Apple apologists can suck it! CR no longer recommends iPhone 4 due to reception issue

[marketsons1985]

wtf is up with the 'use a case' solution? i hate using cases on my phones. this is not a solution

Do you have an iPhone? I was this way before I got my 3GS. Then I realized that dropping this means $700 replacement so I got a $20 case. I've never looked back.

 

[gorcorps]

wtf is up with the 'use a case' solution? i hate using cases on my phones. this is not a solution

It's not for people that haven't bought it yet, that 'solution' is for people that already have the phone. You wanna keep using it? Use a case... that's all. There's absolutely nothing else you can do right now except take the phone back.

 

[Nothinman]

I'll more than likely pick one up when they're released here, but I won't buy a stupid case to fix the problem.

What I'll do is put a piece of flashy green masking tape on the lower left corner, this way people will notice it. When they ask why I taped that corner, I'll tell them: "Because Apple engineers are f*cking morons."

Best idea yet...

 

[NFS4]

PR Experts Suggest iPhone 4 Recall 'Inevitable' as Antenna Issue Snowballs

 

[Fingolfin269]

PR Experts Suggest iPhone 4 Recall 'Inevitable' as Antenna Issue Snowballs

Wow, I wonder how many have been sold at this point. That will probably be one huge recall.

I think the most disturbing point about this situation is that people are willing to accept Apple's response that it is a software issue when it is clearly a hardware issue. It's one thing to be okay with the product as it is, especially if they just come out and tell everyone the truth, but to be okay with the company lying to your face is not good consumerism in my opinion.

 

[Patranus]

So CR can not longer recommend their highest rated smart phone?

I guess they cannot recommend any smart phone.

They obviously didn't find a problem when they were testing so the problem is clearly not a problem for the majority of users.

 

[speg]

PR Experts Suggest iPhone 4 Recall 'Inevitable' as Antenna Issue Snowballs

Haha, PR experts. More like hedge funds feeding the fear to drive down an already slipping stock price a few days before earnings. Anyone looking for a deal should jump in now!

 

[AMDZen]

Pretty funny that CR still has the iPhone 4 listed as the best smartphone with the highest score of any phone. So its the best phone, but they can't recommend it.

Waffles, its not just for politicians anymore.

http://www.appleinsider.com/article...pples_iphone_4_best_smartphone_available.html

While waffling between official blog entires that first told users there's "no reason not to buy" iPhone 4 related to its antenna issues, and then backtracking to say it "can't recommend" the phone until Apple addresses its antenna issues with a free fix (after also noting that applying a piece of tape solves the signal attenuation issues it found in testing), Consumer Reports has ranked iPhone 4 the best smartphone on the market.

NFS4's incessant ranting is proof positive. Despite the fact that all he does is bitch and complain, he is still going to keep the phone. Why? Because its the best there is on the market and he knows it.

 

[88MVP]

NFS4's incessant ranting is proof positive. Despite the fact that all he does is bitch and complain, he is still going to keep the phone. Why? Because its the best there is on the market and he knows it.]

This post is all kinds of logical failure.

I have an iPhone 4 and I happen to live in a large city where AT&T generally has a strong signal. Thus, while my phone suffers some signal degradation when you use the "death grip", it still functions just fine most of the time. However, if I travel to somewhere a bit more out of the way where the AT&T signal is marginal to begin with, the signal degradation starts to become a problem and I drop calls or the data connection fails.

So this is not the type of problem where I would immediately go return the phone, because it works for me 90% of the time. But that doesn't make it okay that the other 10% of the time when I go somewhere with marginal cell coverage my phone is going to fail to work if I hold it the wrong way and don't pay $30 for a glorified rubber band "bumper"

There's an engineering flaw with the hardware. Apple knows about this. It's been conclusively proven by CR, Anandtech, and a host of others. It doesn't matter if the iPhone is still the best/most full-featured smartphone on the market - there's a material flaw present and Apple needs to address it in a more meaningful way than a software patch to fool with people's perceptions by screwing with the number of bars shown.

 

[AMDZen]

But that doesn't make it okay that the other 10% of the time when I go somewhere with marginal cell coverage my phone is going to fail to work if I hold it the wrong way and don't pay $30 for a glorified rubber band "bumper"

There are numerous cases on the market, don't pretend like the bumper is the only one or that the only reason you would need a case is because of this issue.

I know someone who has this one and it works just fine for 5$.

Personally, if I thought I had any problems with my reception I would return my phone without a second thought. Maybe its my case, maybe its not - but I'm not stupid enough to walk around with an $800 device I use every day, all day long without some kind of protection for it.

 

[88MVP]

There are numerous cases on the market, don't pretend like the bumper is the only one or that the only reason you would need a case is because of this issue.

I know someone who has this one and it works just fine for 5$.

Personally, if I thought I had any problems with my reception I would return my phone without a second thought. Maybe its my case, maybe its not - but I'm not stupid enough to walk around with an $800 device I use every day, all day long without some kind of protection for it.

First, I realize that there are other cases out there besides the bumper. I just wanted to point out the insanity of charging $30 for a colored rubber band that they conveniently started offering when they released a poorly designed product.

Second, It's not an $800 device, it's $200. And why should I have to use a case? I don't consider myself stupid for not using one - they're ugly, they make the phone thicker, and if you drop a phone from high enough or at the right angle, no case is going to save it anyway. Part of the price premium people pay for the iPhone is that it looks a heck of a lot nicer than something like a blackberry

Apple wants to tout its use of virtually-scratch-proof gorilla glass on the phone as a feature (the sales staff at the Apple store literally told me not to bother with a case for it, "the new model is virtually scratch proof, don't worry about it!") and then tell you that the phone won't work as it should unless you cover it all up with a case. Lame.

 

[pakotlar]

First, I realize that there are other cases out there besides the bumper. I just wanted to point out the insanity of charging $30 for a colored rubber band that they conveniently started offering when they released a poorly designed product.

Second, It's not an $800 device, it's $200. And why should I have to use a case? I don't consider myself stupid for not using one - they're ugly, they make the phone thicker, and if you drop a phone from high enough or at the right angle, no case is going to save it anyway. Part of the price premium people pay for the iPhone is that it looks a heck of a lot nicer than something like a blackberry

Apple wants to tout its use of virtually-scratch-proof gorilla glass on the phone as a feature (the sales staff at the Apple store literally told me not to bother with a case for it, "the new model is virtually scratch proof, don't worry about it!") and then tell you that the phone won't work as it should unless you cover it all up with a case. Lame.

It's actually a $2500 device, unless you bought it for use as an mp3 player, and then it is an $800 one. Where did the $200 come from?

 

[AMDZen]

First, I realize that there are other cases out there besides the bumper. I just wanted to point out the insanity of charging $30 for a colored rubber band that they conveniently started offering when they released a poorly designed product.

Apple has always offered their own accessories and their own cases to their products. This is not a first and some kind of conspiracy like you make it seem.

Second, It's not an $800 device, it's $200.

It was 300 for it the first time because I signed a 2 year contract for AT&T to subsidize the rest. If I need to replace it, its $800.

And why should I have to use a case? I don't consider myself stupid for not using one - they're ugly, they make the phone thicker, and if you drop a phone from high enough or at the right angle, no case is going to save it anyway.

Well I think you're stupid already, but its your perogative to not have a case the same as it is to keep the phone. Live with your decision and quit complaining. If I was as unhappy as you guys I would of returned it, but I suppose I'm the illogical one here.

Apple wants to tout its use of virtually-scratch-proof gorilla glass on the phone as a feature (the sales staff at the Apple store literally told me not to bother with a case for it, "the new model is virtually scratch proof, don't worry about it!") and then tell you that the phone won't work as it should unless you cover it all up with a case. Lame.

Its still glass. Since when did people believe all of Apple's marketing hype? Who the fuck believes that something made of glass is unbreakable? I suppose you think Apple's are impossible to hack, and that OSX could never get a virus. I thought it was normal to take everything they say with a grain of salt but apparently I'm in the minority having actually learned from Apple over the years.

It's actually a $2500 device, unless you bought it for use as an mp3 player, and then it is an $800 one. Where did the $200 come from?

$200 is the subsidized price for the 16gb iPhone, $700 if you need to replace it. Don't worry, he's already proved his ignorance

 

[AMDZen]

Double

 

[Zargon]

Don't worry, he's already proved his ignorance

sorry but anyone who can't admit this is a HUGE snafu and EGO move by apple, is ignorant.

this shit shouldnt get out of testing. this is not to say this crap doesnt happen to all sorts of companies, but generally when with their pants down own up fix the problem.

apple looks to be taking a toyota unintended accerlation stance with some of it. just because you keep saying its not really an issue, doesnt make it true.

NSF4's reasons for keeping the phone seem pretty reasonable, as does the proof he posted as to the problem actually existing while some of the apple fanboi army seemed mostly just interested in ignoring lots of well respected review sites and claiming the problem didnt even exist.

especially the poster that didnt seem to think a cell phone being touched somewhere and losing all signal, thus becoming worthless, is akin to a cars radio not working, because ya know, we all buy cars just to listen to music in them, not drive them


I didnt quote you to aim this specifically at you, I just dont want to MQ the hell out of 10 different posts. I agree with you on the pricing, but reguardless of that, I think not using a case IS silly, smartphones cost too much to not, but it shouldnt need one to work properly unless its comes with it, for free.

 

[AMDZen]

sorry but anyone who can't admit this is a HUGE snafu and EGO move by apple, is ignorant.

this shit shouldnt get out of testing. this is not to say this crap doesnt happen to all sorts of companies, but generally when with their pants down own up fix the problem.

apple looks to be taking a toyota unintended accerlation stance with some of it. just because you keep saying its not really an issue, doesnt make it true.

NSF4's reasons for keeping the phone seem pretty reasonable, as does the proof he posted as to the problem actually existing while some of the apple fanboi army seemed mostly just interested in ignoring lots of well respected review sites and claiming the problem didnt even exist.

especially the poster that didnt seem to think a cell phone being touched somewhere and losing all signal, thus becoming worthless, is akin to a cars radio not working, because ya know, we all buy cars just to listen to music in them, not drive them

I'm not arguing that at all and agree with it. I don't have it on my phone but thats irrelevant. If I did I would return my phone just like everyone should be doing. I wouldn't even hesitate. That is the only way to get Apple to recognize the issue it has on their hands, by losing a ton of money.

Normally the fanboys who tolerate the company's flaws are the minority - now even the mainstream haters are tollerating the flaws instead of acting on them. And their trying to justify their decision in a way that shows Apple is doing all they need to do. "Oh but it will only affect me 10% of the time when I travel." Why would a company bend over backwards to do a recall when the consumers are not really outcrying. The media is. The users are not outcrying except on message boards. Return it now and APple might listen.

 

[NFS4]

Engadget's latest report including results from its writers and other industry folks:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/13/yes-the-iphone-4-is-broken-no-the-iphone-4-is-not-broken/

Anand Shimpi, Anandtech (Raleigh, North Carolina): "I can make the signal drop, but that's not because I'm some sort of superhero - anyone can make the signal drop on their iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, Nexus One, etc... The iPhone 4 simply drops "more of its signal" than other phones, depending on how you hold it, because of the location and design of the antenna.

So to summarize, yes I can make the signal drop and it has led to dropped calls or trouble continuing the call. It's particularly bad in my office if I hold the phone "incorrectly" while texting or using the phone in portrait mode for something else. Luckily I'm on WiFi when I'm using it like that so it's normally not as big of an issue.

Ultimately it is a real problem with the iPhone 4 and will impact those who have borderline AT&T network coverage more than those who have great coverage. When Apple pushes this new fix forward it's really going to show people whether they have good signal or bad signal where they live (hopefully)." (Make sure you check out Anandtech's full report on the signal issue, as well.)

 

[NFS4]

I'm not arguing that at all and agree with it. I don't have it on my phone but thats irrelevant. If I did I would return my phone just like everyone should be doing. I wouldn't even hesitate. That is the only way to get Apple to recognize the issue it has on their hands, by losing a ton of money.

Normally the fanboys who tolerate the company's flaws are the minority - now even the mainstream haters are tollerating the flaws instead of acting on them. And their trying to justify their decision in a way that shows Apple is doing all they need to do. "Oh but it will only affect me 10% of the time when I travel." Why would a company bend over backwards to do a recall when the consumers are not really outcrying. The media is. The users are not outcrying except on message boards. Return it now and APple might listen.

I don't know if you're talking about me, but I'm not a "mainstream hater".

I have owned an iPod 5.5G, 32GB iPod touch 1G, 32GB iPod touch 2G, iPhone 3GS and now have an iPhone 4. My wife has an iPhone 3GS and my personal computer is 13" MacBook Pro.

I can "tolerate" but so much. Just like a tolerate the SATA II issues on my MBP -- or rather, the lack of SATA II support with SSDs. Because of the problem, I have to run my 128GB SSD at SATA-150 speeds instead of SATA-300 speeds.

I was growing intolerant of the iPhone 4 reception problems, but the MicroCell makes the problem go away when I'm at home.

 

[Zargon]

I'm not arguing that at all and agree with it. I don't have it on my phone but thats irrelevant. If I did I would return my phone just like everyone should be doing. I wouldn't even hesitate. That is the only way to get Apple to recognize the issue it has on their hands, by losing a ton of money.

Normally the fanboys who tolerate the company's flaws are the minority - now even the mainstream haters are tollerating the flaws instead of acting on them. And their trying to justify their decision in a way that shows Apple is doing all they need to do. "Oh but it will only affect me 10% of the time when I travel." Why would a company bend over backwards to do a recall when the consumers are not really outcrying. The media is. The users are not outcrying except on message boards. Return it now and APple might listen.

I agree that the only way to force a real fix is to start handing them back in for a droid phone or something similar thats not apple.

 

[Spicedaddy]

It shouldn't have shipped like this, but Apple is on a 1-year release schedule for iPhones so any kind of delay would make them look bad.

The next solution would've been to include their crappy bumper in the box, which probably would've cost them 10 cents a piece. Instead, they'll deny any problems until the next iPhone is released.

If it were a car, things would be different, but it's electronics and companies can get away with stuff like this. Just look at HP laptops made in the last few years...

 

[Nothinman]

It shouldn't have shipped like this, but Apple is on a 1-year release schedule for iPhones so any kind of delay would make them look bad.

The next solution would've been to include their crappy bumper in the box, which probably would've cost them 10 cents a piece. Instead, they'll deny any problems until the next iPhone is released.

If it were a car, things would be different, but it's electronics and companies can get away with stuff like this. Just look at HP laptops made in the last few years...

So it's cool because everyone else sucks too? I thought Apple was supposed to be better than the rest of the industry?

 

[sfryman]

I have an iphone4 and I love it. It's fast, takes great photos, the screen is gorgeous, and phone reception is actually really good if you don't use the death grip..

That said, I can easily reproduce the antenna/reception problem and at this point it's ridiculous trying to deny such an obvious design flaw.

This all *could* have been a non-issue. All they had to do was give away free bumpers and no-one would care about the "antenna issue". At the very least if they had acknowledged the problem and offered a discount on the bumper case (or really any other symbolic olive branch) Apple would not be seeing so much bad press.

Apple's response (particularly Steve Jobs' email responses, assuming these are real) has been hopelessly flubbed. The cost of giving away free bumpers is a fraction of the cost they are bearing by continuing to deny there is a problem. Frankly, I find this the most disappointing thing about the whole debacle.

The antenna issue itself is really pretty minor in comparison to the mistakes Apple is making on the PR front right now.

 

[zerocool84]

So it's cool because everyone else sucks too? I thought Apple was supposed to be better than the rest of the industry?

That's what all these Apple fans always say that they just work and have higher build quality than other phones.

Also many of you guys still miss the point, you shouldn't have to buy a case for the phone to work as intended. I hate having cases on my phones.

 

[Fingolfin269]

That's what all these Apple fans always say that they just work and have higher build quality than other phones.

Also many of you guys still miss the point, you shouldn't have to buy a case for the phone to work as intended. I hate having cases on my phones.

The real point here is that Apple has not admitted a hardware fault but that's only a problem if you've been affected in some way. I believe people can still return phones at this point so they should probably just do that if they are in a low signal area and don't want a case.

 

[speg]

Let's not forget the phone has only been out for 2.5 weeks. If you really think they're not going to do anything, you blew it.