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The Media Really Did a Number on Apple/iPhone4

S

Sean4123

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 4, 2009
436
8
I don't even know if I can come up with a product that I feel is so damn good, yet is perceived by many as a "failure" device because of what they heard on the news.

There are so many people I know that haven't even seen an iPhone 4, ask me how many problems i've had with it and if I can make calls properly. It boggles my mind as to how bad Apple let this antenna mess get. Now people that have never owned an iPhone think you can't make any calls at all on the new one.
 
Sean4123 said:
I don't even know if I can come up with a product that I feel is so damn good, yet is perceived by many as a "failure" device because of what they heard on the news.

There are so many people I know that haven't even seen an iPhone 4, ask me how many problems i've had with it and if I can make calls properly. It boggles my mind as to how bad Apple let this antenna mess get. Now people that have never owned an iPhone think you can't make any calls at all on the new one.
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I think the fact that people are asking you about yours may mean that the don't believe the media and trust apple. And Apple still can't make them fast enough. I don't think apple has suffered much from this.
 
Sean4123 said:
I don't even know if I can come up with a product that I feel is so damn good, yet is perceived by many as a "failure" device because of what they heard on the news.

There are so many people I know that haven't even seen an iPhone 4, ask me how many problems i've had with it and if I can make calls properly. It boggles my mind as to how bad Apple let this antenna mess get. Now people that have never owned an iPhone think you can't make any calls at all on the new one.
Click to expand...

From what I've read on many tech websites, the iPhone 4 DOES have problems with reception, particularly when held in such a way that its antenna makes contact with the users hand.

If the iPhone (or any cellphone) looses reception by holding it......it is a failure in my books
 
vermintrex said:
From what I've read on many tech websites, the iPhone 4 DOES have problems with reception, particularly when held in such a way that its antenna makes contact with the users hand.

If the iPhone (or any cellphone) looses reception by holding it......it is a failure in my books
Click to expand...

No, the iPhone 4 is not a failure. The reason people that don't own one might perceive it as such, is because of people like YOU. I've had my phone since launch day and have yet to drop a call. Not one.

Also, most people use cases. The problem is, those people that use cases, still think the phone will have issues because of people like you.

Hell, even without a case, it is ridiculously easy to avoid that small black strip. It really is. I don't give a damn if you call me a fanboy or not, its just the truth. With so many pros the iPhone 4 offers, the reception issue is such a tiny and easy to fix problem.

It's really mind-boggling that people think this is a huge issue. Its not at all.
 
nippyjun said:
I think the fact that people are asking you about yours may mean that the don't believe the media and trust apple. And Apple still can't make them fast enough. I don't think apple has suffered much from this.
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All phones have problems when held in certain ways. The ip4 is no exception. It's not been a problem for me since I got mine 6 weeks ago. There are jet alot of haters out there that want a reason to not get an iPhone.
 
Lol I don't get why people keep arguing about whether or not the iphone is a fail.

If you think it is, THEN DON'T BUY ONE. If you think it isn't, THEN STOP CONVINCING PEOPLE OF OTHERWISE.

Seriously, some people can think something is a fail while others don't. It's just an opinion.

I feel like the iphone 4 owners who try and convince people it's not a fail are insecure and feel like they need everyone being envious or admiring their phone...honestly who the hell cares.

I love the iphone4 despite the fact that I hold it a bit differently. If you don't, I think you're missing out, but maybe you're not.
 
Meh.

Who cares though? Are you happy with your phone? I am. I love my iPhone 4. That's all that matters. I don't really care if the other guy likes it.
 
Sean4123 said:
Calm down BIG DOG.
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heh...pot, meet kettle.

You are certainly an excitable individual.

The phone, (when not enclosed in a bumper or case and held by a human not wearing gloves who is trying to make a phone call), loses reception.

Do you feel this is engineering success ? :D
 
I've been saying this same thing for weeks.

Everyone annoyingly exaggerates the prob out of ignorance caused by the media hype machine.

A machine some people call the Internet.
 
vermintrex said:
heh...pot, meet kettle.

You are certainly an excitable individual.

The phone, (when not enclosed in a bumper or case and held by a human not wearing gloves who is trying to make a phone call), loses reception.

Do you feel this is engineering success ? :D
Click to expand...

This is a discussion that will continue in circles forever. Someone will say they read somewhere or heard somewhere that the phone doesn't work correctly as a phone, without a case or whatever you want to cover the antenna with.

And then, people like myself (who actually have the phone) come back and say that we haven't had that particular experience. (In fact, don't have the problem. People at work have even tried to replicate it holding it a ton of different ways. The bars just don't drop. I've had the phone since the day before the launch, and have yet to drop a single call. The same goes for the 4 other people I know that own the phone.) We get called blind followers and fanboys (or girls).

This is something that will never be resolved. Most are happy with the phone, I believe. Those who aren't, hopefully they take it back and get something they are happy with.

But, really, if you don't have the phone it's hard to take anything you post seriously. From your previous comment, you've only read about the problems. Extremely hard to come across as serious when you are using "many tech sites" as your only evidence.
 
vermintrex said:
From what I've read on many tech websites, the iPhone 4 DOES have problems with reception, particularly when held in such a way that its antenna makes contact with the users hand.

If the iPhone (or any cellphone) looses reception by holding it......it is a failure in my books
Click to expand...

Then this means you have very, very, very little understanding about how cellular technology works and you should stick to landline phones.
 
Just because you don't have a problem doesn't mean nobody else does. The problem itself depends on a variety of factors, such as how a person holds the phone, the quality of AT&T's reception in the area, and whether or not the person uses a case.

The people who say nobody has the problem are just as bad as the people who proclaim everybody has the problem. The occurrence of the problem varies from person to person; there was media attention over it because enough people had the problem.
 
I agree with the original point, I've had a fair amount of people come up to me and ask things like "How bad is the antenna problem with your phone then" or "are you planning on returning your phone" to which I answer; Not very bad and Hell No!, I've ever had one of my grandparent (who has no idea about phones and technology) ask me how is my phone as she has read about all the problems in the paper...it's just ridiculous
 
Sean4123 said:
Also, most people use cases. The problem is, those people that use cases, still think the phone will have issues because of people like you.

Hell, even without a case, it is ridiculously easy to avoid that small black strip. It really is. I don't give a damn if you call me a fanboy or not, its just the truth. With so many pros the iPhone 4 offers, the reception issue is such a tiny and easy to fix problem.
Click to expand...

Two points:

1) "Most poeple use cases" isn't an acceptable response to me for the issue with the external antenna.

2) Having to avoid touching the black strip in itself admits that doing so causes a problem. It may not be a big deal to you. For me, it is it both practice and principle.

I was ready to drop $700 for an unsubsidized iPhone 4, but I'm not going to give my money to Apple and send the message that releasing products like this is acceptable.
 
I wouldn't call the iphone a failure persay, simply because it is a great product and is selling by the millions. But it does have it's problems, like all phones, no one phone is perfect. The reception on this thing sucks, but everything else the phone does, it does it much better than the competition that I deal with it and luckily I have another phone (a nokia) to make phone calls. If there was another phone out there that could run as well as the iPhone and not have the reception problems I would switch in a heartbeat, unfortunately android doesn't do it for me, webos is stuck on old hardware, and right now I'm trying out a blackberry torch for my father, and while it gets great reception (I don't know how, but it has full bars at my house, showing -70db, while my iPhone is always between 1 and 2 bars and drops completely if I cover the spot) the iPhone preforms so much better in every other facet.

If your main priority is making and receiving phone calls reliably, and that priority supersedes everything else, don't get an iPhone, it just plain sucks as a phone. But if you want the best web, movie, music, gaming, reading, and app verity experience in a small portable device, get the iPhone.
 
hurriance said:
Just because you don't have a problem doesn't mean nobody else does. The problem itself depends on a variety of factors, such as how a person holds the phone, the quality of AT&T's reception in the area, and whether or not the person uses a case.

The people who say nobody has the problem are just as bad as the people who proclaim everybody has the problem. The occurrence of the problem varies from person to person; there was media attention over it because enough people had the problem.
Click to expand...


I am not denying there is a problem at all. I know some phones have been having the problem. I've read this forum daily since the phone has been released. I also believe that there are more people who don't have the problem than do. My point with that commenter was how can you have a discussion about the usefulness of the phone when you don't have one?

I have no problem listening to or comparing notes about the pros/cons of the iPhone 4 with actual owners of the iPhone 4. But coming on here talking about what he's read, come on.
 
I have the iPhone 4. I love it more than any other iPhone I've owned. Yes, it does drop calls very frequently when I use it without a bumper. No, it does not drop calls with a bumper. Do I still love it and use it? Yes. Is there a reception problem? Depends on who you talk to, I'd say there is an issue but it's livable and not the end of the world. Jobs is right, sometimes I'm just holding it wrong and the attenuation starts. Sure, it's a flaw, but I still love my phone, it works well enough for me to keep using it, and everybody wants to justify buying it with or without the design flaws.

Nobody was hurt during all this. The media and pissed off owners and non-owners need to give it a rest. And for the apple fanboys unlike me who have to lie and say no I've never had a dropped call without a case, well, you're not helping our case by stating what has statistically proven to be untrue by Apple.
 
vermintrex said:
Pro Apple for sure

Last respectable news source in the western world

hmmm...there's a problem


Do you guys actually think that this is all fantasy ?


Or perhaps it's intruding on your fantasy ? ;)

Anyway, it's getting late, so I'll refrain from spamming logic in this thread, and go to bed.
Click to expand...


Dude, seriously?

Like I said above, I'm not denying that some phones have had issues with the antenna. People on this forum have addressed it, and Apple has addressed it. Have I had the problem? No. That isn't fantasy. That's reality. If my phone didn't work as a phone, I would have returned the thing in a New York Minute.

But, what I have, and you lack, is real world experience with the phone. You would have been taken at least a little bit seriously had you actually owned one.

Night Night.
 
Moyank24 said:
I am not denying there is a problem at all. I know some phones have been having the problem. I've read this forum daily since the phone has been released. I also believe that there are more people who don't have the problem than do. My point with that commenter was how can you have a discussion about the usefulness of the phone when you don't have one?

I have no problem listening to or comparing notes about the pros/cons of the iPhone 4 with actual owners of the iPhone 4. But coming on here talking about what he's read, come on.
Click to expand...

It was more directed at the OP/everybody in general not just you :p
 
The extent to which the media has sensationalised this issue is just ridiculous. They have made it sound like simply touching the phone will cause dropped calls.

Although I am yet to receive my iPhone 4, I have faith that Apple has made the best product they can make, and will wait until I have actually used one myself until I make any judgements regarding the 'failure' of the phone.

If only more people took this approach, rather then blindly accepting everything they are told by the media.
 
Eso said:
Two points:

1) "Most poeple use cases" isn't an acceptable response to me for the issue with the external antenna.

2) Having to avoid touching the black strip in itself admits that doing so causes a problem. It may not be a big deal to you. For me, it is it both practice and principle.

I was ready to drop $700 for an unsubsidized iPhone 4, but I'm not going to give my money to Apple and send the message that releasing products like this is acceptable.
Click to expand...

+1, I'm a self confessed fanboy. I will not buy an iPhone 4 as a result of this issue. I'm going to wait for the 4GS or whatever they are going to call the next one.
 
hurriance said:
It was more directed at the OP/everybody in general not just you :p
Click to expand...

:D

Then you are forgiven!

And I totally understand your point, and the point of other posters who say lying about not having the problem isn't helping either.

It's just frustrating sometimes, because those of us who share good experiences are immediately labeled "fanboys" (or girls in my case). Like I am so invested in a company that I would lie to complete strangers on an internet forum. It's just a bit offensive, really. But, with a forum like this, where so many have such strong opinions both ways, we have to take the good with the bad.
 
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