Worst iPhone 4 press yet: NBC's Today Show.

[br0adband]

So that begs the question:

Why do you keep asking all these questions and making all these statements, when you've already stated you're returning your phone even if Apple fixes the problem (if you already haven't, that is)?

In answer to your question, they'll return their phones and get a replacement. That's what I do when I have a problem with any iPhone I've owned.

Because I'm an iPhone 4 owner, I don't need any other justification. Apple says they're gonna fix it, so I'm gonna wait. Nothing else is relevant past that point.

You've had other problems with iPhones in the past? Wow... and here I was thinking Apple didn't make defective products, but only perfect ones without any problems at all.

See how silly it gets?

 

[LordOBoogie]

well I cant speak for others but ive not had any proximity sensor problems, dropped calls, screen problems, or anything else.

The people I work with were aware of the antenna issue when it hit the news briefly but they have already forgotten about it. Do you really think the proximity sensor (that may well be adjustable via a software update) is worthy of the national news? It may be news worthy on a tech site such as Gizmodo, but there are far more important things to cover in the world than screen sensors LOL

Same here. No problems. At all. It has worked perfectly since day one.

 

[spiritlevel]

Agreed, another sensationalistic report that leaves out information that could further educate people.

I wish they would have better explained how the interference was happening and showed more realistic ways of holding the phone different.

It is sensationalistic reporting because it gives the impression that you have to hold the phone in one of those ridiculous ways that those youtube videos were showing to get reception. The report lacks information to be educated on actual facts.

You seem to be thinking about this the wrong way round. Contrary to what Apple would have you believe, people shouldn't and don't need to be educated about how to hold a phone.

There is no right or wrong way to hold a phone. Any common way that a phone is held by users is, by definition, a right way. It's a designer's job to observe and learn how people hold phones and then design them accordingly.

If holding the phone in a common/natural way is causing a problem, the problem is with the phone, not the people.

 

[skiltrip]

Its probably a joy to surf the web on as well.

Nope, it's bloody terrible. LOL.

 

[bfh123]

And NBC is in bed with Microsoft (MSNBC cookie, anyone), but I'm sure this had NOTHING to do with them running this story....



/sarcasm_off

 

[Vertigo50]

I don't think this was sensationalist at all, and I think Meredith nailed it. Some non-techie people I've talked to now know about the antenna issue, including my sister who is about as non-tech as they come.

I also think that even non-tech people can see right through Apple's excuse about reporting bars wrong. They see reports that people can "hold it wrong" and drop a call, and then they see the response from Apple that the bars are just being reported wrong, and they can see that is not a fix for the problem.

I think the only people who think the Apple software fix is actually a fix for the problem are those who don't have the issue, or those who have gone round and round this issue on forums and have gotten their facts confused, or Apple apologists who really want to believe that they will fix this with the software update.

Just my opinion.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

They stated that Apple says the Bumper is the solution - and they're correct. Apple recommends the Bumper and not "a $2 case" that could work just as well. Besides, not everyone knows about this issue; you sure jump to a lot of broad generalizations in a lot of your posts... "everyone knows this" "everyone knows that"

1) NBC is doing a NEWS report to help and inform consumers. That being the case it is their duty as journalists to explicitly note that the Bumper is not the ONLY case solution. Their report this morning gives the viewer the impression that is the best solution which is at best untruthful by omission.

2) If you are going to accuse me of making broad generalizations don't be a hypocrite and accuse me broadly of such. Give me explicit instances.

 

[-aggie-]

Because I'm an iPhone 4 owner, I don't need any other justification. Apple says they're gonna fix it, so I'm gonna wait. Nothing else is relevant past that point.

You've had other problems with iPhones in the past? Wow... and here I was thinking Apple didn't make defective products, but only perfect ones without any problems at all.

See how silly it gets?

No, you specifically stated in one of your first posts of many on all this that you were returning it no matter what Apple does. That speaks volumes.

You always manage to make some new swipe at Apple. Why is that? If you were actually hoping to get your issues fixed that would be one thing, but as you stated, you don't care and you're a Droid user anyway. The iPhone was given to you. So, yeah, Apple has defective products; who said it didn't? Not me. However, the one I have now works perfectly, as it does for many. Like I said, if I had a problem, I'd return it.

How many actually have the reception issue? No one knows, but I agree they have an issue.

 

[barkomatic]

You make an excellent point actually. Regardless of what is true and what is false about the antenna issues with the iPhone, as far as the general public goes, perception is reality. Once something gains momentum in the mainstream it is extremely difficult to reverse the public's perception. People are not as immersed in the nuts and bolts of technology such as the iPhone like we are here on MR (we're a very small subset/sub-culture). Many people take things at face value. "I heard on the news that the new iPhone is broken and a friend of mine said the same thing". Many, MANY people will not investigate further. No need to, as far as they are concerned.

So, even if Steve Jobs is absolutely correct and there IS NO ISSUE, it doesn't matter. Apple have a problem. The public's PERCEPTION is that the new iPhone 4 is crap.

And that's why they need to do serious damage control.

You are correct, most who watch a mainstream program like the Today Show are not technology oriented. It's unfortunate because that program is extremely credible to viewers and if Meredith doesn't like something--its very, very damaging.

Ironically, most technology oriented reviewers (outside of Gizmodo) are giving the iPhone 4 the highest reviews of any previous iPhone ever. What's the disconnect? Have tech sites simply become afraid of objectively reviewing Apple products for fear of retribution? Or, is this all overblown?

One thing is obvious to me--whether this is real or not the leadership at Cupertino is disconnected and is reacting too slowly to this evolving PR disaster. The first communication from Apple about this was Steve Jobs telling a customer they were holding the phone wrong and its just gotten worse from there.

 

[spiritlevel]

Personally, I think this is just getting started. Sure, it may have died down around here because we have decided to either live with it or move on. But now the general public, all those millions they are boasting about selling to, are now recognizing the problem may be with the hardware and **** is about to hit the fan.

Totally agree. The general public (non-techies) won't care care about antenna attenuation and detuning. They will care when their phone keeps cutting out. They won't like being told they're holding it wrong. They won't like being told to buy something else to make their phone work.

I think that Apple will unfortunately be the victim of it's own success here. They sold 1.7 million phones in 3 days. Every iPhone sold has the problem. That's 1.7 million potential problems and counting.

I reckon that if Apple cannot "fix" the issues in the upcoming update (that's supposedly just about the bar calibration anyway), then I suspect that it's more likely than not there will be a recall.

Time will tell.

 

[Cottonsworth]

Did you miss the part where the reporter himself clearly demonstrated how he holds the phone, including holding it up to his ear, clearly stated that "most of us hold our cell phones like this, and we hold it up to our ear like this..."?

The only sensationalistic stuff I see going on is the explosion of idiocy from people trying to point out that this is a sensationalistic piece, really. He pointed out "snarky complaint videos" on YouTube so, now what, people will complain because not enough folks know the definition of "snarky" and need that explained too?

I got it, on the first viewing, and for those that claim they're "on top of it" they should too.

The report should have clarified the actual spot that will cause reception to decrease and why that is the case, instead, it gives the impression that touching anywhere on the band will result in signal lost.

Call me an idiot if you want but most people will not know what snarky means.

 

[br0adband]

And you've been at this (meaning aggie) since the beginning too, I've never said I wasn't going to return the phone, I've always said I'll keep it till Apple releases whatever "fix" they are working on - and I've been saying that since before the sorry pathetic excuse for an explanation they tossed out on Friday morning like some table scraps to hungry hounds.

Doesn't change anything.

If I return the phone, and they release a fix that many people might report as working for them, then I won't know if it would have addressed any of the issues I'm having. I honestly want to find out what causes the problem(s), what they did to fix it, and so on. I can't do that if I give up the phone...

But anyway, it's off-topic to call me out on this particular thing (questioning me about returning my iPhone 4), doesn't belong in this thread.

 

[Cottonsworth]

You seem to be thinking about this the wrong way round. Contrary to what Apple would have you believe, people shouldn't and don't need to be educated about how to hold a phone.

There is no right or wrong way to hold a phone. Any common way that a phone is held by users is, by definition, a right way. It's a designer's job to observe and learn how people hold phones and then design them accordingly.

If holding the phone in a common/natural way is causing a problem, the problem is with the phone, not the people.

I agree with you. I'm not saying that people should be educated on how to hold a phone, or if there is a right or wrong way to hold a phone. Apple put out a compromised product, if you hold the phone in its intended way, you get better reception, if you choose not to change how you would prefer to hold the phone, you don't have to buy it. It is up to the consumer if they can live with that compromise or not.

 

[Vertigo50]

One thing is obvious to me--whether this is real or not the leadership at Cupertino is disconnected and is reacting too slowly to this evolving PR disaster. The first communication from Apple about this was Steve Jobs telling a customer they were holding the phone wrong and its just gotten worse from there.

Very well said. This has been the problem all along.

Apple, and Steve Jobs especially, have sort of an "I'm always right" mentality. It has actually served them well over the years in many cases. People keep saying they should license OS X to run on Windows machines, and they decide they know better, so they don't, for example.

But one place where this doesn't work is a perceived quality or design problem. They can't just say "We know better than you do" when it comes to something that is perceived as an engineering problem.

Can you imagine if the $2000 Macbook Pros suddenly had massive hard drive failures and Apple's response was "you're using it wrong"? People would have a fit, and that may not be a totally fair comparison, but people see this as a hardware issue. If it's really not a hardware issue Apple either needs to really address it, or otherwise do a recall and fix the phones.

 

[spiritlevel]

The report should have clarified the actual spot that will cause reception to decrease and why that is the case, instead, it gives the impression that touching anywhere on the band will result in signal lost.

Call me an idiot if you want but most people will not know what snarky means.

Again, the public don't particularly care exactly where the spot is, or why it causes reception to decrease - they only care that it exists, and it does.

 

[Vertigo50]

Those who say they should educate on how to hold the phone, Apple already educated us on that...

 

[br0adband]

The report should have clarified the actual spot that will cause reception to decrease and why that is the case, instead, it gives the impression that touching anywhere on the band will result in signal lost.

Call me an idiot if you want but most people will not know what snarky means.

Just curious, but the actual news report was 1 minute and 48 seconds long (the reporter's part started at 12 seconds in and ended at the 2 minute mark).

Could you yourself provide all the info that you think is perfect and accurate to the best of your knowledge in 1 minute and 48 seconds, such that nobody would ever dare question it or your motives? Would anyone watching such a video come away saying "Wow, I learned more about the iPhone 4 in 1 minute and 48 seconds from that guy's video report than anybody else has ever even attempted."

I'm not saying you can't, I'm asking if you can/could.

And most of the people I know actually do know what "snarky" means.

Anand's report showed that holding the iPhone normally nets a 19.8 dB drop in signal levels - and he didn't touch that spot, specifically. He held the phone in a normal grip like anyone else would - like Steve Jobs does, like I do, like you do (I'm willing to bet), like Apple's marketing media shows the phone being held, like the reporter in the video shows it being held...

My god, folks, while there is "a spot" that can cause even more severe degradation, it's not about "the spot" - it's about the fact that the damned metal band is the antenna, all of it, not just one part of it, not just one "spot" at all. I don't have to touch that spot on my iPhone 4, I just have to touch the metal antenna band, period.

Touching that spot, however - and nothing else - kills it dead. That's even worse. Should NBC now go back and do an amended story that says "oh, if that weren't bad enough, if you happen to touch the phone here, you'll kill it dead."

Should they?

They have limited time to present as much useful info as possible that 12 producers and 5 editors deem worthy of broadcast, more than likely. There isn't one person that stamps a report "OK, that's cool with me" - it's a bunch of people involved in even that "fluff" piece.

 

[asleep]

...Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

Then Apple will begin suffering massive legal bills, potentially quarter-killing judgments, and a devastating long-term public relations nightmare.

They really need to get in front of this a.s.a.p.

 

[dagomike]

I agree with you. I'm not saying that people should be educated on how to hold a phone, or if there is a right or wrong way to hold a phone. Apple put out a compromised product, if you hold the phone in its intended way, you get better reception, if you choose not to change how you would prefer to hold the phone, you don't have to buy it. It is up to the consumer if they can live with that compromise or not.

Caveat emptor, for sure... but it's a phone. All that has been required of a phone since Bell was you put your ear to the receiver and speak into the transmitter.

It's pretty ridiculous of Apple to tell people that if they want to use their phone they have to buy an accessory or instruct them how to hold it. Apple is free to tell customers that, but then they're fair game to be skewered on national TV.

 

[rotobadger]

It is up to the consumer if they can live with that compromise or not.

This is a very true statement and it certainly applies to the iPhone 4. But the issue is now about reputation and perception (see my earlier post in this thread).

If I sell a quality blender, for example and, in order for it to work correctly you must stick your finger in your ear while operating it, the public will, very likely react negatively and probably won't buy it. Even if I had produced excellent blenders in the past my company will now be perceived as the "finger in the ear" blender company. Again, very hard to reverse a perception once it gains momentum.

This is an extreme example but, again, this is about the public's PERCEPTION.

Buy a case, there is no problem, no big deal, it works for me. Doesn't matter to the masses. What is reality and what they perceive (and therefore spend their money on) are two entirely different things. Apple need to recognize this quickly.

 

[Vertigo50]

You know, I would love to see a 60 Minutes-style piece on this issue, where they speak directly to a bunch of people who are having the issue, and a bunch who are not. They could interview Anand, and even try to get some interviews with Steve or people at Apple.

THAT would be something worth watching. They could spend a good 15 minutes or more on it and really give a thorough investigation of the problem.

 

[br0adband]

You know, I would love to see a 60 Minutes-style piece on this issue, where they speak directly to a bunch of people who are having the issue, and a bunch who are not. They could interview Anand, and even try to get some interviews with Steve or people at Apple.

THAT would be something worth watching. They could spend a good 15 minutes or more on it and really give a thorough investigation of the problem.

I agree with this, only one problem:

Apple advertises on CBS, so it wouldn't fly. In fact, I doubt we'll ever see anything like this on any major news show of any kind except those little tidbits like this one we're discussing.

News is one thing, in-depth reports over something are entirely different and require a far more serious investment in time and people which could potentially backfire on whoever does such a report.

It's one thing to report on what everybody else is reporting on, it's another entirely to "take aim" at some issue and go after it for all it's worth when nobody else will/would.

 

[jrbdmb]

Can you imagine if the $2000 Macbook Pros suddenly had massive hard drive failures and Apple's response was "you're using it wrong"? People would have a fit.

Looking at some of the Apple sycophants on these boards, I suspect you would get a large contingent of responses such as
- Of course you using it wrong, use it the way Steve tells you to.
- It hasn't failed for me, this is a non-issue.
- This whole story is nothing but media sensationalism.
- This whole story is nothing but users whining to get a free hard drive.
- This whole story is just a defamation campaign by Dell and Microsoft.
- Quit whining, I'm tired of hearing about it.

 

[jhatz]

Same **** different day. It's the same thing that's been said countless times now. Hold the phone at the seam and it cuts signal. Buy a bumper and it limits hand interference.

Bottom line, if you want an Iphone 4, avoid the lower left seam. Not that hard. That's what she said.

agreed.

 

[bbotte]

You can't return your iPhone if you want to buy a later one that might be fixed. AT&T will charge you the $600 for the new phone.