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Apple To Hold iPhone 4 Press Conference 324

teh31337one noted an Engadget report that Apple has announced an iPhone 4 Press Conference for Friday at 10am PT where presumably they will address all this wacky antenna stuff that has been happening.
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Apple To Hold iPhone 4 Press Conference

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  • by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 15, 2010 @07:36AM (#32911846)

    They discussed about the problem, what they intent to do about it and some technical details too. It wasn't exactly unusual from Apple, but here is more info [tinypic.com] for anyone interested.

    • by kai_hiwatari ( 1642285 ) on Thursday July 15, 2010 @07:54AM (#32912076) Homepage Journal
      Yeah Steve Jobs will come out say something like "Consumer Reports tested it the wrong way".
      • by recoiledsnake ( 879048 ) on Thursday July 15, 2010 @08:02AM (#32912154)

        Will be a hard pill for Apple to swallow after the hyped up outlandish claims about the new antenna design

        "People have asked, 'What's this?' Some have even said, 'This doesn't seem like Apple.' What are these lines in this beautiful stainless steel band?

        Well, it turns out there's not just one of them, there's three of them. And they are part of the entire structure of this phone. That stainless steel band that runs around is the primary structural element of the phone, and there are these three slits in it.

        It turns out this is part of some brilliant engineering, which actually uses the stainless steel band as part of the antenna system. And so, one piece is Bluetooth, wifi, and GPS, and the other is UMTS and GSM. So it's got these integrated antennas right in the structure of the phone.

        It's never been done before and it's really cool engineering."

        Will be really hard to acknowledge a defect after all that hype.

        • by Anonymous Monkey ( 795756 ) on Thursday July 15, 2010 @08:55AM (#32912734)
          Sounds like a house that was built in my home town (on the rich end). The home was over 5,000 square feet and had huge vaulting rooms. The structure was made of steal tubing, and the inside of the house had all the structural elements exposed (think 80's industrial, I think they were trying to build Doogie Howser loft). The designer decided that AC ducts were ugly so he would just run HVAC inside the steal tubes that made the house.

          Well to make a long story short hot and cold air make steal expand and contract. Also, steal is a pour insulator. Not only did this house pop, creak, and groan when ever the heat or AC was turned on, the house needed them all the time because it got full sun in summer and high wind exposure in winter and the whole structure was built like a giant heat sink.

          The lesson of this story? Design for functionality first, and if your design is highly functional it will have a cool all it's own.

          • To be fair, almost every building material expands and contracts with temperature (and sometimes with moisture), but there are generally ways to design around it. That being said, trying to use structural elements as your a/c ducts is a terrible idea for a few reasons. As you said, steel is a terrible insulator, you'd likely have some serious condensation issues, and there's no way those steel tubes had anywhere near the cross section for efficient airflow. The fan units would probably have to push a ridicu

        • by davidbrit2 ( 775091 ) on Thursday July 15, 2010 @09:31AM (#32913390) Homepage

          Will be really hard to acknowledge a defect after all that hype.

          Which is why it won't happen. Here's how I predict things going down:

          • Steve strolls out, makes some remarks about huge sales of the iPhone 4.
          • "Bound to be a few issues reported when you have such a large share of the market", etc, etc.
          • Some tap dancing about real-world performance, estimated signal strength, "every cell phone does it", and an assortment of contemptuous remarks or outright lies, much like the explanation of why apps aren't approved at the iPhone 4 reveal event.
          • White model ship date announced, bumper cases quietly go on sale for $20 with no announcement, and Steve wraps up with some feel-good piece hoping to bury the issue(s).
          • Apple's board of directors make a few phone calls to Steve's health care providers to see if he's up to date on payments for that liver he bought, hoping not to have their front man degrade into the next Ken Kutaragi.
          • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

            Which is why it won't happen. Here's how I predict things going down:

            • Steve strolls out, makes some remarks about huge sales of the iPhone 4.
            • "Bound to be a few issues reported when you have such a large share of the market", etc, etc.
            • Some tap dancing about real-world performance, estimated signal strength, "every cell phone does it", and an assortment of contemptuous remarks or outright lies, much like the explanation of why apps aren't approved at the iPhone 4 reveal event.
            • White model ship date announced, bumper cases quietly go on sale for $20 with no announcement, and Steve wraps up with some feel-good piece hoping to bury the issue(s).
            • Apple's board of directors make a few phone calls to Steve's health care providers to see if he's up to date on payments for that liver he bought, hoping not to have their front man degrade into the next Ken Kutaragi.

            I like the Microsoft process:

            • Steve strolls out, throws some chairs.
            • End of discussion.

            Simple and direct.

      • Apparently denial isn't just a river in Africa.
  • Hopefully (Score:5, Funny)

    by space_jake ( 687452 ) on Thursday July 15, 2010 @07:38AM (#32911866)
    They'll hold the press conference correctly.
    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by ruiner13 ( 527499 )
      I suspect the introduction of the iGlove for iPhone. Molded into the correct Apple sanctioned gripping position to prevent signal degradation, the iGlove truely enables users to "Think Different". That is, as long as "Thinking Different" means thinking and doing things the way Sir Steve approves of, naturally.
    • by MemoryDragon ( 544441 ) on Thursday July 15, 2010 @07:48AM (#32911980)

      Well.. Hello.. iphone yada yada... we are so fucking rich yada yada yada... itunes yada yada yada... and I almost forgot, you can buy
      a silicon shell which fixes the reception problems from our store, for only 30$, you can buy it now...

      thank you for your attendence...

      Jobs walks off crowd goes crazy...

      • Everyone complaining gets a 30-50$ gift certificate for the Apple Store to buy the 30$ rubber thingy for their JesusPhone.
        Which is cunningly priced almost exactly the same as another highly sought after Apple item. [apple.com]

        BTW... there is a joke in there somewhere about iPhone needing a rubber band to stay up and online.

    • I saw that headline and logged in to make basically the same joke...

      "I hope they hold they hold it properly, or else they may find they get a poor reception from the press."

  • by The MAZZTer ( 911996 ) <megazzt&gmail,com> on Thursday July 15, 2010 @07:38AM (#32911870) Homepage

    "We are proud to announce the iPhone 5..."

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Extremus ( 1043274 )
      Funny. People seems to have more problems with products in version 4. I can remember that Netbeans and Winamp sort of jumped from v3 to v4.
      • Funny. People seems to have more problems with products in version 4...

        But Netscape 4 was amazing! Hmm, wait...

        • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

          by jellomizer ( 103300 )

          Netscape 4 was amazing... But it was the IE 6 of Netscape... When it was new it was a really great Browser New Clean UI, with great new HTML features added in. The problem was Netscape 5... Errr. Mozilla 5... Err Netscape 6... Took Years to deploy. By the time it was out IE 6 was already out and had 2 versions underneath it.

          Netscape 4 was a good browser. It only seems like it sucked because it was the latest and greatest version for Way too long.

          But version 4 seems likes a troubled version for some reason

          • by gaspyy ( 514539 ) on Thursday July 15, 2010 @09:14AM (#32913048)

            Sorry, Netscape 4 was a disaster. I can't even remember how many updates were pushed until it was usable.
            From a developer point of view, it had so many bugs that makes IE6 pale in comparison. There was a resize bug that mangled the content if the window was resized and developers had to trigger a page reload by javascript. Absolutely-positioned DIVs did not display properly unless they had a border. And this is just some stuff I can remember. Then there were proprietary tags, like LAYER.

            Netscape Communicator 4 made me use IE4 and Outlook. That's how bad it was.

      • by TejWC ( 758299 )
        Actually, there never was a Winamp 4 [wikipedia.org]. They first made Winamp 3, which everybody thought was too bloated and unstable; so they simply fixed Winamp 2 to have some of the same features that Winamp 3 had. That created Winamp 5 (because 2 + 3 = 5).
      • Smart move by Microsoft then, since DirectX went straight from 3 to 5 without getting bogged down in 4 [wikipedia.org].
      • I can remember that Netbeans and Winamp sort of jumped from v3 to v4.

        Winamp skipped version 4 entirely... the reason being they did not want users to submit any "Winamp 4 skins". :)

    • by Idbar ( 1034346 )
      "... and all customers that bought the iPhone 4 will receive a $10 gift certificate when buying the new iPhone 5."
    • "We have decided to sell the iPhone, without a required carrier contract. Just pick a carrier that you like based on the services they offer, their coverage, and experiences that you have had with them. Of course, we will continue to offer bundled offerings for those who want them."

      "Oh, and we will be releasing a free SDK, so anyone can write their own apps for it."

      I guess that should be the dream on scenario.

    • by Trevelyan ( 535381 ) on Thursday July 15, 2010 @08:52AM (#32912704)
      Some believe that there already is a second iPhone 4 with the Signal and Proximity detection issues solved. They are also saying that Apple are silently replacing the faulty iPhone 4 models with the new one for anyone that brings their faulty one in for repair.

      Some googling found this:
      http://gizmodo.com/5586256/is-apple-silently-recalling-the-iphone-4-now [gizmodo.com]

      I think I first heard it via The Register.
      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        According to Gizmodo, it seems like if you want an iPhone with the antenna fixed, you can't go in complaining about the antenna. Complain about the proximity sensor however, and you get a shiny new iPhone with the proximity sensor (and *ahem* antenna problem) resolved.
    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      "iPhone 5 - left hand version of iPhone 4".
  • by blcamp ( 211756 ) on Thursday July 15, 2010 @07:40AM (#32911886) Homepage

    Be honest about what went wrong, and do right by the customers. Goodwill is the single most valuable asset a business can possess.

    • A good reputation is the most valuable asset. You can have all the goodwill in the world, but if don't produce... goodbye.

    • by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 15, 2010 @07:47AM (#32911966)

      ... and in close second is $25 billion in cash reserves.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Cogneato ( 600584 )

      Oh, yes, I imagine goodwill will get them far here on /. Before you pretend like there is anything that they can do to appease the "gotcha" masses, a lot of people here need to take a deep breath and consider their own goodwill. If they do the right thing (I'm not even sure what that could be at this point), will you admit it, or will you gloat, or will you just find something else to complain about?

      • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

        If they do the right thing (I'm not even sure what that could be at this point), will you admit it, or will you gloat, or will you just find something else to complain about?

        You appear to fail to consider the gloating _and_ finding something else to complain about option that most here will select...

  • by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 15, 2010 @07:42AM (#32911908)

    I hope they hold it in the right spot. It's not going to get a very good reception otherwise.

  • lolwut (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Pojut ( 1027544 ) on Thursday July 15, 2010 @07:42AM (#32911910) Homepage

    Apple's response so far seems to indicate (in my opinion, of course) that they have gotten too comfortable in their market position. "People will buy our shit no matter what, why should we fork out the cash to fix this?" is the vibe I got off them.

    It will be interesting to see what they have to say tomorrow.

    • I'm just wondering whether or not they tested the stinkin thing.

      Seriously, how much testing could they have done to not notice this problem? Even if they are too comfortable and don't care, even the crappiest of the crappy give-away for free shrinkwrapped at wal-mart brick sized tinker-toy phones don't have a problem with reception based on HOW YOU HOLD IT.

      How about make a few and have people USE THEM for a bit.Try them out. Use them in real-world situations.

      Oh, wait, they did and then the phones got l
      • Re:lolwut (Score:5, Interesting)

        by GizmoToy ( 450886 ) on Thursday July 15, 2010 @08:26AM (#32912408) Homepage

        The problem is that AT&T installed a tower right behind the Cupertino HQ, which provides them with excellent signal strength while on their campus.

        The phones that made it out into the wild were apparently disguised as iPhone 3Gs, and because of this testers were unlikely to see this problem. As we're now aware, putting a case on it hides the defect. Their famous secrecy caused this problem for them.

        New iPhone team slogan: "Test different[ly]"?

    • Re:lolwut (Score:5, Interesting)

      by joeyblades ( 785896 ) on Thursday July 15, 2010 @08:58AM (#32912782)

      Given that they cannot make new iPhones fast enough and people are not lining up to return their new iPhones, who can blame Apple for their response?

      I know about 20 people with new iPhones and all of them are thrilled. When I ask them about their reception they all tell me that they have never experienced a problem unless they go out of their way to try and reproduce the phenomenon (engineers, so you know they will try)... but even then, no dropped calls. All of these people, BTW, had older iPhones previously and they all say the the new iPhone has far superior call quality - contrary to the Consumer Reports claim.

      I don't have an iPhone and have no interests in one (which makes me somewhat like 90% of the people complaining about the iPhone). In fact, I quite dislike the iPhone, for other geeky technical reasons. I'm not an Apple fanboi, though I do own Macintoshes (full disclosure). However, I think I'm pretty objective, so sorry if this sounds like I'm defending something Steve Jobs said... My Samsung also has a death grip where reception is greatly diminished. Similarly, my Blackberry before that had one (maybe two). In fact, as far back as I can remember, every cell phone I've ever used has had reception problems when I held it in certain ways in certain conditions. Usually I can detect this before my call drops and shift my grip. I'm not convinced that the new iPhone is any worse.

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by SvnLyrBrto ( 62138 )

        Bingo! In order to reproduce this flaw, I have to:

        1) Take my iPhone 4 out of its case. The very first thing I did when I had it in hand was put it in the (rather nice, actually... nicer than the one I'd ordered earlier in the week.) case that Dexim's promotions guys were handing out to people in the line.

        2) Disconnect my headset. About 90% of the time I don't hold my iPhone like a phone, but use either my bluetooth or wired headset so my hands are free to take notes or type or look stuff up on the net or d

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Kethinov ( 636034 )

        I know about 20 people with new iPhones and all of them are thrilled. When I ask them about their reception they all tell me that they have never experienced a problem

        Stop the presses! Slashdot user joeyblades (785896) has an anecdote. Seriously, when did anecdotal evidence warrant a +5 on slashdot? This place is going downhill.

        There are studies by Consumer Reports, Ars Technica, and who knows how many other reputable organizations using sound methodology to prove the existence of this reception issue. Why

        • Re:lolwut (Score:4, Insightful)

          by joeyblades ( 785896 ) on Thursday July 15, 2010 @05:43PM (#32920598)

          Dude. Chill.

          I never said that there was no problem. I said that all phones seem to have a problem. I have not seen any evidence that the iPhone 4 problems are any worse... and yes, I did read the Consumer Reports article that said that they tested several other phones... what they failed to mention is how thorough they were at testing all the various configurations of user interaction and carrier strength...

          Being an electrical engineer with considerable experience in the field, I know how impossible such tests are, so yes - I tend to discount it when Consumer Reports tries to make it sound like this is some exclusively iPhone 4 problem.

          BTW, please look up the definition of anecdotal. You seem to be confused. What I described is more than an anecdote. What I described was a number of engineers (all electrical engineers, BTW) who conducted various user mode experiments to try and replicate the problem. That is hardly anecdotal.

          • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

            by Kethinov ( 636034 )

            Anecdotal evidence is when you tell us a story that regardless of whether or not it is verifiably true, insufficiently supports the conclusion you're drawing. In your OP you appeared to be generalizing and casting doubt on the legitimacy of the reception issue based solely on the experiences of your acquaintances. Maybe you didn't mean to doubt the legitimacy of the issue, but that's how it read. And it doesn't matter how qualified your acquaintances are at testing smartphones. Until they produce a scientif

  • Look there! At the flashy light and the monkey! Pay no attention to your iPhone's antenna!
  • T-minus 4.25 hours and counting...

  • by DWMorse ( 1816016 ) on Thursday July 15, 2010 @07:45AM (#32911946) Homepage

    If Apple were the kind of company to admit mistakes and fix problems, we'd have some word on resolving the iPhone 4 issues already. Instead, 'holding it wrong' and bumpers for everyone.

    This has, at best chance, to be a press conference releasing the white iPhone 4.

    And if I'm wrong, I'll gladly accept some egg on my face, and those in disagreement all get to say "I told you so."

    • I'll register myself as in disagreement, ready to have my "I told you so" tomorrow.

      The white iPhone 4 has been announced already. No way they hold a press conference just to say that they are shipping it.

      I suggest this will give a definitive answer to the investigations they have made into the antenna problem. En estimate of how many/few people are affected. And statement on what they are going to do about it, including a restatement of money back if dissatisfied, possible manufacturing changes, and a free

      • by tlhIngan ( 30335 ) <slashdot@worf.ERDOSnet minus math_god> on Thursday July 15, 2010 @10:21AM (#32914162)

        I suggest this will give a definitive answer to the investigations they have made into the antenna problem. En estimate of how many/few people are affected. And statement on what they are going to do about it, including a restatement of money back if dissatisfied, possible manufacturing changes, and a free bumper/case for existing owners.

        What I don't get is for all those people complaining, why they don't return the damn thing. Honestly, given the iPhone 4 is out less than 30 days (well within most return periods) and the antenna problem surfaced the next day and was fleshed out the next week, it seems stupid that people would willingly hold onto it.

        So what if there's a 3-week waiting period for it? You expect some fix? With a lawsuit silencing Apple, there's not much you can do and not much you can expect them to do without jeopardizing their case. And it certainly won't come in the 8 days left you have to return it (most offer 30 day return policies).

        I have plenty of iPods, Macs, iPhones and an iPad. Even I don't see the point in waiting for a fix that may never come - just return it already and get on with life. Your old phone still works, so use it until Apple either fixes it or when the iPhone 5 comes out next year.

        I know complaining is fun, but is being stuck in a 2-year contract with a phone that doesn't meet your basic needs fun? I think that's stupid. Also stupid are those who buy an iPhone 4 knowing this problem (I'll be generous and say since this week, when CR's non-recommendation hit the news everywhere (and if you didn't hear it, you probably don't know about the iPhone 4 either) and then complain about it.

        Gizmodo has a nice writeup of return policies for the iPhone - http://gizmodo.com/5574502/remember-you-can-always-return-your-new-iphone [gizmodo.com] - maybe the ones who can complain would be those who bought at Best Buy and RadioShack for they get screwed with the restocking fee. But AT&T and Apple don't.

        Fake (or real) Steve Jobs said it right - "It's just a phone. Not worth it." If it's dropping calls as bad as the complaints are, return it. If you're happy, great. If you're complaining because it's cool and trendy, I've got better things to do in life. Given that, I'm guessing it can't be that big a problem at all with the 3-week wait for it, which would imply that there won't be a recall. Unless people are really that stupid and will fork out nearly $2000 over 2 years for something they could've just avoided. It's not a life or death situation nor a necessity (a phone might, but what were you using before?).

        Vote with your wallet and return it. Apple probably won't fix it in time so you can return it. I suggest returning it while you still can rather than waiting for a recall that may or may not happen at all.

        I guess I'm tired of complainers who don't see the most obvious solution to their problem. Sure it's nice if Apple fixes it, but why rely on that?

    • First off, thanks for at least acknowledging the possibility that you might be wrong and that Apple may, in fact, try to address this issue. Too many fanbois have ruined this part of Slasdot by spewing vitriol and what can only be described as hate. No light, just heat.

      I think that Apple will address the issue because this special conference is being called on extremely short notice (with MacNN calling it an "emergency press conference"). Having not seen the actual wording, I can't say for certain but ag

      • "...we need to do a better job taking care of our early iPhone customers as we aggressively go after new ones with a lower price. Our early customers trusted us, and we must live up to that trust with our actions in moments like these.

        Therefore, we have decided to offer every iPhone customer who purchased an iPhone from either Apple or AT&T, and who is not receiving a rebate or any other consideration, a $100 store credit towards the purchase of any product at an Apple Retail Store or the Apple Online S

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by dzfoo ( 772245 )

      >> "holding it wrong"

      I keep seeing this quoted around like gospel. As far as I know, Jobs' e-mail response to a specific complaint about the so-called "death grip" was "don't hold it that way", which is different in tone and meaning.

              -dZ.

  • by underqualified ( 1318035 ) on Thursday July 15, 2010 @07:46AM (#32911958)
    are they going to play for miami heat too?
  • by mpetch ( 692893 )
    If Apple stays true to form they will say Consumer Reports is wrong, that their conclusions are false, and that the iPhone 4 is the best smart phone they have ever developed.. After that Apple will maintain the status quo.
  • Where will the spin spinner land? Downplay? Recall announcement? User's fault? Free rubber-thingy? iPhone 5 announcement?

    Will try explain that this flaw got through the process because the ONE iPhone4 prototype was "stolen" which caused problems in the process?

    I am seriously considering starting my day late for this one. (okay, not really...)

  • by SneakyMishkin ( 1298729 ) on Thursday July 15, 2010 @07:59AM (#32912122)
    "The issue was that we had a 'signal bar' on the phone. We had forgotten that this was a magical device. The signal bar has now been replaced with a Mana bar. We expect the rest to work itself out."
  • by smasha ( 1849308 ) on Thursday July 15, 2010 @08:10AM (#32912230)
    "Due to popular demand, the cost for the bumpers will increase by $30."
  • Steve Jobs will be demonstrating to the media and the public the correct way to hold the phone. Everyone needs a remedial course since everyone's holding it wrong.
  • by Mr_Silver ( 213637 ) on Thursday July 15, 2010 @08:53AM (#32912706)

    I'm interested to see if they say anything about the glass on the new iPhone.

    From what I've seen so far, the device cannot withstand a simple 6ft drop test onto a concrete floor. This is a fairly standard test, isn't particularly hard and ensures that the phone survives the daily wear and tear of being out and about all the time.

    To be clear, we're not talking about throwing it onto the floor here, but if it slips out of your pockets and bounces on the floor then there is a (not unrealistic) expectation that it'll survive - especially when you've paid several hundred UK pounds on a phone and tied yourself into an 18 month contract.

    I appreciate my data is anecdotal at best, but I've seen quite a few people now with shattered fronts or backs [technmarketing.com] caused by a simple drop onto the floor.

    • by TheNinjaroach ( 878876 ) on Thursday July 15, 2010 @09:21AM (#32913182)

      From what I've seen so far, the device cannot withstand a simple 6ft drop test onto a concrete floor.

      Six feet!? That's quite a drop!

      To be clear, we're not talking about throwing it onto the floor here, but if it slips out of your pockets and bounces on the floor then there is a (not unrealistic) expectation that it'll survive - especially when you've paid several hundred UK pounds on a phone and tied yourself into an 18 month contract.

      Oooh, you're British. Now everything makes sense, I just forgot to convert feet to.. wait, what?

    • Its pretty typical to test a phone being dropped from 3-5 feet - here's a video of that process at another company: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1sz5c-R9h0 [youtube.com]

      There's another video floating around of Nokia testing doing similar things.

    • by Ryvar ( 122400 ) on Thursday July 15, 2010 @11:21AM (#32914972) Homepage

      I've already conducted this test twice unintentionally with the new iPhone, sans bumper (I generally use one, so during two separate incidents I butterfingered on the new glass). Two six foot falls onto marble with zero protection, both times landing flatly face down, not on an edge. Not so much as a scratch either time.

      The plural of anecdote is not data, but after my experiences I'm somewhat skeptical of any claims about reduced fracture strength with the new glass. It's difficult to imagine a worse scenario that still falls within the confines of everyday wear-and-tear.

      --Ryvar

  • A man walks into the doctor's office and says, "It hurts when I do THIS." The doctor looks at the patient and says, "Well, don't do THAT anymore..."
  • by DynamoJoe ( 879038 ) on Thursday July 15, 2010 @09:05AM (#32912896)
    I just picked up my iPhone 4 last night and verified all the problems that have been reported. I doubt Apple will do a full recall though it's not outside the realm of possibility. What I think they'll do is offer the bands for free (refunds to all who bought them already) and penalty-free returns for dissatisfied customers.

    The antenna issue is the most visible problem, but the proximity sensor problem is also troubling. I'm hopeful that it'll be solved by software update.

    The antenna is a hardware problem and it's not going to be fixed by software, however many bars the screen displays. The one call I've made on it was choppy as hell until I repositioned my hand, then it was clear as a bell. I'm holding off on buying a case for my phone until I see what Apple announces.

    I'm sure there's an iPhone 4.1 in development. These problems won't exist on iPhones sold in a few months.

    Here's a guess: Could these problems have been overlooked because of their field testing? The field units were placed in dummy cases which would have prevented physical contact with the antenna.

    • I just picked up my iPhone 4 last night and verified all the problems that have been reported.

      If you're aware of all the problems, let me ask you this: Why?

      I'm not even trying to troll here.

      • by DynamoJoe ( 879038 ) on Thursday July 15, 2010 @09:58AM (#32913876)
        It's a fair question. Mainly, I can still return the phone and go back to my 3GS, so I'm not really risking anything by getting it. I also thought a lot of the reports of problems sounded overhyped.

        It's one thing to point out a product flaw, it's another thing to point out an APPLE product flaw. There seems to be a circle-jerk sadistic kind of glee in a lot of coverage about the problems. It borders on ridiculous ridicule of Apple/Jobs/iPhone "fanboys" etc. and I now add a large grain of salt to just about all of it. If you've read the comments so far, you no doubt know what I'm taking about.

        And yes, I meant "ridiculous ridicule". for example, cnn.com was presenting video of some dweeb wrapping his phone in duct tape. It's ridicule of the iPhone, but it's ridiculous in and of itself. After seeing stuff like that, it's easier to think the complaints are overhyped or even bullshit.

        So I figured I'd try the phone myself. I want the new processor, better camera, etc. and I know from previous experience that Apple is a safe bet to do right by the customer (even more so if I'm within the return period :) ).

      • by pomakis ( 323200 ) <pomakis@pobox.com> on Thursday July 15, 2010 @10:07AM (#32913978) Homepage
        Research any new product before purchasing it and you'll discover a long list of problems that it has. No product is without issues. If you refuse to buy a product because you're aware that it has a few issues, then you're either going to go your entire life without buying anything, or you're going to have to start buying things without doing any research. At least knowing what the issues are beforehand gives you the ability to judge whether or not the issues are insurmountable for you so that you can avoid the purchase rather than saying "WTF?" after buying it. Are the iPhone 4 issues insurmountable? Are they worse overall than the list of issues you'll find on most other cell phones currently on the market? Well, the answer to that is very subjective, but from where I stand the iPhone 4 looks like a pretty solid product overall.
    • by joh ( 27088 )

      Here's a guess: Could these problems have been overlooked because of their field testing? The field units were placed in dummy cases which would have prevented physical contact with the antenna.

      Not even Apple is so dumb to not look at the dBm numbers when lab-testing the first phone with an external antenna as part of the case. Not testing for what difference the hand/grip of the user makes here is totally unthinkable. Really. That this thing works at all is already a miracle, you don't get this by accident.

      No, this is either a design tradeoff they just accepted or part of the phones aren't made to spec. Or a bit of both.

      I think the proximity sensor issue is worse than the antenna issue, even if

  • I mean, the iPhone isn't out even one month yet, the antenna issue is in no way clearly understood by anyone. Rushing out a fix or a new hardware revision or even doing a recall of a few million iPhones is nothing you do within weeks. This is just impossible.

    Just assume that this is caused by some parts being not always made to spec and this being corrected now (there are reports of replacement phones now looking slightly different and not having the antenna issue). How on earth should Apple get two or thre

  • by geekmux ( 1040042 ) on Thursday July 15, 2010 @09:20AM (#32913170)

    "...they will address all this wacky Antenna stuff..."

    Woah! Slow down there Mr. Wizard. I need Laymans terms, none of that bullshit techno-jargon that we can't understand...

  • Nintendo gave away free rubber covers for the wiimote when people start throwing them at TVs. Apple is going to offer a rubber bumper at a big discount! Say, oh, 80% off? Apple can't possibly be as good as Nintendo...
  • by nilbog ( 732352 ) on Thursday July 15, 2010 @10:43AM (#32914448) Homepage Journal

    Someone who is not Steve Jobs takes the stage...

    1. The iPhone for is our most successful iPhone ever. First day sales figures.
    2. iPhone 4 has better reception than any phone we've shipped.
    3. The reports of problems have been massively overblown.
    4. Still, even though there is not a problem, you can have a $30 giftcard and buy a bumper with it if you want.
    5. Some unrelated but big announcement to redirect attention (iPhone on Verizon, it will now come in green, etc.)

  • by sjonke ( 457707 ) on Thursday July 15, 2010 @06:14PM (#32920970) Journal

    ... I will gladly take a handout, in whatever form.

    Today I was in a restaurant I go to every week. For the first time ever I actually had a signal in the restaurant. My 3GS never once got a signal here. I didn't try holding my iPhone with my left hand, but I don't doubt I would have lost the signal had I done so, because it was only 1 bar. I was able to browse the web (a bit slowly) and even play a 48 kbps AAC+ audio stream while doing so.

    So, sure, pick it up with my left hand or otherwise bridge the gap and I'm sure I'd have had had no signal, but then that's exactly what I had before regardless of how I held it or didn't hold it with the 3GS - no signal. The iPhone 4 gave me a signal as long as I was careful not to bridge the gap. I don't see how you can view that as worse. Maybe if worse = better, then it was indeed worse.

    If you read other recent posts of mine you'll see that I've had similar experiences all over the place. My iPhone 4 picks up a signal in more places, and the signal is usable and reliable in more places. It is a better phone.

    Now... I will be happy if they announce a fix, perhaps requiring a recall. If they are going to make the phone even better, I'm all for that. Also I'll be happy if they say we get a $30 credit at the Apple store too. Sounds good to me. I'll also be fine if they just say that people are reporting that they are happy with the phone, because I am very happy with mine. Actually, no, I'll be disappointed, because who doesn't want a handout?

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