“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.]
The Finnish tend to think they are superior, which I think is something they do to keep warm in their long dark winters.
So – I ordered an iPhone 4 today. I plan on using a case, so I’m not worried about the ‘grip’ issue. Actually – the idea of having my hand in direct contact with the antenna is a bit disconcerting to me. Only a little paranoid about RFs.
Anyway – was looking through the official iPhone 4 manual at the Apple website ..
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/iPhone_4_Important_Product_Information_Guide.pdf
…
and I noticed there”s absolutely no reference to the fact that holding the phone in any particular was has any effect on the phone’s performance. I also checked the 3GS manual, and it’s also devoid of any references to the effect of holding the phone near the antenna.
I find this interesting since manuals for other phones have diagrams showing where not to hold the phone for optimum performance.
It seems to me that Apple should have included some information about the iPhone’s “weak spot” in the manual.
I know – most people don’t read manuals. But they may have avoided at least some of the craziness if they could have pointed users to the part of the manual that explains that…
“Like all cellular phones, the iPhone’s antenna is affected by the position of your hand on the phone”
… or some such, rather than leaving users to puzzle the issue out on their own.
I’m an Apple shareholder and have been a loyal customer for close to 20 years. Sometimes, though, I have to question the judgement of the folks at 1 Infinite Loop.
This whole issue is in large part the result of Apple having chosen to market a device with a highly unusual antenna design, seemingly unprepared to deal with the ramifications. They should have expected some confusion when users discovered the quirks of this product. They should have known that there would be nay-sayers looking to find any flaw in the design to focus attention on.
I have a number of very tech savvy friends who were quite surprised when they found out that the phone uses an external antenna as its structural frame. Everyone who knows anything about antennas knows that physical contact affects antenna performance. So far Apple hasn’t explained how their software manages to adjust for this. They haven’t even explained IF it does. I assume it must. But it would be nice to read something about it.
Anyway — just a few thoughts.
Steve Jobs was not the first to suggest a different way to handle a problem phone. Nokia was the veteran and it has it in writing in its manual way way back before even Steve Jobs discovered the procedure of teasing a uncooperative phone to behave.