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Apple Antenna Engineer and Carrier Partner Expressed Early Concern Over iPhone 4 Design

M

Mosi

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 19, 2009
156
67
The Nations Capital
According to Bloomberg:

"Last year, Ruben Caballero, a senior engineer and antenna expert, informed Apple’s management the device’s design may cause reception problems, said the person, who is not authorized to speak on Apple’s behalf and asked not to be identified."

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-...jobs-last-year-about-iphone-antenna-flaw.html

Such a bad PR week and now the media smells blood and won't give up.

If true, this is terrible and I really hope Apple does the responsible thing on Friday.

Mosi

Flame on!
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2010/07/15/apple-antenna-engineer-and-carrier-partner-expressed-early-concern-over-iphone-4-design/
Form over factor eh?

If true, then surely every iPhone 4 should have been supplied with a Bumper in the box.
 
AdeFowler said:
Form over factor eh?

If true, then surely every iPhone 4 should have been supplied with a Bumper in the box.
Click to expand...

No...the product should have never been released. Telling people who have an issue they need to use a bumper to solve the problem is not a fix. I don't understand why everyone thinks a "bumper" is an acceptable fix. You can't dictate how to use the iPhone, specially to all the users who don't like bumpers, cases, etc.
 
Apple Antenna Engineer and Carrier Partner Expressed Early Concern Over iPhone 4 Design




101021-iphone_4_antennas.jpg


Bloomberg reports that Apple senior engineer and antenna expert Ruben Caballero expressed his concerns to CEO Steve Jobs early in the iPhone 4's design process over the device's antenna design.
Apple Inc.'s senior antenna expert voiced concern to Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs in the early design phase of the iPhone 4 that the antenna design could lead to dropped calls, a person familiar with the matter said.

Last year, Ruben Caballero, a senior engineer and antenna expert, informed Apple's management the device's design may cause reception problems, said the person, who is not authorized to speak on Apple's behalf and asked not to be identified.
Click to expand...
The report also cites claims from a second source that one of Apple's carrier partners also raised concerns about the design ahead of the device's launch late last month, although presumably those concerns came much closer to the product's launch than Caballero's.

Apple declined to comment on the report, and Caballero did not respond to multiple attempts to contact him for the story.

Apple is set to hold a press conference at 10:00 AM Pacific Time tomorrow on the topic of the iPhone 4, and the company is widely expected to talk about the device's signal issues at the event.

Article Link: Apple Antenna Engineer and Carrier Partner Expressed Early Concern Over iPhone 4 Design
 
ouch. If this is true it could be Apple's biggest blunder yet. Always listen to the engineers......especially when you're still early in the design phase............
 
No idea what they are going to say Friday, but at this point anything less than a recall (which I doubt they'll do) and mine is going back to the store. I really want to like it and if it was just an iPod touch it would be an amazing device.

But this thing has to be reliable as a phone and, right now, it isn't.
 
I posted this a couple of days ago in one of the forums!

Did Apple knew?
What seems weird is Apple pushing the "bumpers" during the presentation of the iPhone 4 and after the release of the phone it is precisely the issue of the antenna what the bumper fixes... Did Apple knew about the reception issue from the beginning, but it was too late to stop shipments and refurb the units or change the design of the antenna. A recall at this point will cost Apple billions of dollars...
 
Wow a press conference.... its like a movie. :eek:

BTW... There will be NO RECALL... so don't start posting about how there will be one!!!!!!!!!!

Its a freakening signal issue that is 100% avoidable and fixable by the user. Recall is just stupid for such a non-critical issue.

Response to posts:

You can fix it by using a case or not holding it in the left corner. I am not saying the phone is not designed poorly... but seriously... its not like it doesn't work. It does.

Why will there by no recall? Its completely unnecessary. I do believe Apple should do something... but a Recall is only if the phone could harm you.

My prediction will be they announce a slightly different antenna design and offer people with the other design to trade in if they want. Worst case... they will give out free bumpers.
 
Top Apple Engineers Warned Jobs About iPhone 4 Antenna Problems

From Gizmodo:

500x_steve-jobs-full-bars.jpg


http://gizmodo.com/5587815/top-apple-engineer-warned-jobs-about-antenna-problems

According to Bloomberg, one of Apple's senior engineers raised concerns over the potential for the iPhone 4 to drop calls because of the device's design.

Ruben Caballero, an antenna expert at Apple who worked on the device, spoke with management last year about his belief that the iPhone 4's design could cause reception troubles, according to Bloomberg sources. A "carrier partner" also expressed worries over potential antenna issues. Apple has declined to comment, but will hold an iPhone 4-related press conference tomorrow.

This is the first indication that people at Apple internally knew about the phone's potential problems before its June release. Until this point, the only official word from the company was a software fix that thus far seems to have been ineffective. [Bloomberg]

Send an email to Brian Barrett, the author of this post, at bbarrett@gizmodo.com.
 
Press Release!

Sweetness .... maybe my $100 Gift Card is already in the mail? :D

I love my iPhone 4 when it is in the case ... when out of the case and held in my hand it is a POS. So a $100 gift card to buy a new case will make me feel much better :)
 
Ugh, I feel bad for Ruben Caballero - sure hope he doesn't get crap for this when it's obviously not his fault.

Wonder if he knew his name was being thrown around in the media. I can only imagine this being the start of Ruben's worse day ever.

Nonetheless, glad someone caught it... sucks that no one listened.
 
No surprise.

This happens when executives (especially those with no engineering background and who have volatile tempers and are known to fire people on a whim) make critical design decisions.

Sometimes it works out, sometimes not.

The bigger question to me is, why aren't the cell carriers catching this stuff better? For example, Verizon is infamous for holding back devices until their test group is satisfied.

This is at least twice that AT&T's staff have allowed a major mistake that should've been caught. Remember the first 3G version, which had a WCDMA power control problem that would bring down cells?

Edit: In this case, supposedly a carrier DID notice, but still sold the phone.
 
Ricard said:
Did Apple knew?
What seems weird is Apple pushing the "bumpers" during the presentation of the iPhone 4 and after the release of the phone it is precisely the issue of the antenna what the bumper fixes... Did Apple knew about the reception issue from the beginning, but it was too late to stop shipments and refurb the units or change the design of the antenna. A recall at this point will cost Apple billions of dollars...
Click to expand...
Probably yes, since they'd also sought for a ******** of antenna engineers right before launch day.

And the $29 tag on the bumpers is just in line with his arrogance.

kdarling said:
The bigger question to me is, why aren't the cell carriers catching this stuff better? For example, Verizon is infamous for holding back devices until their test group is satisfied.
Click to expand...
With the iPhone, probably Apple dictate, not the carriers.
 
My friggen mom knew that the antenna on the outside wouldn't work, and she knows nothing about technology.
 
mtrctyjoe said:
Sweetness .... maybe my $100 Gift Card is already in the mail? :D

I love my iPhone 4 when it is in the case ... when out of the case and held in my hand it is a POS. So a $100 gift card to buy a new case will make me feel much better :)
Click to expand...

Phunnie how money can buy people off!:rolleyes:
 
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