Doctor, It Hurts When I Do This
Apple has released official advice for iPhone 4 owners to overcome the problem of the device losing signal when held by the lower left corner.
Steve Jobs responded to a query about the problem from one owner by saying: “Just avoid holding it in that way.”
The official advice is to “avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band”.
Apple went through a similar hardware issue with their first release of the white plastic MacBooks, in which a heat sensor was located too close to the heat sink and would cause the computer to shut down without notice because it thought it was overheating, usually during start up. While formally denying a problem (What? Apple screw up? Never!), Apple techs were informally telling people to just not shut their computers down until a firmware patch was released. I think my MacBook was on for something like four or five weeks straight until the patch was released. After that, no problem.
I’ll bet the house on a firmware upgrade in the next week that fixes the issue. That said, building the antenna into the bottom of the phone - the part that people hold - is perhaps not great engineering. Did Apple hire a bunch of southpaws to focus group this thing?
Posted by Recess Supervisor on June 27, 2010 at 2003 hrs
Just watched the latest iPhone 4 commercial, and almost everyone in the ad is holding the phone in precisely the way that Steve Jobs is telling everyone not to.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 27, 2010 at 2256 hrs
That said, building the antenna into the bottom of the phone - the part that people hold - is perhaps not great engineering.
I wonder about radiation levels. Apple’s initial iPhone was decent - about the top third or so (one third better, two-thirds worse). The 3G dropped to middle of the pack, but the 3 GS improved greatly putting it not to far out of the list of 20 lowest phones (probably 30th or so though most of the top ones are small screen, flip phones rather than full screen smartphones).
Apple has really worked hard to be greener & has put a strong effort into minimizing packaging - I’m wondering if they’ve tried to be among the very best phones in minimizing radiation? Probably shouldn’t speculate, but putting the antenna in the bottom would seem to be a curious enough decision to make me wonder.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 28, 2010 at 0012 hrs
Apple just plain screwed up. Their famous design department won out over engineering and tried to put the antenna on the outside (good engineering) where you could touch it (terrible engineering). I’ve seen other companies play with external touchable antennae design, but nobody went to production because of these sorts of issues.
Of course, we can’t let this go without noting that the government has some culpability in this mess.
Why is the antenna where it is? Government regulates how much power the antenna can put into your ear, but not how much can go into your hand or jaw. Hence, all the antennae for brick phones (and most other phones other than flips these days) are at the bottom of the phone where all the power can go into your hand and jaw.
So, the government is making sure that as much power as possible goes into your body (since you have to hold the phone), just not into your ear, while at the same time making sure that your reception is degraded (your body is a pretty good attenuator at GSM data frequencies).
The regulatory agencies aren’t particularly at fault, they’re just following the law. But we had a bunch of lawyers who don’t understand the issues write the law, and in any case they’ve triggered the Law of Unintended Consequences yet again to make things arguably worse.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 28, 2010 at 0018 hrs
I have one. I am not an Apple fanboy, although I do own and enjoy several of their products, in the case of the iPhone, I hated the previous generation. I found it to be a subpar phone that had some neat “whiz-bang” foo-foo to distract people from the fact that it was a terrible phone. I was a blackberry fan, but was struck with the quality and beauty of the iPhone 4’s construction… So I made the switch. I picked mine up on launch day (preorder). First thing you notice is how heavy the phone is. It is only a little heavier than the 3gs, but it feels twice as heavy. I think it has to do with its svelte form factor and the visible stainless steel more than anything. The second thing you notice is the UNBELIEVABLE DISPLAY. It is fantastic, and there is nothing else like it on the market right now.
I have not had a single problem with losing signal during a call due to the antenna “short”. Does that mean it doesn’t happen? No, but it really isn’t difficult or awkward to hold the phone in a way that doesn’t bridge the two antennas. It is a design flaw that could have easily been addressed by simply moving the “edge” of the two antennas to the bottom or top of the phone. I think that keeping AT&T as the sole service provider is a much bigger flaw than the “boundary” placement of the antennas.
That said: I have found that the iPhone 4 gets better reception everywhere than the 3gs (when compared with my brother in law over the weekend in our Sheboygan Co. haunts). It is not as good as my previous device (Blackberry Bold 9700), but in my experience Blackberry has the market cornered on reception and battery life. Speaking of battery life… iPhone 4 is better than the 3gs, but still bad compared to a Blackberry. I use the device as it was meant to be used. I use ALOT of data, and I do a lot of emailing. My calling is pretty limited, usually just 5-10 calls to vendors during the day, and a call or two home to the wife. I NEED to have a charger at work. The iPhone 4 will only last until mid afternoon for me, compared to all day on half a battery with the Blackberry, granted I use the browser a lot more on the iPhone 4 (because the current blackberry browser is trash).
I know the original topic was the design flaw, but I thought I’d stick up for what I believe to be the best smartphone on the market right now. I give the phone a resounding two thumbs up. I have been waiting for a device that would provide an experience of this level, I mean, lets face it. Cell-phone service is expensive, very, and this is finally a phone that I feel gives me some bang for the buck.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 28, 2010 at 0758 hrs
They definitely screwed up.
Still, some perspective is called for. It’s still the best smartphone on the market, flaw or not. And if there’s occasional drawbacks from letting designers “win” over the engineers, I’m ok with that, too. I’m tired of technology products which boast a long list of bullet-pointed features—none of which are usable by human beings.
If the antenna becomes a problem for me I’ll buy a case. So far it hasn’t.
Posted by scott on June 28, 2010 at 0758 hrs
They definitely screwed up.
Still, some perspective is called for. It’s still the best smartphone on the market, flaw or not. And if there’s occasional drawbacks from letting designers “win” over the engineers, I’m ok with that, too. I’m tired of technology products which boast a long list of bullet-pointed features—none of which are usable by human beings.
If the antenna becomes a problem for me I’ll buy a case. So far it hasn’t.
That’s exactly what I meant to say… I guess I’m feeling long winded this morning.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 28, 2010 at 0900 hrs
I have been using the iphone4 since last Thursday. I haven’t had a dropped call yet. If I was using my old Sony/Ericson that I have been using for the last 2 years I likely would have had at least one dropped call since Thursday.
Much ado about nothing. IMHO.
The phone is beautiful and has performed beautifully so far. Jobs screwed up in his response to the criticism, but I think the criticism was overblown. The phone is near perfect, critics had to find something to criticize. Once something was found that was a design compromise the critics hopped all over it and blew it out of proportion.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 28, 2010 at 0943 hrs
The phone is near perfect, critics had to find something to criticize.
Not really actually:
-It has a 5 mega pixel camera, where most droids have an 8 mega pixel.
-You have to pay $20/month to tether on the iphone. Free on droids
-You have to pay for high quality nav on the iphone, not droids.
-Can’t swap the battery on iphones.
-It doesn’t have system wide voice-to-text input like the droids runing 2.1
How can a phone that comes out once every two years compete with phones that are coming out every couple of months?
http://blogs.computerworld.com/16281/iphone_4_vs_android
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 28, 2010 at 1032 hrs
It’s still the best smartphone on the market, flaw or not.
I disagree with that. I’ll put my Evo up against an iPhone 4 and not have a twinge of regret. Even with Sprint’s BS “Enhanced Data” charge, my plan is still cheaper than AT&T’s.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 28, 2010 at 1034 hrs
Sometimes being perfect means knowing what not to implement. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. As to your specific points…
Megapixels are for squares. I make a lot of money taking pictures. I can and do shoot professional quality images with a 6 megapixel camera. (I have a 12 megapixel camera, too, but I have it for the quality of the sensor and the other electronics; The extra pixels add nothing.)
Verizon charges Droid users for tethering, too. Also, any carriers who don’t are soon going to. Capping data plans, overage charges and tethering charges are, unfortunately, the wave of the immediate future in American wireless. Just watch.
You have a great point about navigation.
I don’t need to swap batteries on my iPhone. Never have. Judicious implementation of features and careful engineering means my phone always lasts an entire day. (Don’t try that on your new HTC Evo.)
Posted by scott on June 28, 2010 at 1040 hrs
EVO is a badass phone, no doubt. I just don’t think the android user experience is quite as polished as ios4. No doubt it is catching up, but the display on iphone4 is the best out there, hands down. Now the a4 brings the processing right in step with the best android devices. I’d say it boils down to carrier and personal preference at this point.
Id
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 28, 2010 at 1045 hrs
I?ll put my Evo up against an iPhone 4
To each his own. Your mileage will always vary. However, having read the NY Times review of the new Evo, consider me unimpressed. Classic case of implementing features that aren’t ripe yet. Tether up to 8 wifi devices—if you like a 1 hour battery life. Huge screen—if you like to charge your phone by dinnertime. Video calling—if you, as Pogue says, are a NASA engineer and can make it work. 4G networking—if you live in Wichita Falls or some other uninhabited place that actually has a 4G tower close by.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/17/technology/personaltech/17pogue.html
Contrast that review with the Engadget one on iPhone 4: “Best smartphone on the market.”
http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/22/iphone-4-review/
Posted by scott on June 28, 2010 at 1046 hrs
So, the government is making sure that as much power as possible goes into your body (since you have to hold the phone), just not into your ear,
That’s neither fair nor accurate. The problem is the brain - radiation to the brain causes cancer. Not “has show to possibly cause cancer in rats” but real brain cancer for real humans. Reducing the radiation to the brain either by lowering the overall levels or moving it 3-4 inches down IS A GOOD THING. It’s for the engineers to decide what the best way to accomplish this while maximizing reception, sound quality and data speed within the overall design of the device.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 28, 2010 at 1110 hrs
scott, your links aren’t going to change my mind. Having had the Evo for 2 weeks now, there’s not a single twinge in my mind wishing I had waited for the iPhone 4. Nothing. No reviews are going to change that, I’ve played with my friends iPhone 4 and he’s played with my Evo, and guess who was the one saying “I wish my phone had these features”.
Like you said, “to each his own”. I simply said that I love mine, and that was it. My battery life is just fine, I get through an entire day from 5AM - nearly Midnight without having to charge. And that’s with streaming Pandora through bluetooth to my Ford Sync on the drive to and from work (almost an hour each way).
Pogue sounds like a cranky old grandpa complaining about Rap Music and kids on his lawn. He took issue with battery life and wrote almost an entire article around it. He’s ashamed of his small hands. He’s obviously not a tech, or he’d realize that the site Hulu is the reason videos can’t be watched, not the version of flash that’s on the phone. Hulu is blocking mobile users from using it’s web site to watch videos.
Sorry, nothing in his article makes me wish I hadn’t bought an Evo. Nothing in the Engadget article does either.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 28, 2010 at 1148 hrs
I’m not trying to change your mind, Jason. Just saying lots of folks might not find it a good fit or “better than iPhone 4.”
Posted by scott on June 28, 2010 at 1153 hrs
It all does boil down to personal preference.
After lining up a list of pros and cons some people will choose an EVO others will choose an iphone. I chose an iphone and am happy with the decision. So far more people prefer Apple smartphones over Droids. Someday that may change, but I don’t see it happening real soon.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 28, 2010 at 1216 hrs
I’m not trying to change your mind, Jason. Just saying lots of folks might not find it a good fit or “better than iPhone 4.”
Ah gotcha… it was a public service announcement… and you just happened to have this links on your clipboard. But don’t ever be someone’s “Google Bitch”.
I agree with you 3rd Way, with the platforms being so close in terms of hardware specs, it’s a lot more about personal choices and carriers rather than processor speed, memory. To claim either as the “best smartphone” is just silly.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 28, 2010 at 1221 hrs
I just don?t think the android user experience is quite as polished as ios4.
But wouldn’t you want access to all apps? Not just the ones determined as “appropriate” by a certain company?
I will give apple itunes, but I don’t really want to use my phone to play music and vice versa.
It just seems as though apple is more conceited with the iphone. You have to play by their rules if you want to play. Droids let you do almost anything you want, as was stated in my earlier link. I will also say that iphone might have a slight lead on the droids, but I think this is the beginning of the end for the iphone’s superiority.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 28, 2010 at 1445 hrs
For all the boneheadedness in Apple’s implementation of it, I don’t think the concept of a curated app store is a bad one. According to some, the Android market is pretty junky and full of copyright violations:
http://nanocr.eu/2010/06/27/googles-mismanagement-of-the-android-market/
There’s a continuum between open and closed, with tradeoffs at each end. It’s not a case of one being “right” and the other “wrong.” For me, I’m more than willing to accept Apple’s model as applied to code that is going to live on my phone—just so long as my browser, my pipe to the internet, remains totally free to get whatever content or execute whatever web apps I want.
Android may be trying to leverage the opposite side. We’re open, you can do anything you want! Good on them. But let’s not kid ourselves: there’s a dark side there, too.
I think this is the beginning of the end for the iphone’s superiority.
I doubt it. Android phones show no sign of aspiring to Apple’s level of polish. I don’t even see how they can, with one company making the hardware and another making the OS and an unrestricted third party making the apps… There’s no way Google/Verizon/App maker can work together closely enough to provide it.
They’re going to do well, I’m sure, but if you’re expecting them to beat Apple at its own game, I don’t think that’s even remotely possible. They have their own strengths to play up. Excellent user experience and tight hardware/software integration is never going to be one of them.
Posted by scott on June 28, 2010 at 1457 hrs
But wouldn’t you want access to all apps? Not just the ones determined as “appropriate” by a certain company?
Hmm. When you say all apps…would that be all 70,000 that Android Market has or all 215,000 that the Apple App Store has?
Droids let you do almost anything you want, as was stated in my earlier link.
That would be the one where you made at least two false claims (more megapixels is necessarily better and tethering an Android phone is free)?
Two very solid platforms with a lot of strengths & weaknesses & a lot of rose colored glasses wearing users for each.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 28, 2010 at 1719 hrs
Well, let’s be fair about this. There are downsides to iPhone ownership. I’m well aware of it. But it’s a tradeoff. It’s not a black and white issue. There are benefits and downsides to each approach. But to hear the nerdier set tell it, Apple’s way of doing it is Bad, Wrong and Doomed. Which is, of course, nonsense.
It’s also why I anticipate that the Android platform is going to continue do well filling the needs of those unhappy with what Apple is offering. I don’t for a minute believe, however, that they’re going to out Apple Apple. Never happen. And they’d be fools to try.
Posted by scott on June 28, 2010 at 1751 hrs
It’s not just about Android filling a niche among those unhappy with Apple. There are still millions of people out there who choose Android (or BlackBerry OS or WinMo) because AT&T provides no service in their area. Android’s on pace to surpass Apple in the next few years in terms of sheer numbers, and a lot of that owes to Apple’s domestic exclusivity agreement with AT&T. Probably a smart move initially, but now an agreement that likely benefits AT&T far more than it benefits Apple.
I agree with previous posters that there are merits to both the diversity stimulated by open development (Android) and the seamless user experience that can only be obtained by a walled garden approach (Apple). I think Google is being very smart in positioning Android as the smartphone OS “for the rest of us,” so to say.
Meanwhile, if you want to make a lot of money, short a whole heap of RIMM and ride them all the way down to where Palm ended up. There’s a company that went from 20 to 140 in a year and will head back to 20 (or lower) almost as quickly. People will talk about Android/iPhone, but I suspect the historical reality of Android will be that it’ll be what kills off WinMo, Palm, and Blackberry OS. Innovate or die, and there’s not a lot of innovation coming out of Microsoft, Palm/HP, and RIM these days.
Posted by Recess Supervisor on June 28, 2010 at 1817 hrs
Android’s on pace to surpass Apple in the next few years in terms of sheer numbers, and a lot of that owes to Apple’s domestic exclusivity agreement with AT&T.
I think you’re spot on. The flip side, though, is that a third of the Android platform’s market would be gone if Apple was on the other carriers. I believe that with all my heart. At least a third if not half.
Also, I think you’re right on with the other mobile platforms. I wouldn’t count Microsoft out just yet. They do seem to have a knack lately for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, but Win mobile 7 or whatever the fuck it’s called is by all reports pretty cool. And they have deep pockets and a lot of clout for partnering with carriers and others. We’ll see.
Posted by scott on June 28, 2010 at 1905 hrs
I agree with Scott.
I think that google has done well in partnering with HTC. Unfortunately, least so far, they haven’t created a device that really shines as an overall package.
I am fortunate, in that, ATT works well for me. I must live in some sort of bizaro world or something…
I’m not counting out Android, or WM7. But for me, right now, ios4 and iPhone 4 are where it’s at.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 28, 2010 at 2009 hrs
It’s not just about Android filling a niche among those unhappy with Apple. There are still millions of people out there who choose Android (or BlackBerry OS or WinMo) because AT&T provides no service in their area.
Certainly true - Android customers are a much larger group than just those who don’t like or are otherwise unhappy with Apple. But it’s not just those where ATT provides no service - their coverage nationwide isn’t that bad. It’s the quality of service - both in terms of reception but also and perhaps more importantly, customer service and…well…rotten company policies.
...Apple’s domestic exclusivity agreement with AT&T. Probably a smart move initially, but now an agreement that likely benefits AT&T far more than it benefits Apple.
You’re right on there - for marketing and also technological reasons (for example visual voice mail needed network support from the carrier) it made sense to start that way. However, everything I’ve read has indicated the exclusivity ends in 2012. I have to imagine Jobs has gotten an earful of complaints about the carrier and really would be shocked if they don’t go with another provider - or open up to any/all carriers. The fact that this timeframe coincides with the industry move to LTE is either a happy coincidence or brilliant strategy. Interestingly enough, Google’s move to sell phones directly, circumventing the carriers (the Nexus One store) seems to have failed and they’re shutting it down.
Finally as far as other platforms - happily this is one where Microsoft failed miserably and just cannot leverage their dominance on the desktop. People just aren’t willing to have buggy, crashy phones and though I’m sure it’s improved some, having suffered with a Windows Mobile phone for 2 years, I wouldn’t wish it on anybody. Blackberry on the other hand, is a little bit of a different situation. While they certainly don’t look capable of really competing at the consumer level, the fact is IT departments still love them because of the very high control they can have over user’s devices. The admin & server allow for control & lockdown of everything, and much finer tuned security.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 29, 2010 at 0049 hrs
I’m glad this didn’t turn into an Apple vs. Google pissing match!
I just wanted to point out how unbelievably fantastic it is that I hold the internet in my hand, I can tuck it in my pocket. I can take out my phone and scan the barcode on a product on a shelf, and see if I can save a few bucks across town. I can get directions to anywhere in the country within a couple seconds, I can take pictures of my niece, I can find the nearest sushi restaurant and call it simply by putting the phone up to my ear, I can capture video and edit it with background music, and titles, then post it on facebook, all of this from the handset. When I got my first cell-phone ten years ago (some Nokia blob) all it did was make calls. It had a memory which could retain 99 telephone numbers for me (I have well over 250 contacts in my iPhone).
I think the ONLY downside to the evolution of communications technology is the number of taxes and fees that have been tacked on over the years to penalize me…
Just wanted to say, what a wonder the cell-phone has become. I remember when I was a little kid thinking how cool it was that BMW 7-Series came with phones built in…. Geez.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 29, 2010 at 0846 hrs
We are indeed living in the future.
Posted by scott on June 29, 2010 at 0917 hrs
I just wanted to point out how unbelievably fantastic it is that I hold the internet in my hand
So true. And having two very strong players to compete against each other with a handful of others providing some niche solutions and/or helping to keep the other two honest is a great situation. Of course this is only talking about the US smartphone market. Worldwide, there’s also the Symbian/S60 platform which is also very solid and popular.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on June 29, 2010 at 0920 hrs
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