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Consumer Reports Still Won't Recommend iPhone 4

JD914

JD914

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 24, 2007
754
0
Dutchess County NY
http://pocketnow.com/iphone/consumer-reports-still-wont-recommend-iphone-4

As Apple's free case offer for the iPhone 4 comes to a close, Consumer Reports continues to maintain its stance of not recommending the device -- despite the publication's having rated it highly compared to its competitors. According to CR, it is unacceptable for a manufacturer to force owners of a product to seek out a solution to widespread problems; when the case program winds down at the end of the month, users who still experience antenna issues can request a bumper case directly from Apple Care, although no third-party models will be offered.

Consumer Reports originally made news in July through its lack of a recommendation due to "antenna attenuation" -- which occurs when the phone is gripped a certain way in certain circumstances -- causing a flurry of coverage that led to Apple holding an unprecedented press conference. While CR confirmed that Apple's solution, wrapping the handset in a case, is an effective method of avoiding problematic signal fluctuation, it continues to call for the company to provide a permanent fix -- such as the redesign that was recently rumored.
 
To be honest, there are a lot more reasons people aren't getting the iPhone 4 regardless of what Consumer Reports says. When I got Apple's free bumper, when I first took it out I knew I wasn't going to use it. When I slipped it on my phone it felt like it was going to scratch it and it didn't have any protection against the back nor did it fix my antenna issues that I had in my house. I quickly took it off and have had it in my drawer for almost 2 months. Frankly, no one really cares what Consumer Reports says anyways due to the fact that it's still very difficult to obtain an iPhone 4. I do my own research on products I want and don't leave it to some company to decide whether I should get a new piece of technology or not.
 
I'm not saying the problem isn't real, BUT... The longer the iPhone 4 continues to sell well (to the point where it's out of stock many places) and the longer that returns remain low (as they seem to be), then the sillier and sillier CR looks.

The fact is, this is clearly not a big deal for the majority of consumers out there.
 
I really don't think Apple or the Apple shareholders care, since the phone is selling out everywhere and demand is still high.
 
CR is spot on on their recommendation. Regardless if iPhone is a top-seller, I'm glad they too think it's bad that you have to buy an accessory to stop iPhone 4 from shorting out its signals.
 
Consumer reports is a garbage magazine anyway. At least their electronics section usually is.

Many years ago I worked as a salesman at Circuit City. People would always bring in their consumer reports magazines and try and look "educated" and consumer reports never failed to recommend the complete trash, like the sony, kodak, and hp digital cameras that had the highest return rate. We would desperately try and sway the consumers into good cameras like the Canons or some other brand / model that wasn't constantly getting returned but no, these "educated consumers" would go with the consumer reports recommendation only to end up returning the cameras due to problems and/or bad picture quality.
 
Ask any target market demographic customer for the iPhone 4 who CR is, and I think we'll know how much they care who CR is......
 
Small White Car said:
I'm not saying the problem isn't real, BUT... The longer the iPhone 4 continues to sell well (to the point where it's out of stock many places) and the longer that returns remain low (as they seem to be), then the sillier and sillier CR looks.

The fact is, this is clearly not a big deal for the majority of consumers out there.
Click to expand...

It's good to see that CR are sticking to their principles though. It's clear that they find a single spot on the device to cause such a massive signal loss unacceptable, regardless of how good the device otherwise is. And they appear to not be afraid of sticking to that, and I think that's worthy of some credit rather than them buckling under pressure.
 
mrochester said:
It's good to see that CR are sticking to their principles though. It's clear that they find a single spot on the device to cause such a massive signal loss unacceptable, regardless of how good the device otherwise is. And they appear to not be afraid of sticking to that, and I think that's worthy of some credit rather than them buckling under pressure.
Click to expand...

I'd take them seriously if they made that a criteria along with all the other things they measured. You know, come up with some scale of their own for this. Like, if they said "The iPhone scores a 2 and we demand a 4 or better to recommend a phone."

Something like that.

But I don't believe they listed this factor on all the other phones so you could compare them. There's no "best" and "worst" in that category. It's just a special note on the iPhone without any way of knowing how good or bad the other phones out there do at this. That matters...are the other phones 50% better than the iPhone in this regard? Or 1,000%?

They shouldn't ignore this and give us less info. That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying I want them to give even more info on this subject.
 
Last week on CNN they visited the Conslumber Reports "lab" and showed where they tested the iPhone. It looked like a closet with a bunch of 1950's oscilloscopes. The entire area where they test products looked messy and unorganized.

After seeing that, I wouldn't trust them with a ten foot pole.
 
Say what you want - given the criteria set forth by CR originally - they are completely justified. You don't have to agree. You don't have to like it. But they have held their ground. Been consistent. And kept their integrity.

That being said - whether or not they recommend it shouldn't bother or excite anyone here unless they are insecure about their purchase.
 
I know I will be waiting off the preorder of the next iPhone in 2011, if it has similar antenna problems I won't be buying it.
 
duction said:
I know I will be waiting off the preorder of the next iPhone in 2011, if it has similar antenna problems I won't be buying it.
Click to expand...

I will be shocked if the next iPhone redesign (whether thats 2011 or 2012) has anything even remotely resembling the current antenna issue.
 
Small White Car said:
I'd take them seriously if they made that a criteria along with all the other things they measured. You know, come up with some scale of their own for this. Like, if they said "The iPhone scores a 2 and we demand a 4 or better to recommend a phone."

Something like that.

But I don't believe they listed this factor on all the other phones so you could compare them. There's no "best" and "worst" in that category. It's just a special note on the iPhone without any way of knowing how good or bad the other phones out there do at this. That matters...are the other phones 50% better than the iPhone in this regard? Or 1,000%?

They shouldn't ignore this and give us less info. That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying I want them to give even more info on this subject.
Click to expand...
Maybe because the iPhone is unique in it's ability to lose all signal with a single touch?
 
Oh noes! Old news.
Consumer reports said they didn't recommend it months ago. So now they're saying "we haven't changed our minds".

And this is new news?

Lets dig up something from 1996 and post it again, then say "nothings changed, its still the same" and see what happens. We'll say its a social networking experiment.
 
iceterminal said:
Oh noes! Old news.
Consumer reports said they didn't recommend it months ago. So now they're saying "we haven't changed our minds".

And this is new news?

Lets dig up something from 1996 and post it again, then say "nothings changed, its still the same" and see what happens. We'll say its a social networking experiment.
Click to expand...

It's a deceptive self centered marketing strategy to keep themselves on the front page of iPhone news reporting.

If they didn't, not much, if any, of the current US 'iPhone generation' would know who they are, or care.
 
I don't blame CR. They really do have thorough testing methods. They clearly state why the don't recommend it, and consumers can decide whether or not the signal issue will have an effect on their usage (in which case most will not be effected).
 
You'd have to be some crazy rebel jerk to not follow every recommendation Consumer Reports makes! That kind of person probably smokes cigarettes and blows the smoke at babies too. *******.
 
Tarzanman said:
Consumer reports has made a lot of people's butts on this forum hurt.

LOL
Click to expand...

Yeah, I can't see why people can't just respect that, for CR, the antenna/signal issue is a big enough problem for them to be unable to recommend the device in all good conscience. Whether people choose to ignore or follow that advice is entirely up to the consumer.

If people want this non-recommendation to go away, they need to get onto Apple to fix the issue, not CR for calling it.
 
CR has never done me wrong. I take their reviews and recommendations into consideration when buying things. Do I solely rely on them? No. But I've been very happy with the numerous products I've bought with their input, the latest being a vacuum. Funny enough, I've never consulted their reviews/recommendations when purchasing a cell phone. There is too much location specific variables to consider...something that does not come into play with a vacuum or camera.

I currently am in the market for a new point and shoot camera, and I will look CR for guidance.
 
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