Steve Jobs denies iP4 reception issues!

[-aggie-]

I finally held the 4 outside of the AT&T store this morning, and I couldn't get it to lose signal, no matter what I did with it (palmed, double palmed, touching the "spot"). Also, the camera does not show the green/blue haze that has been reported. I'll be getting my 32 GB around noon on the second shipment. Hopefully, I get the same performance.

... and then Apple Legal probably chewed him a new one - because even Steve Jobs has to do what they're telling him - when they discovered what he'd stated in that email.

"OH CHRIST, STEVE, can't you for once just shut up and let us handle the public relations? Now stop it, or we'll take away your iPhone."

Can you imagine what one of Apple Legal's most senior people feels like if they say such a thing to Steve Jobs? Man, what a rush that's got to be.

It's great that you've supplied all this information on your experiences with the iPhone, and provided theories for what the problem could be over the last two days, but some of your posts lately are starting to sound like you're a troll. You made your points, so move on. Just an FYI. Nothing personal; it's just my observation.

 

[Journojulz]

I agree with the sentiment you are making here. But it was horribly bad form to chose the words he chose and the manner in which he said them.

Think so? Can't say I agree, but its all personal taste I guess.

To me it was a concise piece of advice from a man who is most likely very, very busy making several engineers very, very uncomfortable.

The only way to have made the concession of a problem and its workaround more zen would be to do it in hauiku


If held in cack hand,
calls drop like cherry blossom,
dont hold it that way.

 

[br0adband]

If held in cack hand,
calls drop like cherry blossom,
dont hold it that way.

Ok, that's cute, gotta admit it.

 

[LDT]

DJ TECH VIEW: Apple Can No Longer Afford Clumsy Launches

DJ TECH VIEW: Apple Can No Longer Afford Clumsy Launches

By Therese Poletti
A DOW JONES COLUMN

Apple Inc. (AAPL) may be able to line up customers around the block, but even the iconic technology company can no longer afford clumsy product launches in the hotly competitive smartphone field.

Since Apple reshaped the smartphone business in June of 2007 with its first iPhone, there are now a host of other competitors gunning for a share of the fast-growing market. Most notable among these is Google Inc. (GOOG), the Web search giant that has bankrolled the creation of a rival mobile operating system that supports a host of devices. It is proving a popular alternative for consumers looking for high-end wireless devices.

Many of these rivals are probably chomping at the bit to take Apple down a notch for its rather flawed introduction of its latest gizmo, the iPhone 4.
While fans lined up last week for blocks to buy the iPhone 4 and Wall Street analysts were pounding the table over potential sales, some consumers were quickly venting about a problem with the new smartphone's reception. Demonstration videos on YouTube popped up. Consumers complained in tweets about losing reception if they held the phone in a certain way.
Apple's initial response, telling consumers how to hold the mobile device, was, to put it mildly, lame.

Chief Executive Steve Jobs responded to one consumer complaint in an email, saying, "Just avoid holding it in that way," he wrote, according to Engadget, a popular technology blog.

"Gripping any mobile phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance, with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas," Apple said in a statement. "This is a fact of life for every wireless phone."

On Monday, Apple touted the fact that it has sold 1.7 million units of the device in its first three days on the market. The company is also reportedly working on a software update to fix the issue with the iPhone 4, similar to what it did for its iPhone 3G two years ago, when poor battery life and other technical issues plagued early adopters.

But such missteps may prove to be more costly now. Unlike two years ago, the iPhone is no longer the only compelling, touch-screen, Web-friendly smartphone available. Products like the Droid from Motorola Inc. (MOT) and the Incredible from HTC Corp. (HTCXF, 2498.TW) are racking up big sales numbers. An updated version of the Droid goes on sale next month, and Samsung Electronics Co. (SSNHY, 005930.SE) has lifted the wraps on an ambitious line of smart phones called the Galaxy family that are generating strong buzz in the market.

Even Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM, RIM.T), which took a beating last week on concerns about slowing demand for its BlackBerry line of devices, is slated to introduce a line of new devices over the next few months, along with a major overhaul of its own operating system and mobile Web browser.

Combine that with the continuous network problems with Apple's only carrier in the U.S., the overburdened AT&T Inc. (T), and consumers are now starting to realize that Apple is no longer the only game in town. AT&T's arch-rival Verizon (VZ) is spending heavily to promote Google's Android operating system and devices built for the platform, and that carrier enjoys a far better
reputation for service and coverage than the resurrected Ma Bell.

Recent market research data shows that phones designed around Android are starting to gain ground. Gartner Inc. said last month that in the first quarter, sales of smart phones based on Android surpassed iPhone for the first time in the U.S.

Most analysts, for now, don't believe the iPhone 4 antenna issue is going to be a big deal or hurt sales. But Shaw Wu, an analyst with Kaufman Brothers, said he was getting a lot of questions from investors about the iPhone 4's reception. "We don't think the antenna issue is that big of a deal where it would warrant a product recall," Wu wrote in a note on Friday.

The fact that an analyst even mentioned the word "recall" in a note about an Apple product has got to have both investors and consumers a bit nervous. In fact, Apple's shares barely budged upward on Monday on news about record iPhone 4 shipments.

Apple should not be resting on its laurels, nor can it afford to bungle new product launches with half-baked responses. Consumers now have plenty of other options in smart phones, and with better networks to choose from.
(Therese Poletti is a special writer for MarketWatch. She can be reached at 415-439-6400 or by email at AskNewswires@dowjones.com.)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 29, 2010 08:14 ET (12:14 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2010 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

 

[BobVB]

And you are one of the exaggerating people. The phone doesn't go from 5 bars to searching every time you grab it
It can lose 2 bars, sure. But if it went into search mode it was a defective unit ...

No, it just means a defective location - he's talking about store units at one store. At my home, sitting at my computer desk, I have from 5 to dropped calls once having covered the gap. But if I go downtown where signals are strong I have 5 bars that don't budge no matter what I do.

This is a problem that only shows when multiple issues come to play in my experience:
1) attenuation of signal that all cell phones have when you grab them
2) the complete shorting of the 3G antenna when you hold it.
3) being in a location where there may only be one cell tower in range of just barely 5 signal strength or less
4) a software problem that either can't compensate in time for the rapidly diminishing signal strength, or it is simply that the signal is too weak to use and there is no other tower to switch to (as would be the case at my home).

People living in areas saturated with cell towers will not have this issue- they won't even be able to reproduce it (it seems the basic set up is so get that in high saturation areas it can get a 5 bar signal with our without the external antenna), but store's in shielded areas or places like my home there most certainly is a reproducible problem.

 

[rdstoll]

I have noticed worse reception inside my house/business with the iPhone 4 than I had with the 3GS.

 

[kuaiyouming]

.

 

[BobVB]

I'm left handed and that is the most natural way to hold a phone; plus no other phone in history has had this problem

Someone else mentioned this and your statement makes me additionally curious: you hold your phone in your dominate hand? I have always held my phone in my non-dominate (left) hand because I use the right for inputting just numbers on older phones and so much more on today's.

I guess it just seems 'natural' to me to hold the phone in the hand that frees up the dominate, not occupies it.

 

[br0adband]

Someone else mentioned this and your statement makes me additionally curious: you hold your phone in your dominate hand? I have always held my phone in my non-dominate (left) hand because I use the right for inputting just numbers on older phones and so much more on today's.

I guess it just seems 'natural' to me to hold the phone in the hand that frees up the dominate, not occupies it.

Yah, people point that out on a semi-regular basis, but I do know several people that are left handed by nature and they do "right handed" things: they hold devices like the iPhone in their left hands, they wear their watches on their left wrist, etc.

Damned people are confusing.

 

[Simsonic]

@Simsonic

If you don't like people complaining about facts, then don't read them. Simple as that. Be Gone. Back to your cave. Be on your way. Goodbye.


Just because it's the best phone YOU'VE ever used doesnt mean jack squat to the some odd 32% of users experiencing SEVERE issues with their reception.

Ignorant baffoon.

And you own an iPhone 4 rookie 1082? I am guessing not. Your exactly the type of person I am talking about...there are no facts yet. The only facts I know are the five phones I have tested: Mine, my girlfriends, and three other friends. By my unofficial testing that is a 0% failure rate on any issue. If people have an issue go buy yourself a different phone and be gone.

 

[PsyTroniks]

Someone else mentioned this and your statement makes me additionally curious: you hold your phone in your dominate hand? I have always held my phone in my non-dominate (left) hand because I use the right for inputting just numbers on older phones and so much more on today's.

I guess it just seems 'natural' to me to hold the phone in the hand that frees up the dominate, not occupies it.

I'm left-handed and I definitely hold the phone in my left hand at all times. When I need to press buttons during a call (happens rarely) I'll typically switch from left to right once I pull the phone away from my ear and then switch back when I have to talk again.

 

[kuaiyouming]

.

 

[PsyTroniks]

And you own an iPhone 4 rookie 1082? I am guessing not. Your exactly the type of person I am talking about...there are no facts yet. The only facts I know are the five phones I have tested: Mine, my girlfriends, and three other friends. By my unofficial testing that is a 0% failure rate on any issue. If people have an issue go buy yourself a different phone and be gone. Go on your merry way in life. Beat it. Go back to your cave.

Your a moron rookie. Go get a life.

You call this guy a moron yet you seem to be ok with an N of 5 in your crack experiment (probably not adjusting for things like location either).

Not that it's proof-positive, but I doubt there would be 1,300 posts on here if there were no issue.

And for the record, I have an iPhone 4 and I get the issue regardless of how I hold the phone or even when I'm not holding it at all! (my 3gs had no issues in any of the same places where my iPhone 4 chokes).

 

[Max(IT)]

You posted something at the Apple Support forums, and it was deleted?

"Welcome to the party, pal..."

You are now properly initiated in the "I Posted At The Apple Support Forums And All I Got For It Was This Dead Link Where My Post Should Be" Club...

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

They don't like people pointing out their problems, even if you're just guessing or thinking off the top of your head.

The Apple Support forum is full of complain threads ...

 

[Max(IT)]

And for the record, I have an iPhone 4 and I get the issue regardless of how I hold the phone or even when I'm not holding it at all! (my 3gs had no issues in any of the same places where my iPhone 4 chokes).

if you are experiencing this issue without holding the phone, dude you have a defective unit and you are completely OT in this thread

 

[wirelessmacuser]

I'm not out to crucify Apple, I just want them to admit a problem when one exists, that's it. Don't you and other people think we deserve that much, after all the years of support we (because I've purchased Apple products myself, out of pocket) actually deserve?

Is that so much to ask for, the straight truth from "The Man" himself?

By definition, if a fix is released, it means there's a problem. Occam's razor applies there as well: a firmware update isn't going to magically give us another 100 new features, now is it? So there has to be a reason for a firmware update SHOULD Apple release one in a short frame of time:

The simplest explanation for a firmware release is to fix the problems the iPhone 4 has, even in spite of some folks not having them or noticing them to any degree.

Excellent post, I concur!

 

[wirelessmacuser]

He painted himself as bigger douche than his normal status quo of douche-iness ...

How funny. Simply hilarious...

 

[BobVB]

But that aside, I will clarify my holding of the iPhone.

Ok was just curious - a  source supposedly said it would most affect 'lefties' and took me back a little since I would think that most 'righties' hold the phone in the left, including putting it to their ear.

Since  and Steve are in denial about these problems I just checked with AT&T and they said I have 30 days to return with cancellation of my contract.

So I'll wait a bit -  has played this 'there's no problem, there's no problem, oh by the way here's the fix' before and other than the reception issue its a very very nice phone.

Unfixed I'll return it and wait for the stealth upgraded model or the iPhone 5, and if they do get around to fixing it in time so much the better.

 

[Simsonic]

You call this guy a moron yet you seem to be ok with an N of 5 in your crack experiment (probably not adjusting for things like location either).

Not that it's proof-positive, but I doubt there would be 1,300 posts on here if there were no issue.

And for the record, I have an iPhone 4 and I get the issue regardless of how I hold the phone or even when I'm not holding it at all! (my 3gs had no issues in any of the same places where my iPhone 4 chokes).

PsyTroniks, I called him a moron because he called me a name.

My point is I have not seen this issue and it reminds me of the same hysteria about the "exploding screen" last year. I don't believe anecdotal stories. I have a Master's degree and I believe in scientific verification, so as far as I am concerned I need to see a "rumor" to believe it, unless one of my good friends or someone I deem credible tells me, and this has not happened yet. This does not mean that the reception issue does not exist, I just highly doubt it is widespread and that it is exists as much as these people are chirping about. Your phone may have reception issue. If it does. Return it and go get yourself a different phone.

 

[Daveoc64]

Your phone may have reception issue. If it does. Return it and go get yourself a different phone.

People have returned their iPhone to Apple and one of two things has happened:

1) The replacement (some people have even got more than one) has had the exact same issue

2) Apple support has told them that they will not replace the phone, because it's a problem that will happen on replacement devices as well. Until Apple does something about the problem, a replacement device will not help.

 

[wirelessmacuser]

Here is a quote from another iPhone 4 user, who's experience has been identical to mine.

"I have an iPhone 4. Pre-ordered it before the onslaught of pre-orders crippled the system. Ordered it early enough that I was one of the lucky few who received it on Wednesday—a day before the official launch.

I took it out of the box, and activated it. I synced it up with my iTunes to get all of my apps and music installed. All the while, it had a full five bars of 3G signal. It was a beautiful thing.

Then, a call came in. I picked up the phone and said “hello”….then nothing. Apparently, I missed the memo that if you hold the iPhone 4 the way you would hold any other smartphone—including the iPhone 3GS I just deactivated—it actually becomes an iPod touch. Maybe that’s a feature rather than a bug from Apple’s perspective, but they should at least include a little memo when you open the box explaining the precise manner you must hold the iPhone 4 in order for it to function as a phone."

http://www.macworld.com/article/152355/2010/06/ios_antenna.html

 

[Journojulz]

Yes there is a problem - and apple are working on a solution.

In the meanwhile there is also a workaround.

If that doesn't make you happy - get a refund.

 

[spiritlevel]

Yes there is a problem - and apple are working on a solution.

Please can you point to where is says that on the Apple site?

The only "official" writing I have seen on this is that it is a "non-issue" and "there are no reception issues"

Apple support were saying last week that there would be a fix this week. They are no longer saying that. Most people now seem to be being told that support are not aware of any software fix in the pipeline.

Perhaps they have tried to fix it with software and can't?

 

[cmaier]

PsyTroniks, I called him a moron because he called me a name.

My point is I have not seen this issue and it reminds me of the same hysteria about the "exploding screen" last year. I don't believe anecdotal stories. I have a Master's degree and I believe in scientific verification, so as far as I am concerned I need to see a "rumor" to believe it, unless one of my good friends or someone I deem credible tells me, and this has not happened yet. This does not mean that the reception issue does not exist, I just highly doubt it is widespread and that it is exists as much as these people are chirping about. Your phone may have reception issue. If it does. Return it and go get yourself a different phone.

You haven't seen the numerous video recordings of people touching one spot with their fingertip, and immediately going from 5 bars to 0? They're all over the internet. New ones are posted every day. (I received 2 iPhone 4's with the problem. I returned one, and the replacement has the problem. Replacements are not the answer right now).

My point is these are more than mere anecdotes (given that you can see the video yourself). And your original post did not say that you "doubt it is widespread." You said there is no such problem.

 

[Simsonic]

Please can you point to where is says that on the Apple site?

I concur. Where is the official statement? Again people are not speaking about facts because this is like a political campaign now.

I repeat: IF YOU DO NOT LIKE THE iPhone RETURN IT AND GO BUY ANOTHER PRODUCT.