“We’re seeing a preview of Apple’s death today with the hardware problem vexing Apple’s new star product, the iPhone 4. Users report drastic signal strength loss if they grip the phone while touching the lower-left edge, so their hands bridge two antennas designed to be separate,” Wagner writes. “How serious is this problem? Hard to say. For some people, it’s very real, and it makes the iPhone unusable. Others love their iPhones, and aren’t experiencing the problem.”
Wagner writes, “I fall in the second camp. I’ve had my iPhone 4 since last week, and I’m very happy with it. I think I’ve been able to reproduce the grip problem, but I’m not sure, which is an indication that it’s inconsequential for me.”
Regardless, “one day Apple will face a real crisis, and when that day comes, the company will remain silent while public opinion — including investors and customers — turns against it,” Wagner writes.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: As we’ve already written: The iPhone 4 in a proper case has the best reception of any iPhone to date. In fact, it beats Google’s rebranded HTC Nexus One Android phone in tests, for what that’s worth. All cell phones suffer from some attenuation when held in certain ways. The problem, as is often the deal with Apple, is not really the hardware or the software, but the company’s handling mishandling of the situation from a public relations standpoint. All that said, we reiterate: The iPhone 4 is the best smartphone/pocket computer we’ve ever used. We wouldn’t give our units up even if they had to held with salad tongs.
Anybody else want to make themselves look like an ass over this non issue?
Salad tongs. Love it. For use with a Seizure Salad – a la the new iPhone.
Hello. Hello? Helloooooooooooo.
“Computerworld’s Wagner: iPhone 4 attenuation issue presages how Apple will die”
Computerworld’s Wagner: How his lack of knowledge will lead to his ousting at the hands of former readers.
I do not when, maybe a year, or even fifty years. But, his article on Apple’s death is a vision into the future of how he will build his house of cards. Yet, will any care except his most faithful readers? Probably not, but it is the beginning of the end for this career.
As a side note: Apple now leads the world into quantum computer with multi dimension GUI, and actual time transport back to the moment just before one decided to erase the data or for when the 3D storage crystal cracked and all those exobytes of qubits vanished!
Bye bye Wagner! Maybe the painting business may be better to you.
This guy is a complete and total RETARD!!!!
This is so true and scary. I love Apple too and I am running out of things to say when people are complaining to me about iP4 problems. Apple needs to react quickly, however, giving away free bumpers equals to admitting that there is a real problem.
I agree with the article completely. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Apple is now too big to be playing these games – they need to handle this and future problems with much more competence.
If Apple allows it’s reputation to diminish, they won’t be able to sell product in the quantity and/or margins they do, and that’ll be the beginning of the end.
Groan. Does this mean Apple is beleaguered again? I hope not. I’m counting on our Apple stock paying some of my son’s college expenses.
Man, the press is fickle these days.
Mitch Wagner has an iPhone 4 and he’s not sure if he can replicate the reception problem that some people report and others can’t see, but he reckons it’s such a big deal that it might kill the company.
It seems to me that Mitch Wagner has been put on this earth to make analysts look smart by comparison.
So lynch mob mentality will be the bonna Gide way of the land Wagner?
How can a company that’s so friggin unbelievably smart at marketing, and many other things, be so deficient when it comes to PR? And not all of their PR. They’ve got some incredibly brilliant people over there (see their product launch days), but wow, they’re mishandling this…as well as the Steve Jobs emails.
Note: I’m talking about the PR, not the technical issue which *is* pretty much a non-issue. It doesn’t affect the love I have for my iPhone 4 one bit.
This is a non-issue. The media was done with it, until consumer reports said they didn’t recommend it yesterday. And even though CR “doesn’t recommend” it, it is still their top rated cell phone. Go figure.
What a joke.
I love my iPhone 4. I don’t have any reception issues whatsoever. In fact, just like Apple said, my reception is much better than my previous phones.
If the iPhone were as flawed as the media is saying today, why is it sold out everywhere? Why aren’t there lines of people returning them?
The fact is, Apple is so huge now that finding any flaw (perceived or real) in their devices is a wet dream for the media. The media is having a hay day combining the words ‘Apple’ and ‘Recall” in the same headline. Even though there is no merit to it.
So yeah, I’m basically calling all the media hit whores over this whole issue. It’s a non-issue.
I don’t think it’s customers who are experiencing problems, it’s bloggers.
And it seems the problem is “signal bars going away,” not dropped calls (not more than the usual number of them anyway) or no service.
I can squeeze my phone and make the signal bars drop, but for whatever reason the actual performance of my iPhone 4 is better than that of my iPhone 3G S whether I squeeze the phone or not. I’m less concerned with the bars display than with the actual performance of the phone, and the phone performs great.
I doubt Apple is seeing any phones getting returned because of this.
I’m not sure how Apple is supposed to respond to a non-problem. Their shipping delay is still three weeks even though the production line must be running 24/7. A few thousand blog readers vs the millions of iPhone 4s Apple is selling?
The only clamoring seems to be amongst us nerds. Well, some of us, anyway
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Oh yes the Apple will fall soon from the Profit Tree and die a certain death… Wait was this guy talking about Microsoft or Dell? Because I have the new Iphone4 and have had all the other models. I travel all over the country and yet to have a dropped call or loss of signal. I’m not one to constantly blog. But twice today I have said I have no issues. I know of 13 people who have the new unit. None have issues other then our kids or spouses wanting to take them out of our hands to use them. I live in Sarasota Florida. The big three carriers all have signal issues. But I’ve had none on my new IPhone. No death grip issue. Sure I bought the bumper. But rarely use it.
But the death of Apple? Seriously? It seems a few have issues. It also seems that some non iPhone owners just like to bad mouth Apple period. But for smart phones. This is the most solid unit on the market. Apples response is justified. They are working on a fix for the os for the bars. But until they get enough facts, not rumors they are not talking. Customer service us always excellent with Apple. So that’s bs.
So Apple won’t be around in 50 years? I think more likely the writers or so called reporters will not be around after trying to ride the coat tails of a small issue that certainly will not kill Apple. Give me a break…
Don’t know if Wagner has an iPhone 4, but I do. I don’t have any issues with it except it’s close to be ing the best thing on the planet.
WAGNER: Eat Mierda.
I agree with Macslut. It doesn’t even matter if the issues with the iPhone are exaggerated or not, or even if they are completely false or not. It is a matter of public perception, which is rarely based on facts. In my opinion, Apple can turn this whole thing around by showing how they respond to inevitable product defects by putting their customers ahead of everything else.
Every day I read about this crap and it just makes me wish all the harder that I was eligible for an upgrade so I can get one of these supposedly defective iPhone 4s. I literally would have forgotten about it since my 3GS still works great but this nonsense now rekindles my desire every day. I sincerely doubt whether this non-issue will impact sales and I could imagine it could even increase them. Right now there is a 3 week wait to even get one of these phones.
I got a chance to play with one yesterday for the first time… it was beautiful. And I couldn’t make the bars change no matter where I put my hand or how much saliva or sweat I wiped on my friend’s iPhone.
A year or 50 years? This is journalism?
And remember how the battery issue was going to doom the iPod? And how knockoffs were going to kill the iPhone? And how Microsoft is going to get a tablet out the door anyday now?
Tiring, as always, these pundits, when they aren’t so vague as to be useless.
Computerworld????
Isn’t that a subsidiary of Dinasaurworld?
Now I remember why I haven’t looks at that thing for about 20 years.
FaceTime. That’s the killer app. Too bad these hit whoring bloggers are busy writing about an issue very device has to garner those extra hits. Now CR is down their level.
Jobs: “Do you expect me to talk?”
Ballmer: “No Mr. Apple I expect you to d-i-e.”
Jobs: “You idiot, my name is… oh nevermind, it’s easier just to pretend you’re right.”
Ohh NOOO!!!!!
Apple is dead AGAIN
Scary stuff I tellya…
I agree this presages how Appple will die.
I predict that in 2,134 years Apple will become completely unresponsive to customers and will die.
I am glad I will not live to see that sad outcome.
🙁
“Anybody else want to make themselves look like an ass over this non issue?”
Gizmodo is actually making a living at it. The jackwads have banned two of my accounts for calling them out on it too.
Mitch Wagner. Someday, he will die. Could be 30, 40, 50 years from now. See, I’m as good a prognosticator as he is.
Sorry, Mitch, but Apple will likely outlive you.
Exactly. Funny thing is that Steve Jobs knows this but absolutely cannot help himself. He’s diagnosable with fatal narcissism.
Even a Wall Street intervention would not save him.
Some day?
Maybe by then Apple will be promising a new vapor ware product every other week and it will not matter at all that there is a problem.
GM was hard as a rock many watchers declared. Appel is rock solid as long as Steve is around !
Sorry ubermac, I do own an iPhone 4. In fact I own two of them, both of which suffer from reception issues. I love the phone otherwise, I just want Apple to get off their high horse & fess up. More than that, I want MDN to quit denying that the issue exists & quit bad-mouthing anyone who says this is a real problem. .
Microsoft had a real problem and everyone turned against them when they found out that Windows 95 had over 60,000 bugs.
So they all dropped Windows 95 and paid for the Bug Fix (AKA Windows 98). Microsoft has been going downhill since then.
Apple is probably in the same boat but they will send you free bug fixes electronically.
Thanks Apple.
How can you honestly take seriously anyone who claims he/she knows how a company will die up to 50 years in the future. Many companies start peak and die in less time than that, whole industries change or die in less time than that. However Apple is run now I doubt that there is any likelihood that over that time period it will be run in the same way, be it for good or for bad. Even Microsoft will likely be a very different company within that time span, if it is still going at all.
Sure, many companies die. Their CEO leaves or the next and then a company can lose vision.
To base it on this non-issue is just retarded. Any any idiot who agrees with this is just that…an idiot.
“For some people, it’s very real, and it makes the iPhone unusable. Others love their iPhones, and aren’t experiencing the problem.”
– name some names besides a handful of paid off bloggers.
@right on you are completely douchebag…stop pretending to be intelligent, when you are claiming an unsolicited and unprofessional opinion.
look it’s easy..
Right on, you suffer from classic YouAredumbassim.
now go back to your depressing life and feel sad that your chance for schadenfreude today will not come to pass
“I’ve had my iPhone 4 since last week, and I’m very happy with it. I think I’ve been able to reproduce the grip problem, but I’m not sure”
What he meant to say is “I think I have credibility, but I`m not sure”
If Apple were to give bumpers out, it would be an admission of fault. The fact that the MAJORITY of iPhone owners have no issue with their phone reception is perhaps the reason why Apple doesn’t want to take that path. And by the way… these indicator bars for a digital system like 3G cellular is really antiquated and erroneous. Digital communication either has a signal strong enough to work or it doesn’t. It’s on or off. Good or bad. It’s binary. It doesn’t matter if you have 5 bars or 2. It is undeniable that MOST people, even those witnessing indicator bar reduction, are NOT dropping calls. I really don’t see why there is an expectation that Apple drops it’s corporate pants and bend over. For all I’ve read on this subject there is a small problem, which has created the ‘perception’ of a bigger problem, which has been utilized by anti-Apple opportunists to whip up a lot of hysteria.
*Disclaimer: if Apple does determine that they have problem (they will redesign if it is as bad as it is being made out to be) they need to make good, and I suspect that they will. I only been a matter of weeks since the introduction of the phone. They said that they are investigating. Let’s see what they come up with. If you have a serious performance problem with YOUR particular iPhone, take it back for a refund.
the funny thing is. the tech bloggers last year, said the 3Gs was the end of apple because the phone did not have a Front facing camera, full multitasking, no memory card slots. Which is dumb, who wants those cards when they change faster than the phones themselves. I know someone still rocking the first iphone.
now that everything is on the iphone, they have backed themselves into a corner. What else can you add to an iphone? what some crazy ass 3D projector that does not even exist.
These guys have to invent problems or over-hype the small things to just to stay relevant. There is a lot of backseat guess-timating going on.
Now what?
There is no “customer-relations crisis,” since the people complaining about the iPhone 4 are mostly people who are not “customers.” By definition, a “customer” is a person who has actually purchased the product.
Considering there are multiple millions of iPhone 4’s out in the real world in the hands of silently happy “customers,” if there really was a “crisis,” there would be lines of people at Apple Stores, waiting to get a refund. Obviously, there are none, and the Genius Bar at the local store here didn’t seem any more busy than usual.
I ‘d just read that article- sensationalistic headline, trolling for hits.
This is the Swift-Boating of Apple- a lot of nuts and ant-Apple bias out there. Unfortunately, child psychology will not work here- Apple has to tackle this head-on and fight the perception. Reality is not enough. On TV today, all I heard was “CR won’t recommend the new iPhone due to antenna and reception issues.” Nothing further. Sounds serious. The man on the street is gonna think- “lemon.”
Hell- it’s even got Me worried! Should I wait?….. I want my iPhone!
Damn,
I remember when the Quadra was the sign of Apple’s coming demise. Haven’t we heard a string of “this means the end for Apple stories over the years?
Just shut up and go back to using your iPhone 4, which apparently works just fine for you. Just like me and all 12 friends who have one.
So Wagner AND Dvorak write anti Apple posts. Where dies Brahms stand on this issue?
Also, if the iPhone 4 is unusable than just return it you fools!
What a hit wore article… Stopped reading after a few lines.
He summed it up beautifully when he said about Apple “I love their products but the company drives me nuts”…anyone who has been dealing with apple for years will echo that same sentiment. They are consistently one of the most exasperating companies on the planet to deal with…
just posted this to their blog:
“There is a huge question as to Consumer Report’s methodology here- I think you need to state explicitly which phones you have subjected to this test. If you have not tested all the same way, why not? Why are you holding iPhone to a different standard? Why use a different yardstick to measure iPhone’s performance? How can you state this is a problem unique to iPhone, if you have not tested ALL of the other smartphones for the same problem? You need to explicitly confirm that you have. Saying you tested “several other AT&T;phones” is not nearly good enough.
As you may know, “anecdotal indications” are that MANY smartphones are subject to antenna attenuation- there are videos on Youtube of other phones with the same phenomenon, and Apple stated as much. Unless you can dispute that claim, explicitly, and back that claim up with test results for other phones, you have no right to hold iPhone to a different standard. Should other smartphone makers be forced to provide cases with their phones? Or just Apple? Are there other phones you should have called “not recommended”?
This was your only strike against the iPhone- if other phones have the same problem, then, all things being equal, the iPhone would still be the best, no?. The best, but “not recommended”?
It is a simple yes or no answer- did you or did you not test EVERY PHONE in your ratings for this problem of antenna attenuation? Please state this for the record. If you did not test each phone , how can you possibly justify your blog post?”
Curious to see if they post it, and respond in any way. They should be held accountable for their methodology. They’ve never said they’ve tested all these Android phones for the problem.
Until they do, their opinion is worthless.
Oh, and the experts are saying their testing methodology was deeply flawed anyway.
@ rhetoric.assassin
You pathetic loser… your response to my post didn’t even address the point I made – successfully, I might add, since you couldn’t deal with it other than some sorry personal attack which you believe is clever but is actually boring as hell.
Mitch Wagner of Computer world: “a vision of the future. It’s a look at how Apple will die…”
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
How long has it been since we’ve had an Apple Death Knell? Let’s find out!
http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/death_knell/
January 13, 2007 by Matthew Lynn of Bloomberg. (Yeah, I know John C. Dvorak pulled on this past January 29th. But let’s face it. Making fun on mentally challenged people is not politically correct).
“I think I’ve been able to reproduce the grip problem, but I’m not sure”
(o_0)
Oh wait.
Mitch Wagner is also mentally challenged.
I recant.
Never mind!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Seriously: Apple made a hardware booboo. It’s called a hardware ‘bug’. It is very real, and the only people who care are those in low signal areas. No one else need bother with it. What percentage of people it affects remains unknown.
I take exception with MDN doing their ‘tongs’ line about the phone as it helps no one and it entirely ridiculous.
Nevertheless, the hardware bug has been blown out of proportion and today was poorly described by Consumer Reports, who treat it like THE PLAGUE, which is laughable.
Solution: ELECTRICAL TAPE ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE iPhone 4. All done! Problem gone. Happy day.
“I don’t know when that event will happen. Could be next year, could be in 50 years.”
And that, ladies and gentlemen, sums up the current state of tech punditry.
You are reading the folly of a biased blog/publication. As with MDN, there is nothing but roses for the operating system/company that it supports. Computerworld is a useless publication hell bent on supporting the Windows PC genre. So is MDN to Apple.
When I see recommendations from both blogs, I take them with a grain of salt. Neither is reputable (MDN after your shenanigans yesterday) and must be read with deep skepticism.
Everyone seems to have an opinion about what Apple should do. As the saying goes, opinions are like a$$holes…
Did you hear?
Apple just hired the Mel Gibson PR Crisis Management Group to help with their image.
How does that work?
Simple, highlight Mel’s crisis next to yours and things don’t look too bad afterall!
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This iPhone 4 is so hot, I hold mine with a silicone kitchen glove.
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The windows/Microsoft/google/linux geek’s wet dream continues…
Apple has $65b in the bank, they will and can not die. Get used to it.
They will always be around to let the geeks know that they have made the wrong choice in basing their careers, life and personality around Windows.
The geeks hate this and constantly dream of the day when Apple is no more.
Ain’t gonna happen- we are the itch you can never scratch, we are the niggling doubt in your minds when you defend Windows again and again.
Apple has already said enough: If you don’t like the way your iPhone 4 works, return it for a full refund. People aren’t doing that. Where’s the issue?
Anyone who claims this is an actual issue is either a troll or mentally deficient. The current ratio is around 10 to 1 trolls, so the thickies are in force.
Actual real life reception is the same or better than any pre-existing iPhone, to demand a recall or a redesign smacks of sour grapes or a distinct lack of grey matter.
I have know how many “Apple is going to die” threads i have seen in the past 2 month. Yet they continue to grow at an alarming rate.
Apple announced that this can be fixed with a software update, is that true? who knows, but we at least need to give them a chance to redeem them selfs people start protesting, making countless threads on how apple fails, or is going to die… common people… If you take your car to a mechanic, and he doesn’t fix the problem 100% the first time… you take it back to him, and make sure he dose it right the 2nd time. you dont higher a lawyer and press charges and slander his name all over the net without letting him have a 2nd look lol. Give apple a chance to make good on their words. Then all you can grab your pitch forks and sticks of fire again if you wish.
“For some people, it’s very real, and it makes the iPhone unusable.”
And for some people a tennis racquet or a set of chopsticks is unusable. Does the problem lie with the tennis racquet or the user?
Apple is keeping silent until they have decided on an intelligent and effective response. This is what they always do.
As for apologizing for what may or may not be a significant problem, I’m reminded of the response of Huey Long, Governor of Louisiana, when confronted with newspaper accusations of drinking, gambling, and womanizing: “I’m single. I like pretty women, fast horses, and good whiskey. None of those were illegal last time I checked”.
This headline is a new low for MDN. Pure, unadulterated garbage.