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macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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30,136



095823-nokia_signal_attenuation.jpg


Even though Nokia handsets weren't initially included on Apple's smartphone antenna performance page, Apple CEO Steve Jobs did mention the company by name at last Friday's press conference as one of those warning of the possibility of signal attenuation on its phones much like that experienced by the iPhone 4. The mention sparked a response from Nokia, as it did with several other companies whose products were addressed in Apple's presentation.

In order to back up its claims, Apple has now added a section to its antenna performance page highlighting how the Nokia N97 mini's signal drops from seven bars to two bars when gripped around the antenna at the bottom of the device. Nokia now joins Research in Motion, HTC, and Samsung, as well as Apple's own iPhone 3GS, on Apple's list of featured devices experiencing signal attenuation.

Article Link: Apple Targets Nokia With New Signal Attenuation Video
 

kdarling

macrumors P6
They really seem to believe that everyone is naive.

As Apple themselves have pointed out, the number of displayed bars on a phone is often not very meaningful.

What's important, is how much dBm change occurs and especially whether or not the connection drops.
 

ArtOfWarfare

macrumors G3
Nov 26, 2007
9,541
6,026
Oh my god...

did Apple seriously just make pointing fingers apart of their campaign?

I thought they were above that!

I understand that it's unfair that the other companies do that and all, but Apple really doesn't need to stoop to their level, do they?
 

Stella

macrumors G3
Apr 21, 2003
8,837
6,334
Canada
Why are Apple on a witch hunt?

Apple should concentrate on fixing their problem instead of finger pointing and deflecting the issue onto other companies. We already know the problem isn't as severe on other devices as the iPhone 4.
 

danielbrowning

macrumors member
Jun 21, 2009
36
0
At 0:42 he changes his grip to hold the phone to holding it with just his fingers and the signal rises again. It looks like his fingertips are touching the lower left of the phone. If you do this on the iPhone 4 and bridge the antenna gap, you don't regain signal.

Looks to me like they're trying to pass off the problem of bridging the antenna gap on the iPhone as the same as blocking the antenna with your whole hand on all phones. All phones have the latter problem... But that's not the issue here.
 

countrydweller

macrumors 6502
Jul 16, 2009
447
0
Why are Apple on a witch hunt?

Apple should concentrate on fixing their problem instead of finger pointing and deflecting the issue onto other companies. We already know the problem isn't as severe on other devices as the iPhone 4.

We do? You've tested them all?
 

unce

macrumors member
Aug 15, 2006
36
0
Starting to get annoyed by Apple...who cares if other brands have a similar issue. The issue is with the iPhone4, which is their product, and should be taking responsibility for. This is such a childish thing to do. I really thought Apple would be better than this.

:(
 

WestonHarvey1

macrumors 68030
Jan 9, 2007
2,771
2,187
Oh my god...

did Apple seriously just make pointing fingers apart of their campaign?

I thought they were above that!

I understand that it's unfair that the other companies do that and all, but Apple really doesn't need to stoop to their level, do they?

They're not stooping. They are defending their product by demonstrating that the issue is not unique to their phone. I think most people instinctively knew this before the iPhone - telling someone that holding a phone a certain way might reduce the signal would have resulted in a shoulder shrug. Of course it will, it's a radio.

The N1 can't maintain a 3G signal when touched, period. Yet it didn't cause this kind of outcry because it wasn't from Apple.
 

Padraig

macrumors 6502a
Dec 12, 2005
601
0
We do? You've tested them all?

Show me another phone that can drop calls from just the position of one finger. Nokia have their problems at the moment, but their reception has always been rock solid.

As for people being surprised at Apple's childishness, have you forgotten about the douchetastic "I'm a Mac campaign".
 

Rocketman

macrumors 603
Moral of the story:

Never argue with someone with a $100,000,000 signal analysis lab or CAMPUS. Especially someone with incentive to publish scientific fact to demonstrate with science their own product is equal to, or superior to, their competitor's products in terms of a "PR talking point" targeted to disparage the FASTEST GROWING and LARGEST MINDSHARE and HIGHEST MARGIN product in the segment.

Also you probably shouldn't argue with someone who has so little to say, everything they do actually say is cascaded along all forms of media, instantly, for free, and with perceived credibility. While the "other companies" issue press releases and badly planned press conferences that end up lining bird cages and sitting in electronic in-boxes as uninteresting and insignificant.

Just a suggestion from the people at:

Rocketman
 

egret

macrumors member
Jun 10, 2009
79
0
Tampa
Show me another phone that can drop calls from just the position of one finger. Nokia have their problems at the moment, but their reception has always been rock solid.

As for people being surprised at Apple's childishness, have you forgotten about the douchetastic "I'm a Mac campaign".

Apple is doing what they need to do to defend themselves against the smear job put out by the haters in the media and tech sites aligned against them.

You would fight back to if it were your....well you probably wouldnt.
 

countrydweller

macrumors 6502
Jul 16, 2009
447
0
Show me another phone that can drop calls from just the position of one finger. Nokia have their problems at the moment, but their reception has always been rock solid.

As for people being surprised at Apple's childishness, have you forgotten about the douchetastic "I'm a Mac campaign".

I can't, but my iPhone 4 hasn't dropped any of my calls, my 3G use to drop calls 2 or 3 calls a month.
 

thatisme

macrumors 6502
Mar 23, 2010
485
106
United States
I find it great that they are doing this... in so far as it illustrates what their testing shows, that the iPhone 4 is not the only phone to have "antenna issues"

I don't see Apple as using this in an advertising campaign, just that they are backing up their claims and research with true visual evidence

If they were acting immaturely, they would have just left it at "well, everyone else has the problems like this too" and not offer up any data, evidence, etc to back up their claim.... It is very similar to a vocal majority on this site saying "Apple's antenna design is defective" and "All iPhone 4's are defective" as well as "Every iPhone 4 loses reception just by touching it"... no hard data showing that ALL phones are defective or that the antenna doesn't work...
 

WestonHarvey1

macrumors 68030
Jan 9, 2007
2,771
2,187
Show me another phone that can drop calls from just the position of one finger. Nokia have their problems at the moment, but their reception has always been rock solid.

That only happens in extremely weak signal areas. Other phones will do that too, it just isn't as obvious where to touch it.
 

Frosties

macrumors 65816
Jun 12, 2009
1,078
209
Sweden
LOL at Apple!

  • The Nokia phone have not the same bars/signal ratio as the iphone 4.
  • The Nokia phone have 2 bars left when the iphone 4 have 0 left
  • The Nokia phone can still receive and make calls at that signal level
  • The iphone can not receive or make calls at 0 bars
  • You don't grip the nokia phone like that by user default, default grip with iphone gives problem
    ============================================
    Apple fix your stupid antenna design and get Ive of his high horse.
 

dieselpower44

macrumors newbie
Apr 11, 2010
25
0
I love the way that every time Apple show an image or video of one of their employees "holding" another phone to demonstrate this signal attenuation, they always appear to be literally crushing the phone in their hand. Whereas, with the i4, you just sit it comfortably in the pocket of your palm.

Apple has become the new Microsoft. They have lost that connection they had with their customers where they would strive to please. Now they just sit back like the rest and go "well you bought it, it's your problem."
 

Xian Zhu Xuande

macrumors 6502a
Jul 30, 2008
941
128
I kinda get a kick out of all the whining coming from people over Apple's decision to actually address this. I imagine much of that whining is coming from the same people who were posting, "LOL! Suck it Apple! Look at those commercials bashing your broken iPhone 4!"

The PR over this antenna thing got to a point where Apple had to respond. They were being targeted over this by their competitors in commercials and it seemed as if that trend was only going to pick up. It is silly and ignorant to expect them to take that lying down when they actually can demonstrate the same issue on competitor phones.

And by the way, about the dB thing: I really would love to see those numbers too, but frankly, to the general population it is the bars that matter, and for these other phones to lose such a majority of bars means they've either got bars every bit as misleading as Apple's were (or more), or they're suffering a similar loss in dB. It doesn't speak well to some companies' defense that Apple is the only one with this issue in either case.


LOL, couldn't agree more! This change in attitude is going to be the demise of Apple inc.
It just wouldn't be an Apple discussion without at least one, "Apple is d00m3d!!!11" comment.
 

dieselpower44

macrumors newbie
Apr 11, 2010
25
0
It just wouldn't be an Apple discussion without at least one, "Apple is d00m3d!!!11" comment.

Well, if they treat their customers this way then what do they expect?

Imagine an icecream stand, selling icecream cones "revolutionarily" cylindrical in shape and everyone's icecream fell out the bottom. Then, they remedy this by going "ok, we'll give you all a small piece of paper to glue to the bottom that will sort of fix the problem."
 

danielbrowning

macrumors member
Jun 21, 2009
36
0
*Yes, the signal issue is real. No, it has not caused any fuss while maintaining calls.

Since a number of people have complained that calls have been dropped and download speeds have drastically reduced, your comment that it has not caused any fuss would appear to be inaccurate.

Unless you mean it has not caused you any fuss? You might want to edit your sig to improve the accurary that up if this is the case...
 

space1nvaders

macrumors regular
Jan 20, 2004
137
4
The point

Apple is basically saying that nobody has been able to solve this problem. Everyone wants Apple to fix it, but what if it can't be fixed. All phones drop calls. We are now maybe just finding out why some people drop more calls than others. Maybe it's that phone and the way they hold it.
 

Xian Zhu Xuande

macrumors 6502a
Jul 30, 2008
941
128
Well, if they treat their customers this way then what do they expect?

Imagine an icecream stand, selling icecream cones "revolutionarily" cylindrical in shape and everyone's icecream fell out the bottom. Then, they remedy this by going "ok, we'll give you all a small piece of paper to glue to the bottom that will sort of fix the problem."
The iPhone 4 works marvelously well. It is the most reliable iPhone I have ever owned, and the previous versions set a high standard to match. I am perfectly able to duplicate the issue (in my office, where the signal is poor) but as far as I can tell it has only resulted in one dropped call (while the 3GS dropped more due to holding a less reliable poor signal).

So if Apple truly had released a horrible product I could agree with you. Instead I'm simply left suspecting that you don't own the thing and are simply content to tell other people how the device works anyway.

Since a number of people have complained that calls have been dropped and download speeds have drastically reduced, your comment that it has not caused any fuss would appear to be inaccurate.

Unless you mean it has not caused you any fuss? You might want to edit your sig to improve the accurary that up if this is the case...
Nah, if I do anything with my signature it will be to remove it as it is rather silly to have it there in the first place. The whole issue is rather tiresome. I do not feel compelled to qualify my personal experience with the phone as mine, though, as by definition it is mine anyway. As for attenuation of the signal, I have indeed some extreme videos of major problems, and Apple has also said that there are a small subset of devices which seem to exhibit this problem strongly (or at least they've mentioned it a few times). There was a video of a person completely killing his connection by touching the side. That would be the mark of a defective device—one which should be exchanged. I haven't experienced anything above and beyond what I've experienced using a variety of phones ever since cell phones first hit the consumer market.
 
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