Apple's iPhone 4 antenna-gate gambit pays off
- 20 July, 2010 08:00
- Comments 2
To save Apple's iPhone 4 from antenna scrutiny, all it took was the promise of free bumper cases and a dose of Steve Jobs' magic.
The iPhone 4's antenna problems continue to be a major tech story, but the debate has changed. Before Apple held the last-minute press conference on Friday, pundits and analysts debated how Apple would respond. That there was a major problem with the iPhone 4's antenna to begin with was a foregone conclusion.
On stage, Jobs clouded the issue. He showed evidence that iPhone 4 customers are happier than ever (return rates are lower for iPhone 4 than they were for iPhone 3GS). He pointed a finger at other phones for having the same issues, and he blamed the tech press for blowing the issue out of proportion. Now, the debate lies in whether Jobs is right.
On Monday, HTC, Research in Motion, Samsung and Nokia fired back at Apple. HTC said support calls for the Droid Eris, which Jobs called out for losing signal when gripped tightly, were only related to reception issues 0.016 percent of the time, compared with 0.55 percent for iPhone 4. RIM said that getting drawn into Apple's "self-made debacle is unacceptable," unaware of the irony that the response alone draws in RIM even further.
At this point, Apple's done enough to deflect the issue. Patrick Kerley, a communications expert, told Computerworld that softening the focus on Apple is "a pretty classic way to try to talk about a situation." I'm reminded of he-said, she-said journalism, where the reader just ends up confused because both sides are telling different stories: So, does the iPhone 4 have an antenna problem, or does every smartphone have an antenna problem?
Lost in the shuffle, there's an answer: JR Raphael at Computerworld and Fortune's Seth Weintraub both note that the iPhone 4's problem, in which one finger can cause signal loss when bridging the gap between two external antennas, is not the same as covering up a large portion of a phone in the so-called "death grip." Apple's issue is unique because of the external antenna and the light amount of pressure required to interfere with it.
But with an offer of free cases on the table, and a three-week wait for anyone who wants to buy an iPhone 4, Apple can safely move on.
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- Apple: iPhone 4's Not Perfect -- Take a Free Case or Full Refund - PCWorld
- Apple's iPhone 4 Antenna-gate Timeline - PCWorld
- Apple's Free iPhone 4 Cases Come with Pinch of Scorn - PCWorld
- Samsung responds to Apple’s Antennagate : Samsung Hub
- Apple's Antenna Claims Bogus, Say HTC, RIM, and Nokia - PCWorld
- Crisis expert gives Apple a 'C' for iPhone 4 response - Computerworld
- PressThink: He Said, She Said Journalism: Lame Formula in the Land of the Active User
- Why Apple's iPhone defense is total nonsense - Computerworld Blogs
- Fortune's Seth Weintraub
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Comments
Wireless
1
No one seems to be talking about why Apple may have wanted to make an "external" antenna.
In antenna design - a larger antenna means a larger receive gain - which mirrors the better sensitivity of the iphone 4 compared with the 3gs. When the antenna is internal - its maximum size is limited due to other components.
In the end if, touching or gripping the iphone incorrectly gives a 20dB signal drop (seems to be what people are saying) - but its sensitivity is up to 20dB better - its a win-win situation.
If apple didn't mention a new antenna design people wouldn't be complaining so much. (since it doesn't affect people as much as the media reports seem to suggest)
The only other phone which seems to have "revolutionary" (for a phone) antenna design is the Droid X (dual antenna diversity design). Hopefully it doesn't cause a similar story for them :)
Ray of Bris
2
@Wireless
Hi there, I believe there are a few things missing from what you're saying. You're essentially correct in that they the iPhone 4 antenna is better than the 3GS and it was/is a good idea to improve reception. That said, the reception of an iPhone 4 is not better than most of the other smartphones out there in the market and they all have internal antennas. Go figure.
There are essentially two problems that Apple has managed to merge into one. The first deals with the antenna being covered, with your hand for example. This is a well known problem and affect every phone out there, iPhone or not.
The second problem is to do with the fact that skin contact alone BRIDGES two antennas and drops the signal significantly. This is simply a design flaw, as demonstrated by Consumer Reports in the U.S. when they had the phone in a clamp and dropped the signal significantly by simply touching that one spot with their fingertip.
They could have fixed this easily by putting a clear coat over the exposed steel frame during manufacture, and it would not detract from the svelte look of the phone at all. They could have, but they did not. In fact, Jobs went out of his way to explain this was not a problem at all and that "every phone suffers from it" - blatantly not true as no other phone suffers from this second problem.
In all seriousness, I think people would have had less of an issue if Apple came clean with it in the first place, rather than hock out statements like "hold different". I think he owes at least this much to people like myself who have gone out to buy an iPhone.