Apple Removes Competitor Antenna Performance Comparisons From Site

[endem]

The videos definitely served the purpose, at least in the USA.

First of all the antena problem was completly manufactured by consummers scrutinizing Apple over every detail on a product. And you cant blame this on Apples advertizing policies or Jobs' keynotes, simply becose all the other manufacturers also brag about product quality and flawlessness.

Second, the phone came to Europe and every test showed that it was complitely insane that a word like "antennagate" could be used to describe a relatively common thing on mobile phones, i.e. that thay have antenas that drop signal when held for a long time in a way that covers the antenna. Obviously the videos were needed to calm the USA public down.

Third, I never had a phone that didn't drop signal in low reception areas. I own a nokia E75, and it drops signal whan i hold it normaly in some areas (btw i never noticed that before all this fuss about iphone 4).

Personally I think that apple did more than enough to mend this inexistant issue, and to show that compared to the industry in general this really isn't a problem.

Finaly, for all those that still argue about this, return the iphone and buy another phone for f.. sake, stop braging, stop adresing apple and Jobs in an apocaliptic tone... what exacly do you want them to do, to dismantle the company becose one percent of the buyers got in their heads the idea that there should be a perfect gadget in this othervise inperfect world. Cmon, give the thing a brake already.

 

[kingtj]

Hah.... whatever ....

What I find funny is that despite all the naysayers telling us what crap the new iPhone is -- it's still selling in droves. Everyone I know who bought a new iPhone 4 is using it very happily, every day. The antenna doesn't work so well if you touch a certain part on the phone? Ok .... and is this possible to completely work around without being a serious inconvenience? Why YES! You simply put a case on it ... ANY case you like! You're in the minority who doesn't WANT a case? No problem.... cover the affected area with a transparent vinyl overlay. Problem solved and you can move right on to using what many people regard as the best smartphone created, to date!

Lets, see lying about the competitions products to make yours less crap than it actually is. Steve Jobs lying in public about the other companies?

That there is enough to blow Apple back 10 years.

 

[ChazUK]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.2; en-gb; Nexus One Build/FRF91) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1)

A good move from Apple but doesn't dropping the page silently re-ignite the issue?

People will undoubtedly start discussing it all again online (people have already started here). A final word or statement from Apple would be nice.

 

[SwissMac2]

I'm prepared to accept that the antenna issue is only a problem in places such as SF or NY where the telcos don't provide enough masts to keep signal strength strong on the grounds of maximising profitability. But there are other issues with the iPhone 4.

Mac

 

[rsocal]

Very happy iPhone 4 owner here, but I think Apple have made a serious design mistake. There's a YouTube video of a guy causing the signal drop with a paperclip, with no skin contact - I'm no expert, but I don't believe this is the same issue as the traditional attenuation experienced with most phones. It seems like the 2 antennas (wifi + gsm) are being bridged, which is causing interference of some sort.

If you stick a paper clip in an electric outlet you can and will probably get electrocuted, I don’t know to many people that have the problem of a paperclip in their hand when holding their cell phone. Same as I don’t know people that stick paperclips in electric outlets!

 

[Warbrain]

This is the best I could find (last comment on the page):
"There just two bars of battery left on Nokia N97 min. This does mean that Nokia N97 mini was actually running on Power Saver Mode. May be they dropped the battery to 1 bar and then just charged it little to bring the second bar up.

If you notice all the other phone , they all have full charge.

Nokia phone provide extra power to antenna if the signal is low. This seems all a setup by Apple, Why they didnt show this with Full Battery Power."

Additionally, in the Droid X demo, the phone lacked the 3G icon next to the recetion bars.

So the Nokia phone pushes more power to falsify what the actual signal is. Sure, they're amplifying it on the phone end but that doesn't mean the call won't be dropped when you make one.

N97 mini: Watch the video, look at the battery indicator. There's your proof.
Droid X: Watch the video, look at what network it's on. There's your proof.

Ok, fine, the Droid X didn't have a 3G signal. Doesn't matter, still dropped. A 3G signal isn't going to be magically stronger and better than a 1X signal.

 

[Warbrain]

I'm prepared to accept that the antenna issue is only a problem in places such as SF or NY where the telcos don't provide enough masts to keep signal strength strong on the grounds of maximising profitability. But there are other issues with the iPhone 4.

Mac

The antenna issues are because of the lack of towers. I just spent a few days at the BSA Jamboree where AT&T built towers so the whole place was awash in 3G. I had five bars and tried reproducing the issue - nothing.

 

[sciwizam]

So the Nokia phone pushes more power to falsify what the actual signal is. Sure, they're amplifying it on the phone end but that doesn't mean the call won't be dropped when you make one.



Ok, fine, the Droid X didn't have a 3G signal. Doesn't matter, still dropped. A 3G signal isn't going to be magically stronger and better than a 1X signal.

Atleast they are using the battery to boost the signal reception, not to make the bars look bigger .

 

[Salacion]

The videos did nothing for me as there is a big difference between "Death Grip" that may handsets have and the "Death Touch" that the iPhone 4 has.

Even if they show a demonstration of another phone degrading in performance, not just loss or non-loss of bars, when you touch it with a finger or have it just resting/sitting in a hand - it doesn't solve the iPhone 4 issue.

I planned on using mine in a case most of the time anyway because I'm a klutz!

Concurred. I generally always use a case for resale value. I sold my iPhone 3GS for $200 because I protected it. Paid for my iPhone 4. I protected my Macbook Pro and sold it for $1000. In this way, buying new Apple products becomes much more plausible.

 

[asleep]

Who is making these decisions at Apple these days?

... a CEO or some 13 year old kid in a playground???


When do the grown ups get back from vacation?

 

[highres]

Doesn't matter either way. Page up or down, who cares?

 

[scoobydoo99]

Concurred. I generally always use a case for resale value. I sold my iPhone 3GS for $200 because I protected it. Paid for my iPhone 4. I protected my Macbook Pro and sold it for $1000. In this way, buying new Apple products becomes much more plausible.

SO, you're saying you cover your products with ugly cases that hide the beautiful industrial design and interfere with the tactile feedback from the high-quality glass and aluminum surfaces so that you can deliver an unblemished product to SOMEONE ELSE?!?!

I'd prefer to enjoy my products the way they were intended to look/feel and take my chances on resale. It's been my experience that most buyers don't really care about minor imperfections, and a perfect product doesn't command much of a premium, if any.

 

[sjo]

So the Nokia phone pushes more power to falsify what the actual signal is. Sure, they're amplifying it on the phone end but that doesn't mean the call won't be dropped when you make one.

What? Are you saying that you don't know what you're writing about at all?

Ok, fine, the Droid X didn't have a 3G signal. Doesn't matter, still dropped. A 3G signal isn't going to be magically stronger and better than a 1X signal.

It does matter because the video doesn't show anything about how good or bad the Droid X antenna is in 3G network. All it says is that after trying intensively for 30 days Apple was not able to find a circumstance under which the "death grip" would affect Droid X 3G signal.

 

[Master Chief]

If you stick a paper clip in an electric outlet you can and will probably get electrocuted, I don’t know to many people that have the problem of a paperclip in their hand when holding their cell phone. Same as I don’t know people that stick paperclips in electric outlets!

What about people who happen to be married or engaged? Does gold ring a bell?

 

[Warbrain]

Atleast they are using the battery to boost the signal reception, not to make the bars look bigger .

Still the same result. "We're going to pump power to the antenna when there's a low signal so it looks like more bars when really the signal still sucks."

 

[KnightWRX]

First of all the antena problem was completly manufactured by consummers scrutinizing Apple over every detail on a product.

Join Date: Aug 2010

Note that today is Aug 1st 2010. I guess we know what Apple replaced the videos with...

 

[Salacion]

Who is making these decisions at Apple these days?

... a CEO or some 13 year old kid in a playground???


When do the grown ups get back from vacation?

Their decisions are quite profitable in fact. See, they're a company with a much higher level of comprehension than you, my friend. This is business we're talking, I'm sure you're very wise in, toilet humor?

It's as the religious would say. God's brain works on a much higher level than our's, so high in fact, that his decisions appear farcical to us.

 

[MarximusMG]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.2; en-gb; Nexus One Build/FRF91) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1)

A good move from Apple but doesn't dropping the page silently re-ignite the issue?

People will undoubtedly start discussing it all again online (people have already started here). A final word or statement from Apple would be nice.

Maybe it's just one final attempt at some more free advertising? (Whether it be good or bad)

 

[ihaveNFC]

Link to proof of your claim ? (I think you're mixing up the 0.55% stat again... It's not about the number of americans affected by the issue. It's about the number of iPhone 4 owners who called Applecare about it as a primary issue).

I understand. My interpretation of the "less than 1%" is that only those number of Applecare owners actually consider it as an issue with their service/phone. I probably should have been more clear.

My general point was that networks are a moot issue.

ROFL, just played with my mates new iPhone 4g in Australia. Put my thumb on the little part connecting the antenna. BOOM No effect (hardly), turns out that Australian mobile network is more powerful than the American one? Who would have known.

 

[leroypants]

Was there any point in keeping them any longer.

Apple essentially killed "antennagate." iPhone 4 sales are through the roof. problem solved. Why continue to call attention to competitors' poor iPhone imitations?

How do i become a card carrying member of the "Cult of Apple"? I seek to devote my life to blindly following one man and one company. I know i need to do more but what else should i do?

 

[Glideslope]

They were probably about to sued to bankruptcy by other manufacturers.

Apple sued into Bankruptcy? You are aware of your facts, correct?

 

[KnightWRX]

I understand. My interpretation of the "less than 1%" is that only those number of Applecare owners actually consider it as an issue with their service/phone. I probably should have been more clear.

Your interpretation is flawed and not based in reality unfortunately. If you're happy living like that, more power to you.

 

[NinjaHERO]

So was it legal threats or did Apple finally decide to stop acting like a five year old and pointing the finger at everyone else. I would really like it to be the second reason.

 

[LagunaSol]

There's a YouTube video of a guy causing the signal drop with a paperclip, with no skin contact

I know huh, total iPhone 4 dealbreaker. I always make my phone calls with a paperclip.

I spent the last couple of weeks in DC and NYC. Saw lots of iPhone 4s, and people successfully talking on them. No one smashing their phones on the ground (a la Whoopi), no one barking into their phones "Hello? Hello?? HELLO???"

Nor did I have any signal problems with my iPhone 4 (aside from the occasional proximity sensor issue, which I hope Apple can fix with software). Though I didn't intentionally try to strangle the signal in my palm (or with a paperclip).

The reality of the matter is this was never really an issue for most people in reality.

 

[Portaluk]

Who is making these decisions at Apple these days?

... a CEO or some 13 year old kid in a playground???

Totally agree, trying to divert attention away from their own product and turn the focus on the faults of others are childish.

Although the videos are still on the UK apple site.