“Good thing the iPhone was chosen as Time Magazine’s 2007 Invention of the Year, because a growing chorus of discontent suggests its successor is unworthy of the honor in 2008. Voice and data reception issues have been troubling the device for weeks now and it seems the blame for them lies not with the network carriers, but with Apple itself,” John Paczkowski writes for AllThingsD.
“In the states, ‘well-placed sources’ have told BusinessWeek that the Infineon Technologies chip Apple chose for the handset is undermining its performance,” Paczkowski writes. “And they are not the first to make such claims. Earlier this week, Nomura analyst Richard Windsor fingered the device’s chipset as the problem as well. ‘The 3G iPhone has been out for a month, but signs of problems are appearing that should give competitors some breathing space,’ Windsor said in a report to clients. ‘Problems include high incidence of dropped calls, switching onto EDGE while the device is stationary and loss of reception while in good coverage. We believe that these issues are typical of an immature chipset and radio protocol stack where we are almost certain Infineon is the 3G supplier.'”
Paczkowski writes, “So if that’s truly the case, what’s the solution? A firmware upgrade, most likely. Those ‘well-placed sources’ mentioned earlier say Apple and Infineon are prepping one for September release.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “David O.” for the heads up.]
John Paczkowski seems to have forgotten his very own article from August 10, 2007, “iPhone ‘Dead Spot’ Discovered Between Analyst’s Ears,” in which Paczkowski himself reported on one Nomura analyst Richard Windsor, thusly:
Reports of dead spots in the iPhone’s touchscreen are migrating from Apple’s support forums to Wall Street.
In a research note to clients today, Nomura International analyst Richard Windsor suggested that the problem could become more widespread. “Windsor explained that the screen of the iPhone uses a chemical deposition to provide touch sensitivity based on heat,” MarketWatch reports. “The international property rights for this technology, he said, were purchased from a bankrupt Finnish company that was trying to make a similar device. But that company encountered the problem that with extensive use, the film would begin to degrade and the screen would lose its sensitivity. Windsor said the problem typically manifested itself within three to six months. While Apple should have been aware and fixed the problem, the broker said, only time will confirm that all is well with that touchscreen.”
An interesting theory, but one that should perhaps be taken with a grain of salt. As some observers have noted, Windsor hasn’t quite gotten his facts straight. “… There’s no film over the iPhone screen glass, and the touchscreen sensor senses capacitance, not heat,” a commenter on the Tech Trader Daily Blog explained… Said another, “The only ‘dead spot’ is between Richard Windsor’s ears.”
Seems Paczkowski has his very own dead spot.
As for Nomura analyst Richard Windsor, extrapolate at will.
Burn…
The click whore, lying ass dogs are, I suppose, with us forever.
Richard, if you are reading this, I am calling you out as a liar and a cheat and a gutless pile of steaming shit.
You write lie after lie and Normura claims you as one of their own.
I find it amazing that ‘analysts’ are so sure what the problem is, even though they aren’t even positive if Infineon makes the chips!
Should we really be surprised? You can’t shoot down the plans of the media industries in collusion with corporations like Adobe and Microsoft to milk the stupid for all they have, without getting some shots fired back, however badly aimed. Funny how crap bullies turn out to be when they are defeated.
Very deftly done, MDN. Bravo!
The best part about this supposed PR threat is that the answer is likely to come in a firmware update — in other words, a dead simple solution to a problem that with any other handset maker would probably have to result in a product recall or something. Once again, Apple is presciently ahead of the curve.
Extrapolation:
Nomura’s Windsor wants AAPL to go down.
Nomura’s Windsor scans Apple’s online support boards for “issues” and finds one that can be twisted to suit his needs.
Nomura’s Windsor writes it up in a note to clients with some invented and heightened “concern.”
Nomura’s Windsor makes sure gullible and/or complicit media types get his note and report it.
Nomura’s Windsor waits to see if it works again this year.
Whoops! Nomura’s Windsor forgot about MDN.
SEC finally wakes up?
As Apple becomes more popular and successful, the trolls and astroturfers crawl out from under their rocks in a pathetic attempt to spoil the party. They are lonely, desperate losers.
Very impressive, MDN.
The ease with which you guys use Paczkowski like a pawn to spotlight and ultimately discredit Nomura’s Windsor is a beautiful thing to see.
As a Rogers user in Canada, I have to say that my iPhone gets better reception than the piece of s**t Motorola I had before. Good riddance!
MDN strikes again. Bend over Paczkowski.
All these analysts are suddenly engineers too. Amazing.
According to mffais . Com nomura missed 13 million on aapl
just google nomura & aapl any go see mffais
Yes, but what about issues involving using the iPhone’s glass screen in a hurricane, which could potentially blind the user with hundreds of flying shards of broken glass…? Is there noanalyst, perhaps even one who founded a consulting “group” consisting of him and his wife, who would take on such hard-hitting analysis…?
Can anyone on Wall Street be trusted; no!
I want to know when problems became “issues.”
Dumb asses.
There seems to be a concerted campaign on someone’s part to drive the stock price down for options expiration tomorrow. This same story has cropped up in several places today with similar wording and the same sources cited…”unknown” or “anonymous”. Is that the scent of hedgies on the breeze?
OMFG!
The fan boys are in rare form tonight! Blaming everything but the actual problems with the iPhone!
http://www.geekculture.com/joyoftech/joyarchives/1135b.html
Folks you seriously need to get some perspective. Yes the iPhone is a great device, but there are serious connection issues with apparently a significant number of iPhone 3G handsets. These complaints go back to day 1 of the release if you bother to check the forums.
You people are the reason that the whole “cult” comparison exists. Ironically I would think you’d hold Apple up to at least the same standard that you hold Microsoft up to. Instead you’re willing to forgive Apple any screw up.
Why not ask Apple to be a bit less secretive about the situation? At the very least say they’re investigating the reports.
No one from Apple has actually said a word about a firmware update. Those are rumors and speculations at this point.
I’m not 100% sure a chip failure can be addressed with a firmware update. I know that AT&T;network problems cannot.
We’ll see. Let’s hope so.
Bottom line, there’s problems with the iPhone 3g. Nonetheless, I’d rather use the iPhone 3G with the connection problems over other phones.
Basically I just turn off 3G and I’m fine, for now.
If that turns out to be the permanent solution though, there will either be a recall or there will be a sick number of class actions suits, you know it and I know it.
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/08/opinion-firmwar.html
@Zeke
Stories concerning the iPhone connection problems i.e. ISSUES (for @Reclaimer) have been circulating for a few weeks now.
And really… seriously, you think this is a conspiracy? Are you wearing a foil hat?
I first heard about the problems before buying my Iphone. I figured it was just people who never used a 3G phone before and had too high expectations, like they were going to get DSL or Cable speed out of it or something.
I also excused the reports thinking it’s probably people using MobileMe which runs like a freaking dog when you set your iPhone to keep in sync.
Then I got the phone and observed the problems up close. I even stood in line to exchange my phone. 2nd phone, same problems. 3G performance in comparison to another 3G phone sitting right next to my iPhone is abysmal.
If I turn on 3G all the bars go away and my reception goes to hell in a hand basket. If I turn off 3G I get 4 full bars back.
Clearly something is wrong.
I’m not looking at the stock price. I’m looking at the iPhone.
Don’t worry. Apple can afford the recall.
As we often are reminded here on MDN, they have over 20 billion dollars in cash sitting around.
@ theloniousMac,
The problem is with the software-on-chip causing the iPhone to continuously switch back and forth between 3G and 2G based on incorrect 3G signal strength and load parameters.
A minor software update will let the iPhone ignore the software-on-chip and switch back and forth between 3G and 2G based solely on different 3G signal strength and load parameters.
In other words the only problem is the software instructions on a chip inside. It doesn’t need to be replaced. I don’t know if it can be rewritten. If the chip can be rewritten remotely, the repair is even easier.
No recall is needed.
If Apple screwed up everything for the next ten years, they would still be better than Micro$hit could ever be.
Hold them to the same standards? ABSOLUTELY!
I’m kinda bored today. I know, I’m gonna call myself an analyst and start publishing “information”. If I have some idea about the subject, I’ll publish that. If haven’t got a clue, I’l just publish drivel.
WARNING! This post is heat activated.
In case all these analysts forgot, Apple didn’t include 3G reception in the first iPhone because 3G drained battery life. Apple said it was waiting until new, less power-hungry chips came out. That’s what is in the 3G iPhone – the next generation, not-yet-proven, 3G chips.
So once again, Apple was right in waiting, but it couldn’t wait long enough to have these chips tested either by other companies or in more widespread use before the iPhone needed to be updated.
I’m sure the firmware upgrade will take care of the issue.