I think Apple has handled this poorly, but in essence, they are basically right. Sure, having the antenna on the outside can cause more attenuation when you hold it in that certain spot. But that's a trade-off they were willing to make since having the antenna designed in this way gives you better reception to begin with. And as Anandtech and others have pointed out, the ip4 is able to hold onto calls with lower signal that any other iPhone before it.
So all of this started when we saw videos of 5 bars dropping to none. That's a dramatic visual that gets users all worked up. But what's really important is how the phone deals with low signal. And I think it'll take some side-by-side tests with the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3G/3GS to really tell the difference. Go to an area with low signal strength and forget about the bars. Do data tests and call tests to see which phone holds up the best in those marginal areas.
So all of this started when we saw videos of 5 bars dropping to none. That's a dramatic visual that gets users all worked up. But what's really important is how the phone deals with low signal. And I think it'll take some side-by-side tests with the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3G/3GS to really tell the difference. Go to an area with low signal strength and forget about the bars. Do data tests and call tests to see which phone holds up the best in those marginal areas.
