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The iPhone 4 launch has been a financial success for Apple, however when we come to talk about the actual hardware, the launch has been far from idyllic.
Unless you have been offline and locked in your house for the last 2 months, we are sure you will have heard of the reception problems with the new antenna system. Apple have eventually stated that this is in fact more an issue with the bar reading than the phone itself.
A few days ago however US Consumerreports.org published an article which went to length explaining why they could not recommend the iPhone 4 to consumers. This article was particularly damning because they also went to great pains to explain why the issues were down to Apple to fix, not the end user. Steve Jobs categorically stated that people need to hold the phone ‘correctly' to stop the reception problems.
“Our tests, conducted in our labs using controlled signals, confirm growing anecdotal indications that the iPhone 4's problems are anything but illusory. Our tests found that when your finger or hand touches a spot on the phone's lower left side—an easy thing to do—the signal can significantly degrade enough to cause you to lose your connection altogether if you're in an area with a weak signal. We tested several other AT&T phones the same way, including the iPhone 3G S and the Palm Pre. None of those phones had the significant signal-loss problems of the iPhone 4.”
The problems arise due to the iPhone 4 redesign which has built in the GSM/3G and Wi-Fi antennae into the external shell of the unit. While this has been a great way to save space it has unfortunately not proven to be a faultless design when it comes to actually using the phone. Left Handers in particular have been reporting a lot of issues due to the different way they hold the phone.
Apple have recently announced that they are going to be offering a software update to possibly solve the problem but there are no other plans in action for disgruntled users.
The latest news however is that Apple may very well issue a product recall which would cost them a fortune, if its true.
KitGuru says: have you an iPhone 4? are you experiencing any issues? Let us know in our forums.
Funnily enough I was thinking this might happen, as the reports are too widespread and serious to ignore,. even if they are trying to sweep it under the rug.
As much as I like Apple products i think the way they are dealing with it isnt right. A Software patch clearly wont fix this as its serious issues. I also find it iffy that they reported a bar readout issue after what 3 generations of not seeing it?