Consumers were hopeful when Verizon announced they would be carrying the long-awaited iPhone 4. Previously, the iPhone had only been carried by AT&T, but Verizon has long been lauded for its stellar reception, and there were reports of problems with the AT&T’s iPhone antenna. Hoping that this problem might be resolved, customers bravely purchased the Verizon iPhone-but unfortunately, it appears as though Apple has done nothing to remedy the problem.
Why would Apple choose not to fix this? They surely had ample time to; the antenna problems on the iPhone were manifested from the start. Unfortunately, the “death grip” remains an issue. If you are unfamiliar with the term, it refers to the problem that first appeared when iPhones were initially launched. Consumers found that holding their iPhones on a specific part of the edge caused dropped calls or lack of a connection, period. For a lot of people, it was natural to hold their device in this fashion, and so there were many complaints about why this was happening. Apple’s response to all of this was to deny all responsibility of the problem. Steve Jobs even declared that consumers were holding the phone the “wrong way”!
Still, Apple claims to have fixed the “non-existent” problem in Verizon’s iPhone. Apple did indeed make superficial, minor changes to the antenna on the Verizon iPhone. However, the problem still remains; while dissecting the phone it appears that there is an extra gap in the cellular band, which is intended to lessen the probability of dropping a call, but it is clear that the issue has not been addressed correctly. According to Consumer Reports, the Verizon iPhone “shares with its sibling the possibility of compromised performance in low-signal conditions when used without a bumper or case.”Does Apple plan to improve the antenna for the iPhone 5 or will the problem remain? It looks like we will have to wait and see, as the issue is clearly not fixed for the Verizon iPhone.
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A network, like a chain, is only as strong as it's weakest link. In this case it's Apple!
The iPhone 4 antenna is not perfect --no cell phone antenna is. But this is just not a real issue for most people, and certainly not a deal-stopper, as the success of the iPhone will attest.
ReplyDeleteI suspect that the people that write these negative articles fixated on antenna-gate also can't help picking at their scabs.
I know a dude that's a Best Buy manager. He said the returns for the Verizon iPhones at his location are really high. Some customers ask if they could swap it out for one that does not display the same defect but he said he checked with his Apple rep and he's "forbidden to open boxes to find a good one. Just refund their money." No joke, their words.
ReplyDeleteIf the "defect" is problem with bad reception due the actual antenna design, than "finding a good one" makes no sense, as they are all built the same. It would be silly to open and try each one. Apple should return their money immediately, rather than have rip open box after box only to be faced with reselling a batch of opened-box units.
ReplyDeleteI'm willing to concede that there may in fact be some customers for which the iPhone 4 doesn't work reliably. But if there really is a widespread problem with the design, I would expect to hear about it from many independent sources. The reviews I've read of the Verizon phone have all been positive.
HA HA AHAHAHA! Apple sucks. The iphone 4, the ipad 1&2 both suck.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous = Nelson from The Simpsons
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX7wtNOkuHo
Despite the haters gleeful trumpeting of iPhone 4's "Antennagate", Apple has yet again Topped J.D. Power Rankings of Smartphone Consumer Satisfaction. This supports my contention that the problem was way overblown and affected relatively few users.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.macrumors.com/2011/09/08/apple-again-tops-j-d-power-rankings-of-smartphone-consumer-satisfaction/