Paczkowski reports, “The device scored 76 out of 100 points–two points ahead of its closest rivals, the iPhone 3Gs and the HTC Evo 4G.”
Full article, with Consumer Reports’ ratings, here
MacDailyNews Take: The closeness of the score highlights Consumer Reports’ total inability to properly judge and quantify such things as operating systems, user interfaces, etc. Just look at the Consumer reports ratings charts in Paczkowski’s full article. Two measly points difference? Really? Try 20, at least, on a scale of 100. Consumer Reports, your judging criteria needs to be thrown out. It’s an abject failure. It’d be laughable if it weren’t so damn sad.
Seriously, if you haven’t already, try an iPhone 4 vs. the latest Android phone o’ the week. Give them the run through. Copy and paste something. Take a photo. Download an app or two. Try drawing a straight line on the screen (or just look at the difference between the screens). Listen to some music. Make a quick playlist. Shoot a video and edit it. Go ahead.
If you actually do that comparison, you’ll see why we consider Consumer Reports to be nothing more than a bad joke when it comes to computers and electronics, at the very least (we suspect that if they can’t do those two areas correctly, they’re probably screwing up other product areas about which we aren’t so experienced). The fact of the matter is that Consumer Reports is a jack of all trades and a master of none. Even when they manage to get it right (barely, in this case), they get it oh-so-wrong.
Wow, MDN is serious about the Consumer Reports thing…
Ain’t it funny the difference a headline makes?
Idiot press to idiot masses that look for a buzzword to make them feel good…
Consumer Reports wanted to play and they got their asses kicked by MacDailyNews.
That MacDailyNews Take rings so true it hurts me to read it – and I agree with it 100%. It’s got to be downright excruciating for Consumer Reports and their geriatric readership.
Mdn sounds like dan gilbert lately
“In July 1996, Consumer Reports tested motor oils for their readers, but instead of using normal cars, they used New York City taxis, which are normally run 24 hours a day and never allowed to cool down – which means that the most strenuous test of motor oil, the cold start (which causes most engine damage), occured rarely, if ever, during their testing. They found no difference between any of the motor oils, from the cheapest to the best synthetic, and concluded that all ‘natural’ oils are interchangeable, but that synthetics still hold an advantage for some drivers. The idea that the research was meaningless because their research methods were horribly flawed was not brought up; nor did they go to the natural conclusion that if they couldn’t tell the difference between Mobil One and the cheapest oil on the shelf, they probably couldn’t use that research model to tell whether individual natural oils were different in quality.”
That is only one example of many. Read more: Inconsistencies and statistical problems of Consumer Reports
I am the long time Apple user. I have absolutely no problem with my iPhone 4. I can hold the death grip all I want and no drop bar!
But, don’t bring up how great the phone is as an iPod, great this, and great that, it’s still a phone!
I thought MDN mentioned a post a few days ago about how they shouldn’t be just an apple fanboy side! Shit will not stink if there is no shit to begin with! Can’t stand that attitude about how others are always wrong!
I have just discovered that Consumer Reports, the go-to place for the lowdown on vacuum cleaner reliability, also gives personal finance advice. Who knew? Today I stumbled across their Money Blog, which carries a post on how you should pay off your mortgage before you retire. It is enough to make me worry about their vacuum cleaner wisdom.
More: Consumer Reports and Bad Mortgage Advice
People who quote Consumer Reports ratings as gospel are fools.
Why is Consumer Reports unreliable?
http://www.thathomesite.com/forums/load/paint/msg071032371734.html
CR doesn’t know jack shit about paint, either.
MDN is right: CR is a jack of all trades and a master of none.
Who reads Consumer Reports (not just geriatrics, btw) is irrelevant. It doesn’t change the fact that the new phone has hardware flaw and Apple needs to fix it and stop making excuses. And, Apple’s sycophants need stop apologizing and defending Apple, too.
Not the consumer report is not kewl!
Well done Mertz.
Say what you want about how worthless CR is but the fact is that today every news outlet from the NYT to every TV network to every local station across the country cited their finding that the iPhone 4 does not work. It’ll dominate tomorrow’s papers everywhere.
MDN may think it is the authority – although without bothering with any claim of objectivity – but nobody is citing MDN as an authority.
Why, you ask? Maybe it’s because the poorly designed antenna is an unimaginable blunder and Apple has no where to go with this but to admit their failure, recall the damn thing, redesign and then replace every one they have sold.
Continued denial only makes it worse. I’m waiting until the 48 hour mark before the return deadline hoping for something honest from Steve Jobs but I’m not expecting it.
Now…. I mean.
I think the idea behind consumer reports is a good one: Test virtually all consumer products and rate them for the benefit of consumers everywhere.
Unfortunately, in execution, this idea fails. They are not experts in everything and their poor testing methods and inconsistent results prove that. This is the entire reason specialists exist.
That being said, I’ve had an iPhone 4 since the June 23rd (was one of the lucky ones who had it delivered prior to launch day). I love it, but I too see a signal drop when i hold it wrong. Haven’t dropped any calls because of it, but the call quality does degrade.
I just learned to hold it differently while on the phone.
I’m a big Apple fan and yes, holding it differently solves the problem, but Apple made a mistake here. It’s not devastating or the end of the world, but it’s a mistake nonetheless. But at the end of the day, the phone is usable and the entire device overall is incredible. The issue isn’t going to kill the product.
Consumer Reports has always missed the mark for me. They can recommend utter crap because it fits their ‘criteria’ over something that is light years better. It’s all about saving pennies for CR. You get what you pay for.
I love Apple products. They work very well. I am waiting for the Iphone4 to arrive in my Country. I will buy one immediately and enjoy one of the greatest smart phone ever made. I will not put my hand on the black band in weak signal areas if that is a potential problem. Issue resolved. For those who don’t like Iphones, please do not buy them so that the waiting time for Iphone4 could be reduced.
@MDN. I hereby prohibit you from every supporting a good review from Consumer Reports when they say that Apple has the best product. Because as you said…
“The fact of the matter is that Consumer Reports is a jack of all trades and a master of none. Even when they manage to get it right (barely, in this case), they get it oh-so-wrong.”
So, obviously they can’t judge a Mac (or PC) correctly, or any other Apple products. If you are going to menstruate your dislike for CR all over these last few articles, then you need to not make them a talking point when they do provide Apple a positive review. Or are you just turning into a Dvorak and looking for hits to your site…
After much delay, ifinally recieved it. No yellow screen. No grip of death. All I can say is WOW! Another KO! I played for 1/2 hour comparing my wifes 3gs with ios4 to my new iPhone 4 and while the 3gs seemed to show more bars, #4 seemed to transfer data just a tad faster.
@eprankfort
best post so far, agree 100%
I give up on MDN.
You guys are not able to be objective with your articles. I love apple but a flaw is a flaw. But you guys are just too set on apple being flawless. You have lost a reader. Bye guys
@Will
Will won’t….
be back.
PS. Amen MDN, CR is shite
@ Will
Don’t let the door hit your big ass on your was out. Bye and good riddance. lol
As I posted on other occasions, the “antenna hysteria” is very amusing; actual iPhone 4 users (the ones wasting time to pay attention) must be laughing. It’s as if all the media pundits and Apple detractors care about is making phone calls.
First of all, most actual iPhone 4 users are reporting that iPhone 4 functions better as a phone than previous iPhones.
And second, an iPhone is a hand-held computer first and foremost, which just happens to have mobile phone features. I’ll bet that for many iPhone users, in terms of time spent using an iPhone, making phone calls does not even fall into their top 5 (or perhaps even top 10) activities. It may comes after web surfing, texting, emails, taking photos/videos, and using any number of games and apps.
Based on the hysteria over the antenna, you’d think the only purpose of an iPhone 4 was to make phone calls, and that it totally sucked at making phone calls. It’s not and it doesn’t…
But I can certainly understand the point-of-view of the “noise makers” and their lame preoccupation with phone calls. After all, all other smart phones are phone first and foremost, with some extra computing features tacked on. Most of them are made by phone manufacturers, and they are mostly marketed and sold by telephone service companies. They run OS’s fit for a PDA, not a real computer.
The only rating points that count are in the marketplace. How do dollar sales compare with the competition? How do the app sales compare? How many lines do see waiting to buy the HTC? All the other phones try to look like an iPhone because that’s what everyone really wants. Ignore CR.
I purchased 2 of the iPhone 4’s to replace our 3GS models, 1 for my daughter and 1 for me. I really love the phone but it does drop calls and I get frequent data freezes as well. My daughters phone has the same issues as well. I have been using my 3GS to make important calls when need be. I love so many things about this phone and I love Apple products in general. Every company has an oops sometimes, it’s just human to have things of this nature happen at times. I do believe in being honest with you’re customers however. It would be best for Apple to step up and make an honest attempt to make it right with it’s faithful customers. I have decided to return both of my iPhone 4’s and continue just using my 3GS models just until the iPhone 5 shows up next year.