Apple Takes on Droid X With Latest Smartphone Antenna Video

[KnightWRX]

Do you own a iPhone 4? You seem to know a lot more then most owners of iPhone 4’s. My iPhone 4 works fine even when touching the “sweet spot” in a bad signal area, the bars will drop but I don’t lose calls or data. When I’m in a good signal Area I cannot get the bars to drop at all. I use my iPhone 4 without a case and can say the reception has been better then my other iPhones (original,3G & 3GS). Can you tell me how your iPhone 4 has performed?

A 20 dbm drop in signal won't always result in a dropped call or no service. Read Anand's article about it, he has the most in-depth coverage. The new software update actually adds about 8 dbms of extra useable signal on iPhone 4 which with the free bumper/case offer goes a long to way to mitigate the issue to an acceptable level.

But Apple PR has made sure I never will own another iPhone after my 3GS. If they had simply admitted the problem and offered the free bumpers, then it would have been fine. The denial, deflection and spin is just too much for me.

Because it isn't.

Says vaguely without addressing any points I made. You bear your name well Mr. Vague.

 

[rsocal]

WOW, you surveyed 6.66666667 × 10-6 of the market (based on 3,000,000 sold)? Something tells me that is no where near enough to be meaningful.

But it’s a positive start for him, where he is it’s a non issue and for him that’s what counts. That’s where he will be using his, the math is good!

 

[Anuba]

But Apple PR has made sure I never will own another iPhone after my 3GS. If they had simply admitted the problem and offered the free bumpers, then it would have been fine. The denial, deflection and spin is just too much for me.

Not even the iPhone 5? C'mon, it's guaranteed to have the best antenna ever. It'll be strong enough to boil water from a distance of 10 feet.

 

[UTclassof89]

Do you own a iPhone 4? You seem to know a lot more then most owners of iPhone 4’s....

He doesn't have to own an iPhone 4 to know the difference between antenna detuning and antenna attenuation.

Apple is clearly trying to distract from their detuning problem by pointing out others' attenuation problems.

 

[vaguely]

I think in the end it all comes down to this:

1) in the natural way

Who's natural way?

 

[vaguely]

Says vaguely without addressing any points I made. You bear your name well Mr. Vague.

I'll address your points when you actually start making some.

 

[Journojulz]

They did admit there was a problem.

And they also showed that signal problems are common in smartphones - which was something few of us knew about.

Makes sense to me.

But Apple PR has made sure I never will own another iPhone after my 3GS. If they had simply admitted the problem and offered the free bumpers, then it would have been fine. The denial, deflection and spin is just too much for me.

Fantastic news.

I take it you will take your whining and sulk elsewhere?

 

[merlintl]

Awesome.... Apple is standing up for themselves.... I like it....

If Apple hadn't been pounded about the issue a few weeks ago, I'd say there were being petty now. But now the shoe is on the other foot. If you dish it, you gotta be able to take it....

In all seriousness, this issue need to be fixed by the industry in general. We aren't going back to the days of extendible antenna but I'm sure we can do a better job...

My 2c.....

 

[rsocal]

A 20 dbm drop in signal won't always result in a dropped call or no service. Read Anand's article about it, he has the most in-depth coverage. The new software update actually adds about 8 dbms of extra useable signal on iPhone 4 which with the free bumper/case offer goes a long to way to mitigate the issue to an acceptable level.

But Apple PR has made sure I never will own another iPhone after my 3GS. If they had simply admitted the problem and offered the free bumpers, then it would have been fine. The denial, deflection and spin is just too much for me.

Don’t deny yourself a great product to be spiteful, be above that.
They are giving out bumpers/cases and I believe they did respond properly, they did a little homework first before shooting their mouth off.
Apple should be showing this issue for what it is and they have, but I see now people are turning it into what phone is the most sensitive to holding/touching.

 

[KnightWRX]

I'll address your points when you actually start making some.

Address this point :

iPhone 4 drops 20 dbm when touched in a particular spot with a finger area no bigger than the tip of your pinky. Other phones, the worse offender being the Nexus 1, drop 10 dbm, 8 times less than iPhone 4's 20 dbm, when covered in multiple areas that require the entire length of your fingers or your palm's entirety.

This issue is very different.

Please, address this point. I made it 3 times already in this thread. If you don't, you are not arguing in good faith.

 

[vaguely]

In all seriousness, this issue need to be fixed by the industry in general.

Unfortunately not even the entire cell phone industry can fix the laws of physics.

 

[macFanDave]

I heard lots of Droid X's are so thoroughly defective from Day 1 that Motorola is having to replace them, that is, they are FUBAR out of the box.

How come the media isn't looking at this scandal?

 

[sjo]

QUOTE MY FULL TEXT NEXT TIME!!! I have had all iPhones with Movistar here in Spain and the last time I had a dropped call was maybe 4 years ago? while I was in the Metro!!!!

Good for you. Now the theory of the defect in I4 has been explained. The resulting dropped calls have been experienced in practice. Finally, the phenomena has been verified in laboratory environment.

It proven. There's just no rational way to deny it. If you choose to go beyond rational arguments, well that's your choice, but I'm out of that discussion.

And the problem is unique to I4. No other cell phone has been shown deteriorating antenna performance at all using one single finger.

 

[Darkroom]

it's too bad macrumors is now littered with follower, unintelligible, 12 year old dweebs who proudly identify as the modern apple fanboy. times sure have changed. macrumors is now this perpetual circle-jerk of self-applauding morons. along with the half-wit comments it's evident in the rating of this thread.

if only they could venture outside of their sad little apple universe and learn the truth, they would see that no where else on the web does the majority agree with their opinion. steve jobs / apple have a vested interest in this smear campaign - to save sales from their flawed product. fanboys' only interest is to reassert their faith in the infallible apple corporation. it's impossible to truly express how pathetic that is.

 

[z4n3]

Why re all the newbie iCrowd so whiny? some people really need to take up some kind of sport to let there anger out!

MacRumors please bring back the old site dedicated to Apple rumors and save us from having to put up with the new iCrowd whiny's


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKIcaejkpD4

 

[KnightWRX]

Don’t deny yourself a great product to be spiteful, be above that.
They are giving out bumpers/cases and I believe they did respond properly, they did a little homework first before shooting their mouth off.
Apple should be showing this issue for what it is and they have, but I see now people are turning it into what phone is the most sensitive to holding/touching.

People aren't turning it into anything. From day 1 it always was about "the spot" and "the tip of the finger results in 20 dbm drop". Anand posted his article way before the press conference, so did CR post their positive review and their retraction, and the many youtube videos showing this single spot.

Apple denied it was their problem, deflected it to every other maker and spinning it as requiring holding the phone as if you were trying to crush it, with fingers going for the 2nd antenna these other phones have.

I am not spiting Apple. I am simply not encouraging a company that addresses issues like this, with bad faith being the name of the game.

I heard lots of Droid X's are so thoroughly defective from Day 1 that Motorola is having to replace them, that is, they are FUBAR out of the box.

How come the media isn't looking at this scandal?

Because Motorola identified the problem, admitted to it, fixed it in new shipments and is offering free exchanges to people who have defective units ? That's not what I call much of a scandal.

 

[Anuba]

Who's natural way?

Why does that matter? It's the natural way to hold a phone for a significant number of people.

If your natural way of holding the phone is placing it in your mouth, sticking a fork through it or making calls under water, you're an idiot and the manufacturer can't be expected to accommodate your strange habits. But as long as you're holding the phone in your hand, be it the left or the right hand and be it any kind of grip that isn't anatomically senseless, the phone should remain fully operational at all times.

 

[rsocal]

He doesn't have to own an iPhone 4 to know the difference between antenna detuning and antenna attenuation.

Apple is clearly trying to distract from their detuning problem by pointing out others' attenuation problems.

Do you own a iPhone 4? Have you used one daily for even a week?
If you have not how can you truly say what the issue is or even if there is one?

 

[UTclassof89]

Do you own a iPhone 4? Have you used one daily for even a week?
If you have not how can you truly say what the issue is or even if there is one?

You're joking, right?

I don't have to own an iPhone 4 to know the difference between antenna detuning and antenna attenuation, either.

 

[marcfogel]

Address this point :

iPhone 4 drops 20 dbm when touched in a particular spot with a finger area no bigger than the tip of your pinky. Other phones, the worse offender being the Nexus 1, drop 10 dbm, 8 times less than iPhone 4's 20 dbm, when covered in multiple areas that require the entire length of your fingers or your palm's entirety.

This issue is very different.

Please, address this point. I made it 3 times already in this thread. If you don't, you are not arguing in good faith.

...and the call didn't drop.

 

[Anuba]

MacRumors please bring back the old site dedicated to Apple rumors and save us from having to put up with the new iCrowd whiny's

Once Apple starts caring about Macs again, I'm sure that problem will solve itself, but since iProducts are all they care about at the moment, that's what people will be talking about. Go figure.

 

[FastKatt]

Not the only issue...

Guys, what about the issue that you can't MOD the iPhone?
The Droid can be rooted, without VZW being all pissy...
Open Source FTW!

I updated the Baseband on my Moto Droid
I went from 2 bars to 4 while in the middle of Walmart
Do that with your iPhone...

 

[tmarks11]

I can tell you, without a shadow of a doubt, that I have never experienced such a dramatic and quick drop of coverage from holding my X as such that is seen in that video from Apple. I don't know what they are doing or how they are recreating it but I simply cannot obtain such a drop.

They are using their multimillion dollar antenna testing facility, and setting the transmitter power so it barely is powerful enough to register three bars, and setting the geometry up for the worst case scenario.

What else do you think Apple was doing in the fabled 22 days following launch?

To bad they didn't spend as much time testing the iPhone 4 before launch. It is great that they have a 100 million dOllar testing facility, but when it shows you that the artistic concept of an external antenna can't be effectively implemented by the engineers, then it is time to move on.

Of course, I will still probably buy an iPhone 4 when my vzw contract expires next month...

 

[marcfogel]

I heard lots of Droid X's are so thoroughly defective from Day 1 that Motorola is having to replace them, that is, they are FUBAR out of the box.

How come the media isn't looking at this scandal?

Because Motorola / Verizon quickly stepped up and addressed the problem. They did not wait 22 days and blame the issue on the customer.

 

[KnightWRX]

...and the call didn't drop.

You never move from your 1 spot ? Watch out for atrophied leg muscles if you ever have to dodge something.

Why are you changing the goal posts again ? The issue is simple. 20 db drop when 1 finger is applied to a single spot. Dropped calls, bars dropping, No Service or nothing visible at all are all things that depend on where you stand at the moment you put your finger on the spot.

Apple needs to own up to it. They already provided an acceptable fix. 1 last step. One they will never take unfortunately, seeing these videos.

Because Motorola / Verizon quickly stepped up and addressed the problem. They did not wait 22 days and blame the issue on the customer.

At least we agree. Admitting and fixing goes a long way to keep customers satisfied. Apple did half unfortunately, which is the only reason you still see people talking about this. They had all the keys to stop this thing at the press conference.