“Driving the point home, Jobs showed video footage of 3 smartphones (a BlackBerry Bold, an HTC Droid Eris, and a Samsung Omnia II) who all exhibited the same behavior as the iPhone when a hand is placed over the antenna,” Edible Apple reports. “Conspicuously absent from Jobs’ video demo was Nokia, who nonetheless sought to use the iPhone 4 press conference as a means to thrust themselves into the spotlight. In a press release issued last Friday, Nokia boldly proclaimed how, unlike Apple, it prioritizes antenna performance over design.”
Edible Apple reports, “Here’s a page (see full article link below) from the Nokia 6230i user guide. And whatdya know, Nokia has the audacity to tell users how to grip their own phones. How dare they! …Meanwhile, a number of [Nokia] forum users suggest that affected users should hold the Nokia N90 at the center of the device or use a headset if they want decent reception. Apparently ‘antennagate’ stretches back more than 5 years.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Again, to drive the point home, this is a FUD campaign and it’s been tried before:
• Additional testing of Apple iPhone’s 3G antenna again shows completely normal results – August 27, 2008
• Apple iPhone 3G antenna test verdict: completely normal – August 25, 2008
• Apple hit with lawsuit over iPhone’s 3G speed and reliability – August 21, 2008
• Apple: iPhone 2.0.2 Software Update ‘improves communication with 3G networks’ – August 20, 2008
• Apple releases iPhone, iPod touch 2.0.2 Software Update – August 18, 2008
• Steve Jobs: iPhone 3G reception issues affect 2% of total units shipped; software update coming soon – August 18, 2008
• iPhone 3G reception issues could be fixed via firmware update as early as this week – August 18, 2008
• WSJ: Apple preps software fix for iPhone 3G reception issues reported by some – August 15, 2008
• ABC News, Associated Press propagate iPhone FUD – August 15, 2008
• Nomura analyst Richard Windsor and his extraordinary knack for sniffing out Apple iPhone ‘issues’ – August 14, 2008
• Software fix on the way for iPhone 3G reception glitches – August 14, 2008
• Aussie telco source blames Apple secrecy for iPhone 3G reception issues – August 13, 2008
• Apple and AT&T investigating reports of iPhone 3G connection issues – August 12, 2008
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Brawndo Drinker” for the heads up.]
“Apple CEO Steve Jobs tried to demonstrate how signal attenuation based on how one holds a smartphone is not unique to the iPhone 4..”
Tried? I thought he did more than “tried”. Looked pretty conclusive to me.
What, the king has no clothes? Nonsense I say!
Anyone doing a lick of research can discover idiosyncratic reception problems with any and all cell phone/smartphones since day one. Yes there are cell phones that excel and good reception and radio; the iPhone admittedly does not and never has excelled as a phone. The inconvenient truth is that most iPhone users see the phone component as just one more app that is part of this pocket communicating computer. I can name a half dozen use of my iPhone that exceed my phone calling use. Besides, here in L.A. I’ve never had a cell phone that didn’t lose signal or drop calls. NEVER.
Well, they got it down to $239.60 today. Apple has the most dollars traded on Nasdag again today. The Big Boys must have had some really big orders to buy up Apple’s stock prior the tomorrow’s quarterly report. http://www.marketwatch.com/tools/marketsummary/screener.asp?exchange=15&view=7&lookup=Look+Up
Apple can’t make their products fast enough at the price that they want to sell them at. Still have weeks of back orders. Apple will have over $50 BILLION in the bank this quarter.
Yeah idiots. Keep selling a stock the will be well over $325 to $400 buy year end!
The press and those against apple were looking for something to complain about. The iPhone 4 was doomed from the launch. After all the gizmodo hype, there was bound to be something they would use to put down the latest and greatest. It is a fact of life. When something bigger and better comes around, there are always those that will put it down to make themselves feel relevant. But all those that are trashing the phone have yet to tell us why their product or other products are better, just the the new phone sucks. Well I have had mine since the 23rd, yes I pre ordered, and have yet to have the death grip problem. I have yet to meet anyone who actually has the problem.
Nokia doesn’t give a shit if they’re right or wrong. They want to keep the story fresh for as long as possible.
Far as they’re concerned, you can keep digging up all the old Nokia phones with attenuation issues you want. So long as you’re writing another story about the iPhone 4 antenna controversy, the hit is against Apple and not them.
@Jersey_Trader:
Spot on!
Nokia has it printed on a manual! Ahahahahahaha oh and where is CS on this. They should their report on this, and not behind the paid content page. Unlike their report on Apple which was placed outside if the paid content wall. What’s up with that CR? That seems a bit suspect in your part there.
more user manual pages for various other manufacturer’s phones here:
http://gallery.me.com/davebc#100265
(via @chartier)
Oh, imagine that!
Simple thing to do. Go to RadioShack, and have them show you that ALL PHONES do this. Even on Verizon. Or Sprint. Or T-Mobile
Apple probably didn’t put a Nokia phone in the demo because Apple doesn’t consider Nokia to be relevant “smartphone” competition.
Anyways, Nokia should have just kept their mouth closed. Any boasting or whining from the competition just helps evaporate the “antenna” issue, because there will be more attention on the “problem” on all types of phones from the media and consumers. The more it is discussed in general terms, the less Apple gets singled out.
Where’s the class action against Nokia and the others? Lawyers pipe up.
Jobs didn’t mention Nokia because Nokia doesn’t matter anymore.
What does “FUD” stand for? What does it mean?
Nokia, with foot in mouth, what do you have to say for yourself?
@ Radioflyer:
It stands for Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt, and it is a tactic of rhetoric and fallacy used in sales, marketing, public relations, politics and propaganda.
Also commonly known as the only tool in either the Republican Party’s or Microsoft’s arsenal.
@ radioflyer,
FUD is an acronym that means “fear, uncertainty, doubt”. It is Machiavellian in nature, and means to destroy a peoples’ trust in some institution through negative spin and manipulation of the facts.
@radioflyer,
FUD = Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt
@radioflyer, FUD means Fear, Uncertainty & Disinformation.
Hmm, just like how when the iPad was immanent, MicroSuck just had to bring out the computer concept only video of the Courier. Just the idea of a MS Tablet was supposed to halt takeup of the iPad in the marketplace. But of course they just hadn’t done any R & D and actually made the device, video only. Shame really – I liked the idea. MicroSuck doesn’t seem to be able to make any consumer devices other than mice and keyboards that excite users it seems.
Disinformation / Doubt = pretty much the same thing. Like mine better of course
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There are forum posts regarding the Motorola Razr as well… which was immensely popular in its day (I never had one).
They wan to focus on this as if it’s only Apple’s phone. They want to taint the product’s perception. They don’t want people to notice how much better the iPhone4 is than any other phone. Miles better. Years better. And they have no answer for it.
Of course you’re trying to compare 2 discontinued phones with a 2010 smartphone which is sold like a technological marvel.
As the guy sang about in the video before the press conference.
If people don’t want an iPhone THEN DON’T BUY ONE!
Seems to me all this flaming is self destructive. Not to apple, but to the crazies out there who are obsessed about their particular phone brand of choice.
The ones that are most licking all this up are the ‘droid’ phone users. You know, the google obsessives who are sucking on the google coolaid.
One of these people said to me that this would never happen in a google is phone. I said to him, I run my business from my iPhone and there is NO WAY IN HELL that I would run it off a mobile phone that uses a 6 month old OS that isn’t even developed or maintained by google.
I said Apple has been in the OS business for over 25 years, believe it or not they might actually know a bit more than google about software.
That soon shut up the brain washed dickhead.