“Let’s recap the problem,” Comeau writes. “A small number of people reported iPhone 4 reception problems related to how they held the phone. I say a ‘small number”‘ because there’s still absolutely zero evidence of a high return rate or widespread customer dissatisfaction.”
“Then, a whole bunch of media types started trying to recreate the problem themselves by holding their phones every which way, trying to get the signal to drop,” Comeau writes. “So while these techno-hypochondriacs didn’t actually suffer from or notice this problem, they were determined to do so once they saw the opportunity to jump all over Apple.”
Comeau writes, “Consumer Reports delivered a magnificent troll job this week when it said it ‘couldn’t recommend the iPhone 4.’ …I’m just playing devil’s advocate here, but who cares about how well the iPhone 4 performs in an isolation chamber? I don’t make phone calls from my isolation chamber. No, I only use my isolation chamber to breathe in pure oxygen and protect myself from germs.”
“But wait, there’s more,” Comeau writes. “When Consumer Reports first looked at the iPhone 4, it said “some reviewers have reported problems with reduced reception when the iPhone 4 is being held in the left hand. So far, we’ve been unable to replicate the problems.” Unable to replicate the problems. Unable to replicate the problems. Unable to replicate the problems. Get it?”
Comeau writes, “I’d like to know: How in the blue hell does Consumer Reports place admittedly ‘anecdotal indications’ from an isolation chamber above what it found in normal use?”
Read more in the full article – recommended – here.
MacDailyNews Take: Because if Consumer Reports didn’t place admittedly “anecdotal indications” from an isolation chamber above what it found in normal use, their website wouldn’t have a bunch of extra hits from a highly-desireable demographic that rarely, if ever, visits their paywall.
Seriously, if you ever find yourself reading Consumer Reports, stop! Just put it down and leave it in the doctor’s office along with the large print Reader’s Digest. If you’re subscriber… Yikes! Cancel immediately, you’re embarrassing yourself. Go read The Weekly World News instead, at least their “reports” have aliens.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “GetMeOnTop” for the heads up.]
“Has the iPhone squashed the BlackBerry for good?”
“Commentary: Fewer buyers and lower satisfaction plague RIM”
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/iphone-may-have-squashed-blackberry-for-good-2010-07-14?siteid=yhoof
Yes, the Apple’s iPhone has “squashed the BlackBerry”! That is what berries are for. Berry juice.
Really tired of all this crap. Got a problem? just return it, simple! if 20% of the people whom claims to have problem had return it, I’m sure they would have a solution by now. Only buy doesn’t help
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Maybe Consumer Reports needs to be investigated. Who oversees them? Just because they don’t accept ads doesn’t mean that people that work there can’t be “persuaded”. I’m sure any of iPhone’s competitors would have a vested interest in them flip flopping on this issue.
Apple is crushing the smart phone market and “Antennagate” is all they have to put a speed bump in front of the iPhone 4.
I see a blood bath and berry juice blend here!
“I don’t make phone calls from my isolation chamber. No, I only use my isolation chamber to breathe in pure oxygen and protect myself from germs.”
I rather enjoyed that part of the article.
CR has lost all credibility. I think one of the worst things is suggesting duct tape. That was a hateful statement. Who would buy the premier device in the world, and then stick a piece of duct tape? They’re not stupid. They know it was a vicious statement.
I’ve only read about problems in the US, and if I recall Apple mentioned the signal measurement was related to some problem with how it interacts with AT&T;or uses AT&T;’s formulas or something. Is it isolated to the US? If so then it surely must be software.
Becuase the problem does not affect everyone, it just proves some people are more grounded than others.
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@Dan
I just put a piece of (white) electrical tape across the antenna joint of my iPhone 4. So far haven’t completely lost signal where I used to do it consistently. Hopefully this does the trick until my case arrives.
Can all the f’in crybabies return their phones already? I’d like to actually buy one, since the few people I actually know that have one are NOT having the issues mentioned. In fact, the one guy who used to lose a call on his way home at a certain point no longer drops the call with the 4.
Why are people not having problems considered liars? Again, complainers, return your phones. I would like one.
Nice one Augustin.
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The markets will play this one up for as much as they can. We will all find out on the 20th since apple will have to discuss the issue in the conference call.
Amen dd!!
Thank you CR – because the sheep in the stock market get so nervous when this shit happens I was able to add a couple of hundred shares to my portfolio for a price I never thought I would see again – GO APPLE!!!!…
@ Dan,
“Who would buy the premier device in the world, and then stick a piece of duct tape?”
Red Green, that’s who.
Engadget EVO review:
“we found ourselves getting four bars of 4G walking down the street, then ducking into a coffee shop and dropping to just one or even no bars at all.”
Huh?
But nobody bashes the EVO because in the end not many people care about the EVO (hey after WEEKS of supposedly ‘record shattering’ sales they’ve sold an astounding … 300,000!).
. But unscrupulous reviewers, bloggers etc gloss over EVO and other phone’s faults (Consumer reports puts the EVO as their second best phone just a few points under iPhone 4) because they’re not going to get the publicity as bashing Apple will get them.
Brilliant marketing, Apple. Create a perfect device, then put out a rumor that it might have a minor flaw, then everyone goes out to buy it, to see if it’s true, then everyone discovers that it is indeed a perfect device and everyone ends up being even more pleased with their new perfect iPhone 4. Genius…
I am iPhone 4 owner and live in Chicago area where AT&T;coverage has been terrible over the past 3.5 years. Since upgrading to the iPhone 4 I have had people tell me the call quality is better, etc. As far as the reception issue goes I have witnessed NONE and I have placed my hand, fingers over the suggested areas while on a call and experienced no loss of reception or degradation.
The scope of the reception problem needs to be identified and Apple has a responsibility to do that but the tech media have a responsibility to factually report the story and not sensationalize the issue to be more than what is known. If I experienced this problem, I would be upset and I would go to an Apple store for an exchange or refund. Apple is a company that prides itself in its engineering and design as a result its products have a fan base. The problem that is occurring for some owners will be addressed by Apple, but remember the consumer has a responsibility to report the problem.
Consumer Reports is a respected organization however I don’t recall them ever being experts with cellular phone type tests or publishing reports about cell phone receptions. So it is fair to ask some questions about their methodology as engineers in this field of study have raised some questions. I don’t think a ‘pile-on’ mentality helps resolve the problem for owners experiencing reception issues while it may sell more magazines and web page views it does little to add substance to this issue.
Cheers.
“Why iPhone 4 ‘antennagate’ is the lamest ‘scandal’ ever”
More lame than Plame-Gate?
I don’t think so….
I think duct tape could be the new bling thing for iPhones. Over 20 colors, think of the possibilities. Maybe someone will create an app for creating your own designs. Also, make a circle of tape to stick on the back and you can mount your iPhone anywhere. I’m buying stock. It’s going to skyrocket.
PC world comments on the iPhone 4 reception!!
PC world:
“The iPhone 4’s new antenna seemed to improve the experience considerably. In almost all the test calls we placed around the city, calls on the iPhone 4 sounded better than calls on the new Motorola Droid X. Calls sounded more natural, and were more pleasing to listen to on the other end of the line. We recorded no dropped calls on AT&T;.”” and “In our head-to-head tests with the Motorola Droid X on Verizon, the iPhone 4 was the clear winner in speed. “
I guess the talkback apple haters in Gizmodo, Zdnet are going to start calling PC World ‘Apple Fanboys’, as it’s all over the web that only Apple fanboys are saying the iPhone 4 is any good.
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This kind of ignorant bitter mentality is part of the problem:
People buy iPhones for emotional reasons, not because they’re the best phones, said Deborah Mitchell, executive director of the Center for Brand and Product Management at the University of Wisconsin.
“People see you using the iPhone, and they think you are a certain type of person – hip, fresh and youthful in attitude,” she said. “It’s a brand that helps you identify yourself.”
LOL. just awesome. What a friggin joke
@ jg2000,
yes perceived problems are way more lame than real problems.
I recently approached a class mate at my college and he showed me his iPhone 4 and the reception issue and it only happened when his thumb pushed a little to hard on left side of phone… And in within seconds the reception was gone… But he went out and dropped 10 bucks and got a slide over case which face it all touch screen devices need a hard case anyway and just like that problem solved. Moral of the story… If u can afford to pay good money for the iPhone 4 u can pay10 bucks and get a case and quit your damn bitching it’s an awesome phone.
With the hit-powered tech press, the more successful Apple gets, the more we’re going to get overblown bullshit like this.
Apple is now tech’s Brangelina.
http://themacadvocate.com/2010/07/14/apple-the-brangelina-of-tech/