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What a joke most of the posters in this thread are.

Consumer Reports doesn't hate the iPhone 4. In fact, they think it's the best phone on the market. But once they thoroughly tested the antenna problem they found it to have a serious enough hardware flaw to not recommend it until Apple fixed the problem.

They and Anandtech both did testing that found all phones suffer from some level of attenuation, nobody doubts this, but that isn't the problem. The problem is that the iPhone 4's external antenna design causes their attenuation problems to be more severe than the norm. Bare contact with the antenna is bad (making it worse than other phones) but combine it with the fact that you don't need a death grip (like other phones) but only 1 finger to create the problem, and you have a major flaw that Apple should address.

What Apple did yesterday was nothing short of straight propaganda.

They said: All phones suffer attenuation.
The truth: the iPhone 4 suffers more from attenuation.

They ignored the core issue completely and are now spewing PR propaganda and guess what? The other companies are now fighting back with statements. Apple F'd up on this and I expect RIM, HTC and others to now do thorough testing that will expose raw data showing the truth.

I'm not going to act like the iPhone 4 is completely unusable but I have no doubt that Apple crossed an acceptable threshold when they chose this antenna design. Watch the next iPhone not even have an external antenna.

Well said.:)
 
My iphone 4 still has the problem.

I don't want a free bumper case especially if apple will fix the real problem when they release the next gen iphone. I and many others would really be pissed.

I'm going to take my phone to an apple store, ask for a new one, if it doesn't have the antenna issue (like mine does, very bad I might add) I will keep it, if the antenna issue is still there. I will return both iphones (one for fiance, still unopened) and move to another phone, probably a droid, or hold out for the iphone 5 or whatever is next, but I doubt I will come back to apple for phones.

I own a macbook pro and a mac pro and would never buy a pc, so I'm not some apple overnighter nor am I a fan boy. I go and get the best hardware for the money and if the iphone isn't that than I must move on.

Their conference yesterday did nothing for me, give me a phone that works and doesn't drop 20dbm when I hold it in my palm or hold it in a certain way.
If they can't do that then they lost my business as far as phones go.

Well let me give you a heads up. I bought my original 32GB iPhone 4 from an Apple store on launch day in Florida. This past Thursday I exchanged the phone for a new one from an Apple store in Illinois.... still have the same problem and dropped calls. I've had the 2G, 3G and 3GS and never put a case on the phone... I hate cases. So even though I had two iPhones bought 3 weeks and 1,400 miles apart the problem is still present. Want to see something very interesting. Install the speedtest.net app on your phone and watch what happens to data download and upload speed...even when only your finger lightly covers the black gap on the lower left side of the phone. Still hanging on to exchange my phone for the white one in hopes of some sort of resolution. Best of luck!
 
megusta.jpg
 
elaborate

I thought it was obvious. Apple has always prided itself on making its products as easy to use as possible (GUI design) and this attracts a lot of people to its products that might not like the same thing in a product that is designed more for "techies". Linux is a bear in some respects, but OSX makes Unix virtually transparent. Early smart phones were a PITA, but iPhone made it so simple to use that even Grandma shouldn't have too much trouble (I know many in my family are technically inept and even they can operate my iPod Touch). That's all well and good, but trading frustration in one area (easier to use than prior smart phones and some other brands) for another (phone easily drops calls if you're not careful where you put your hand at one the phone) doesn't sit well with me. I'll wait for the next generation iPhone before I consider one.
 
What a joke most of the posters in this thread are.

Consumer Reports doesn't hate the iPhone 4. In fact, they think it's the best phone on the market. But once they thoroughly tested the antenna problem they found it to have a serious enough hardware flaw to not recommend it until Apple fixed the problem.

They and Anandtech both did testing that found all phones suffer from some level of attenuation, nobody doubts this, but that isn't the problem. The problem is that the iPhone 4's external antenna design causes their attenuation problems to be more severe than the norm. Bare contact with the antenna is bad (making it worse than other phones) but combine it with the fact that you don't need a death grip (like other phones) but only 1 finger to create the problem, and you have a major flaw that Apple should address.

What Apple did yesterday was nothing short of straight propaganda.

They said: All phones suffer attenuation.
The truth: the iPhone 4 suffers more from attenuation.

They ignored the core issue completely and are now spewing PR propaganda and guess what? The other companies are now fighting back with statements. Apple F'd up on this and I expect RIM, HTC and others to now do thorough testing that will expose raw data showing the truth.

I'm not going to act like the iPhone 4 is completely unusable but I have no doubt that Apple crossed an acceptable threshold when they chose this antenna design. Watch the next iPhone not even have an external antenna.

Of the thousands of posts on hundreds of pages on this topic, this is the best and most reasonable. Thank you.
 
Im a huge Apple fan. Have purchased countless Macs and iPods over the years. Im on my second iPhone (3GS) and have decided to wait until the fall or early next years to upgrade. I've always used a rubber case just to project every time I drop the thing. No nicks and just that added grip is good.

I feel that the iPhone 4 is stunning and would world perfectly for me. Apple made a design choice and even though they showed the other brands have some reception issues depending on your grip, the exterior antenna is a bold and someone problematic move. I'm sure it will eventually prove to be the right choice (eventually).

Anyway, now that all this crap has gone down (yes mostly media hype), I've decided to just wait for the next issue because You KNOW they will figure the mini problem out sooner than later now that it's become an issue. All eyes and ears will check the next one out.
 
Consumer Reports is a once-releavent brand which has recently turned to link-baiting/headline-troll tactics on the coattails of high-profile consumer interest news.

First came the credulity-stretching "Do Not Buy" alert for the Lexus GX - on the heels of the Toyota/Lexus PR fiasco.

Now comes the same following the equally overhyped iPhone 4 reception issues.

Both were smart moves on behalf of CR - It bought them lots of free press and people across the country thought to themselves "Hey, I remember Consumer Reports!"
 
Why's everybody bitchin' at lefties for holding their phone in their left hand? Most right-handed people would hold their phone in their left hand and most left-handed people in their right hand. You know, so that you can hold a pen in your preferred hand and write stuff down. If anyone still knows what that is.

I want an iP4. I want one bad. It's not available here yet, but it will be July 30. But I am worried. Because the way I hold my HTC HD2 when on the phone, if I hold the iP4 like that, the palm of my hand is covering both antenna's and I might have a problem. Or I might not, because we have very high density cell coverage. But I am worried. I guess we'll have to see. It is not going to stop me from getting one, although it would seriously piss me off if they make a hardware change and fix it 2 months later.
 
So I understand the N-1, Droid, Droid Incredible ALL have the death-grip issue. So why should people specifically avoid the IP4 except pure maniacal hatred towards :apple:?
 
How about the fact they didn't recommend it. Is that a fact?

I recommended the ip4 to 2 people who were afraid to buy one. They are LOVING it! People need to stop reading all this crap and try it for themselves and come to their own conclusion.

So I understand the N-1, Droid, Droid Incredible ALL have the death-grip issue. So why should people specifically avoid the IP4 except pure maniacal hatred towards :apple:?

Nail on the head my friend. Nail on the head.

Think about this one. If a case or bumper doesnt help the problem then doesnt that mean that touching the antenna is not the issue? You're not touching it if a case is on it. I think its AT&T. They need to turn up the juice!! Think about it.
 
Living in Montana, AT&T is not a service option here. I've wanted an iphone since the first one, but that hasn't been an option. So I watch these iphone media storms from the sideline.

Anyway, with a Motorolla Droid, I can't impact the service bars with any iteration of death grip I have tried. I have even purposely gone to locations where I was just barely getting a signal. My wife has a blackberry, and we find the same thing.

Last week I was in DC and visited the Bethesda Apple store. I tried several of the iphone 4s. If I held the phone wrapped in the palm of my hand, the signal bars dropped. I pulled out my droid and no change.

Until apple shows us quantitative numbers (dBm) about signal drop with the iPhone 4 versus other phones, they aren't going to win me over on this one. And until Apple opens up the iPhone to other carriers, I guess I will just keep getting more and more cozy with Android phones.
 
The level of fanboyism for apple is just overwhelming and pathetic. Jobs admitted they released a flawed device and yet the apple zealots attack CR for pointing that fact out. If the device was perfect their would be no need for a bumper, plain and simple. However the apple zealot will never admit that, they will just cry about a Google conspiracy or some other idiotic theory.

I could only imagine if Jobs was in charge of Toyota, he would just tell people they needed to learn to drive differently.

So much for the apple slogan "it just works".
 
The problem people are missing is the phone isn't flawed. All cell phones have the same issue with a weak spot regarding gripping the phone and loosing signal strength. It's a laws of physics thing regarding waves and obstructions. All phones have a limited amount of power to deal with obstructions and interference. If the network provider's signal is too weak in an area, you drop calls or data transfer drops to a halt. This was the theme of the press conference on Friday. The media is a bunch of sharks that want to ignore the facts and sell copy. If Consumer Reports bowed to Apple and retracted their opinion they would look like they didn't do their engineering homework.

The coverage I read after the press conference seemed to be a face saving matter for the reporting institutions. They decided to ignore the well presented facts and report a limited set of facts to the unknowing public. This is indicative of our society as a whole. People want a sound bite to develop an opinion.

Steve's presentation was bound to be a magnate to people claiming his arrogance or lack of codling. Steve's presentation attempted to present facts and engineering data to a crowd of dogs interested in nothing but sensationalism and their own ego. When it comes down to it... If you have issue with your phone, you probably are using it in a low signal area. If the case doesn't work... take it back. Get a phone on a service that works for your location/situation and be happy that a company is willing to take it back.
 
All I know, is that we can produce the problem easily on the iPhone 4's with multiple grips, or even a two finger touch (it goes from 5-1 bar), but NONE of the 3G's or 3GS's at our office drop bars even if you wrap your hands completely around them.
 
The problem people are missing is the phone isn't flawed. All cell phones have the same issue with a weak spot regarding gripping the phone and loosing signal strength. It's a laws of physics thing regarding waves and obstructions. All phones have a limited amount of power to deal with obstructions and interference. If the network provider's signal is too weak in an area, you drop calls or data transfer drops to a halt. This was the theme of the press conference on Friday. The media is a bunch of sharks that want to ignore the facts and sell copy. If Consumer Reports bowed to Apple and retracted their opinion they would look like they didn't do their engineering homework.

The coverage I read after the press conference seemed to be a face saving matter for the reporting institutions. They decided to ignore the well presented facts and report a limited set of facts to the unknowing public. This is indicative of our society as a whole. People want a sound bite to develop an opinion.

Steve's presentation was bound to be a magnate to people claiming his arrogance or lack of codling. Steve's presentation attempted to present facts and engineering data to a crowd of dogs interested in nothing but sensationalism and their own ego. When it comes down to it... If you have issue with your phone, you probably are using it in a low signal area. If the case doesn't work... take it back. Get a phone on a service that works for your location/situation and be happy that a company is willing to take it back.

Is that apple flavored Kool-aid you're drinking?
 
I agree They should replace it with a real fixed version at a later date.


My iphone 4 still has the problem.

I don't want a free bumper case especially if apple will fix the real problem when they release the next gen iphone. I and many others would really be pissed.

I'm going to take my phone to an apple store, ask for a new one, if it doesn't have the antenna issue (like mine does, very bad I might add) I will keep it, if the antenna issue is still there. I will return both iphones (one for fiance, still unopened) and move to another phone, probably a droid, or hold out for the iphone 5 or whatever is next, but I doubt I will come back to apple for phones.

I own a macbook pro and a mac pro and would never buy a pc, so I'm not some apple overnighter nor am I a fan boy. I go and get the best hardware for the money and if the iphone isn't that than I must move on.

Their conference yesterday did nothing for me, give me a phone that works and doesn't drop 20dbm when I hold it in my palm or hold it in a certain way.
If they can't do that then they lost my business as far as phones go.
 
So I understand the N-1, Droid, Droid Incredible ALL have the death-grip issue. So why should people specifically avoid the IP4 except pure maniacal hatred towards :apple:?

Well, the iPhone 4 issue is not a death grip issue, it's a even lightly touch two parts of the external antenna band at the same time issue. Apple has gone to some pains to try conflate the two.
 
So I understand the N-1, Droid, Droid Incredible ALL have the death-grip issue.

Actually they don't, that apple video is about as believable as your average ufo footage.

So why should people specifically avoid the IP4 except pure maniacal hatred towards :apple:?

Pure maniacal devotion to apple is what is the only possible explanation as to why people would be grateful about a defective device, A device that Jobs has admitted is defective.
 
Well, the iPhone 4 issue is not a death grip issue, it's a even lightly touch two parts of the external antenna band at the same time issue. Apple has gone to some pains to try conflate the two.

For only 0.55% of the users though?
 
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