handling the phone.
So really? You found a video on YouTube that you're running with. Congrats?

You know according to so many on MR that have "perfect" IP4 Steve Jobs should not have held the Friday presser. After all, nothing is wrong?

 

[DMann]

what your video has proved is it requires a larger areas on the bold to be touch. Compared to a single finger size area to be touch on the iPhone.

Required area to be covered and touch on a bold is greater than the iPhone.

No.

If you watch the video more carefully, you'll notice that completely covering these larger regions is not required - touch anywhere within these areas and down goes the signal.

Nowhere in this video does it suggest that it is required to have these areas filled completely for attenuation to happen.

Understanding and perception are not necessarily mutually interdependent.

 

[DMann]

With all the good and bad articles, news and coverage about the iphone 4, one news got buried.... I just read it today... Sorry...
Google Nexus One is dead...
Ceased production... as announced on July 16, 2010... 6 months in the market...
Thanks to the thousands who bought this Android phone... Helped google/android/HTC a lot for their experiment in developing the phone... And YOU PAID them... A LOT... I don't know what to say... Maybe, you've been had???

A moment of silence please.......

So, which of the HTC Droid phones will be replaced in the next few months???

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/mobile/07/19/nexus.one.discontinued/index.html?hpt=Sbin

Wow!

What's next?


A consolation for developers:

"Google's blog post said that it will continue to make the Nexus One available to Android developers so they have something to use while writing apps for the mobile platform."

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Not every iPhone 4 cripples to a single finger. A large portion of people can't even reproduce the problem even while man-handling the phone.
So really? You found a video on YouTube that you're running with. Congrats?

Tell that to DMann. I ran with it because he started digging for videos that proved even less.

But I am arguing with people who worship at the Church of Apple.

I could say the same thing about his bold 9700. I have an easier time finding iPhone videos while there are more 9700 out there currently then iPhone 4 yet iPhone 4 have a larger issues.
The iPhone have been shown to be a weak point before hand compared to other phones so why is it so hard to believe yet again that the iPhone 4 is screwed up and apple is just trying to blame others.

I am glad others took the chance to bash apple on this one. Apple took cheap shots to try to say that it is everyone problem yet in reality it is an Apple problem.

Others choose to make sure that their function is good. Apple cares more about looking pretty than working well.

 

[DMann]

Tell that to DMann. I ran with it because he started digging for videos that proved even less.

Never dug for it, the video was posted within this very thread.

But I am arguing with people who worship at the Church of Apple.

Right - stereotyping will surely strengthen your argument.

I could say the same thing about his bold 9700. I have an easier time finding iPhone videos while there are more 9700 out there currently...

Gee, wonder why that would be?

The iPhone have been shown to be a weak point before hand compared to other phones so why is it so hard to believe yet again that the iPhone 4 is screwed up and apple is just trying to blame others.

The logic here has apparently been attenuated.

Apple took cheap shots to try to say that it is everyone problem yet in reality it is an Apple problem.

Attenuation is solely Apple's problem then?

Others choose to make sure that their function is good.

Then they've got nothing to be concerned about.

 

[AdamK83]

Free Cases!!!

Thanks Apple!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=13712968&l=c5e1fed9af&id=688135598

 

[DMann]

Yeah, we all know the cause of that:

 

[jettredmont]

No it is relevant because that means that anything touching that point will cause it to fail. If I am holding it in my hand and I touch that point with my finger (any finger) it will failed.

Your video of the blackberry showed it required some effort to cause it to fail.

iPhone video I posted proves it requires very little effort to cause it to failed.
Also you are proving you have ZERO understanding of a single point of a failure.
Stop pulling an Apple and trying to muddy the waters.

Take a step back. You need a single conductive finger for the iPhone to fail. To get an antenna bridging situation you have to form a solid, low-resistance, bridge between the two antennas with your finger. A normal, dry, finger does not do this. Your finger must be moist.

Contrast this with "dense body" attenuation problems, where the surface of the dense body is completely irrelevant. Sweaty palms or bone dry, a hand around a Bold will kill its signal.

Moreover the video of the Blackberry shows some effort required to make it fail because it takes some effort to prove to you that it is certain points that need to be touched, not a full "cupping" of the device, to achieve significant attenuation. See the other dozen Blackberry videos for examples of how a "natural" grip on the device affects performance.

Again, dense-body attenuation is far more important than conductive antenna-bridging detuning.

 

[Journojulz]

And some complainers post rebuttals to the defense squad because they would spread misinformation :
Let's say for giggles that the 3GS is in the average, and drops that 4.5% of calls. Now what Steve said is not the iPhone 4 drops 1% more than 4.5% as some are claiming, it's that the iPhone 4 would be dropping 5.5% if this 4.5% number is true. This means an increase of close to 20% of dropped calls. Lies, damn lies and statistics!

Wow - 5.5 dropped calls out of a hundred compared to 4.5?

Kind of puts the hoopla in perspective.

The way everyone was talking i think people expected it to be way more than that.

Now people KNOW about the dead spot and with fee bumpers on the way - will we see a fall in numbers of dropped calls compared to the 3gs?

 

[DMann]

Wow - 5.5 dropped calls out of a hundred compared to 4.5?

Kind of puts the hoopla in perspective.

Yeah, don't it?

Notice how all of this has effectively taken AT&T 'off the hook,' for responsibility of dropped calls.

The way everyone was talking i think people expected it to be way more than that.

Now people KNOW about the dead spot and with fee bumpers on the way - will we see a fall in numbers of dropped calls compared to the 3gs?

In tandem with the significant reduction in returns.

Sensationalism is a wonderful thing.

 

[Journojulz]

Its very simple.

Even rubbish companies care about the bottom line

So if you build a reputation on innovative products and integrity, the last think you are going to do is cut a cheap corner to save a few cents - or tell a cheap lie that can be easily found out.

If you don't believe they are trying to solve this problem - you don't just misunderstand apple - you don't really understand commerce either.

Before the conference I said that those demanding a public apology or free cases would still be whining even if they got both. I was right. People like that will never be happy.

As a customer, ip4 owner and shareholder, i had faith that they would do the right thing in the circumstance. And I feel they did.

 

[DMann]

Its very simple.

Even rubbish companies care about the bottom line

So if you build a reputation on innovative products and integrity, the last think you are going to do is cut a cheap corner to save a few cents - or tell a cheap lie that can be easily found out.

If you don't believe they are trying to solve this problem - you don't just misunderstand apple - you don't really understand commerce either.

Before the conference I said that those demanding a public apology or free cases would still be whining even if they got both. I was right. People like that will never be happy.

As a customer, ip4 owner and shareholder, i had faith that they would do the right thing in the circumstance. And I feel they did.

I, too, believe that they're actively working on it, and that they've offered fair and reasonable options, as well as a statement of commitment to further evaluate the issue, for those relatively few who have been experiencing problems.

You're quite correct - certain people will never be happy, many of whom do not even own an iPhone, have ever owned one, nor have ever planned on owning one.

A particular breed of whiners/trollers, who enjoy stirring the pot, seem to have established a secondary career here, to churn negativity and fill the boards with hostility and derision toward Apple.

As devoted as they strive to be, their vested interests here, remain a mystery.

 

[Journojulz]

As devoted as they strive to be, their vested interests here, remain a mystery.

Makes them feel they are somehow "smarter" than the combined brains at Cupertino?