Topic: Oh Em Gee iPhone 4 yay!11

[NWR_insanolord]

People preordering the thing the day after preorders started were already being bumped to next week. You may be in for a pretty long wait.

[kraken613]

Well since Apple decided to add next to nothing to the iPhone 3G I decided to jailbreak mine so I could have wallpapers and multitasking. Honestly it's no slower than stock iOS4.

[NWR_insanolord]

Okay, the antenna issue is a real, serious problem if you're holding it in your left hand and trying to do something on it like browsing the web or anything using 3G while looking at it, but if you're having that issue while talking on it, in either hand, then Steve's right, you're holding it the wrong way.

[nickmitch]

I still haven't had as big an issue with the antenna thing as everyone else.

[D_Average]

I can't wait to have only an antenna issue.  Right now I have a touch screen issue, as in sometimes it works, most times it doesn't.  Thats what I get for carrying it around naked.

Speaking of naked, did you guys get a case for the new iphone?  I heard it was a bit more fragile, and Gizmodo said you should get a case this time around.  I'd hate to put a case on it, love the redesign.  If you did put a case on it, can you link to it?

[NWR_insanolord]

I don't have a case for mine. I never had one for my 3G, either, though I almost bought one of the ones that had extra battery packs. As for the 4, I'd buy one of the official Apple bumper cases if they weren't $30.

[NWR_insanolord]

So it seems like the conclusion about the "death grip" signal problems, first argued by analysts and then by Apple themselves, is that it's an issue with how the phone calculates how many bars you have and not that significant of a difference in signal quality. It seems like someone *coughAT&Tcough* set up the system so that if you have better than 50% signal you have the full 5 bars, with the lower bar amounts taking up the rest of the spectrum.

This sounded odd to me, so I decided to test it. I turned off WiFi and opened up my network speed test app. First, I tested it without the death grip, then with. The death grip caused a lower upload speed, but download speed actually increased by a couple hundred k, and since I was pretty surprised by that I did the test again, and it was even faster. The upload dip was significant, but upload is, in most cases other than online gaming, less important.

[Guitar Smasher]

Still doesn't explain the dropped calls.

[NWR_insanolord]

Since when did we need an explanation for dropped calls on AT&T?

[BranDonk Kong]

Because if you hold the phone the "wrong way" your call will be dropped. Their excuse doesn't explain anything, just that bars = bullshit (which should be known by anyone that uses a cell phone). You will still get dropped calls as a result of this flaw. People were calling in because of calls being dropped (thousands of people, according to Apple), not because the bars were disappearing, though the disappearing bars are a direct result of the flawed phone.

[NWR_insanolord]

It is extremely easy to hold the phone in a way that doesn't do that when you're talking on it, regardless of which hand you're using. If you can't figure it out, dropped calls are the least of your problems.

Holding it in the left hand while looking at it, though, is a problem, and, as my test showed, it will drastically cut your upload bandwidth. That means if you're holding it that way while talking, which we've already established is very easy to avoid doing, it will cause dropped calls. It shouldn't have too much of an effect on web browsing or the like, as those are mostly downloading. I guess what I'm saying is that yes, it's a design flaw, and a stupid and careless one, but it's easy enough to get around. Apple should do something to fix it, but it's far from the huge deal some are making it out to be.

[Guitar Smasher]

No doubt it's avoidable, but I don't think Apple would still be facing much scrutiny if they weren't still pretending the design is so robust.  Given Apple's strong reputation for quality products, I don't think they'd lose much face if they'd just be honest about the flaw.

[NWR_insanolord]

I think right now they're just stalling for time, hoping they'll be able to fi it with a software patch. That would save them a lot of money over having to do repairs or send out free bumpers.

[BranDonk Kong]

I doubt there's a way to physically change the way the antenna is installed with a software update, but I'm no scientist. Still, the excuse that they gave is complete horseshit, and they didn't actually address the issue in any way.
"Hey, if I hold my phone this way the antenna gets grounded out and I get dropped calls"
"That's because the phone shows 5 bars when you really should only have 3"
"**** you."

[nickmitch]

The problem was that people were holding their phones a certain way and watching their bars drop. Apple says that's only because your signal was weak to begin with, not because you're grounding antenna. They're basically just putting the blame back on AT&T.

[BranDonk Kong]

Right, but Apple (and/or AT&T) has received "thousands of complaints" from people who have actually had dropped calls using their iPhone 4 because of the flaw. They skirted the issue and just said that the bars aren't properly representing the signal - they failed to say "yes, there is a flaw, and if you hold the phone that way, your call will be dropped" - own up to your mistakes. The phone is barely a month old, they have plenty of time to fix it and still sell bazillions of them.

[D_Average]

I just don't know who to believe.  Ah well.  I just want my new phone.  Where is it Best Buy/Apple!?!?

[Plugabugz]

What's the possibility of a next gen iPod Touch with a sim card slot ala iPad Mini?

I love my touch but it needs a permanent data connection.

[nickmitch]

Right, but Apple (and/or AT&T) has received "thousands of complaints" from people who have actually had dropped calls using their iPhone 4 because of the flaw. They skirted the issue and just said that the bars aren't properly representing the signal - they failed to say "yes, there is a flaw, and if you hold the phone that way, your call will be dropped" - own up to your mistakes. The phone is barely a month old, they have plenty of time to fix it and still sell bazillions of them.

But that's assuming what they're saying is false and that holding the phone wrong causes dropped calls and not AT&T's shitty service.

[BranDonk Kong]

It is the way they hold the phone. You can see videos of people making a call, then holding the phone "the wrong way" and watch the cal get dropped within a few seconds. This is going from "full signal" (even if it's bullshit and they should really only have 2 or 3 bars, you still shouldn't lose a signal if you're in the exact same place all the time) to a dropped call. It's not assuming anything, it's a fact.

[NWR_insanolord]

If you're too stupid to figure out how to hold it without causing that then not only should you not own a cell phone, you should be wearing a helmet at all times, preferably with someone always there looking out for you.

[BlackNMild2k1]

If you're too stupid to figure out how to hold it without causing that then not only should you not own a cell phone, you should be wearing a helmet at all times, preferably with someone always there looking out for you.

Now that is a stupid comment. No one should have to be conscious of how they are holding the phone because Apple let a design flaw get past the Beta stage. Apple made a mistake, everyone does it, get over it. They should own up to it and/or quickly find a way to fix it before it becomes a major issue, there is no reason to make excuses for them where none are needed.

[NWR_insanolord]

If you're too stupid to figure out how to hold it without causing that then not only should you not own a cell phone, you should be wearing a helmet at all times, preferably with someone always there looking out for you.

Now that is a stupid comment. No one should have to be conscious of how they are holding the phone because Apple let a design flaw get past the Beta stage. Apple made a mistake, everyone does it, get over it. They should own up to it and/or quickly find a way to fix it before it becomes a major issue, there is no reason to make excuses for them where none are needed.

That comment of mine was uncalled for; I'm just getting really sick of the stories focusing on dropped calls, because that's not the real problem of this design flaw. If you go back and look at what I've said in this thread, you'll see that I'm not defending Apple. It's a design flaw, and a very stupid one, and very uncharacteristic of them. My argument is, and always has been, that it is very, very easy to get around this particular design flaw, at least when you're talking on it.

The area that is sensitive to this is about a quarter of an inch long. You can hold the phone on any other part of it, or even on that part if you're not covering the entire metal band. Again, I'm not saying this isn't a stupid design flaw, but it isn't nearly the big deal people are making it out to be.

[Guitar Smasher]

Again, I'm not saying this isn't a stupid design flaw, but it isn't nearly the big deal people are making it out to be.

And this comes back to my thought that people wouldn't make a big deal out of it if Apple would simply admit the flaw.

Instead when they make up a faulty excuse it only fuels the outcry.

[NWR_insanolord]

Apple won't admit to the flaw until and unless they're prepared to fix it. Doing so otherwise would ensure that they lose the lawsuits that have already been filed because of the issue.