The next iPhone
Jul 23, 2010 | 1:29 am
#316
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I have a new issue. When using 3G or EDGE, I cannot get the main iphone weather app to download updates, nor stocks. But email and Safari work fine. When I switch to WiFi all is fine. This has been going on for days and is still present after a reboot. I'm still on 4.0 since I don't care about bars and I don't think there were any other fixes in 4.0.1?
Is anyone else seeing this?
Is anyone else seeing this?
Jul 23, 2010 | 3:04 am
#317
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I really don't get the issue with using a bumper, I can't imagine why you would not want to use some kind of case to protect it from scratches.
I don't think one defect renders the entire product "badly designed". The main issue I have are dropped calls, poor battery life and the fact that my speakerphone is always muted (don't quite understand that one). The dropped calls are puzzling because my AT&T blackberry does fine in the same areas. So I think there is some kind of defect in the iPhone antenna beyond the one discussed (as mine has been in a case from day 1). I would really hate to give up the phone but of course the voice service is the most important part (as I don't have a home phone), so may have to consider one of those signal boosters. Or maybe switch to Verizon in a couple of years.
My other complaint is that the phone uses a lot of juice for push email, bluetooth, and location services apps like google maps and trapster. I hate to shut these down during the day but the alternative is a phone with 20% juice by the end of the workday. So the compromise is to shut off push and sometimes data during the day, and to use mostly WiFi at home. However shutting down data seems to disable the messaging services. Very frustrating, but I guess I'm glad I didn't get a Sprint EVO which supposedly has ever worse battery life.
I don't think one defect renders the entire product "badly designed". The main issue I have are dropped calls, poor battery life and the fact that my speakerphone is always muted (don't quite understand that one). The dropped calls are puzzling because my AT&T blackberry does fine in the same areas. So I think there is some kind of defect in the iPhone antenna beyond the one discussed (as mine has been in a case from day 1). I would really hate to give up the phone but of course the voice service is the most important part (as I don't have a home phone), so may have to consider one of those signal boosters. Or maybe switch to Verizon in a couple of years.
My other complaint is that the phone uses a lot of juice for push email, bluetooth, and location services apps like google maps and trapster. I hate to shut these down during the day but the alternative is a phone with 20% juice by the end of the workday. So the compromise is to shut off push and sometimes data during the day, and to use mostly WiFi at home. However shutting down data seems to disable the messaging services. Very frustrating, but I guess I'm glad I didn't get a Sprint EVO which supposedly has ever worse battery life.
Jul 23, 2010 | 3:07 am
#318
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It has been pointed out here several times that the issue is primarily with the AT&T network, but it does not seem to sway those who irrationally hate Apple.
Jul 23, 2010 | 11:25 am
#320
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like it
I expect ilounge.com to have tested all the available (3-5 weeks delivery) cases by this weekend for how well they fix the reception issue. Note, they could NOT recommend the apple case - I actually liked it.
but, the iphone 4 went back already, and I'm rockin' my 3gs again.
Jul 23, 2010 | 3:37 pm
#321
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I just sold my iPhone 4 on a local auction site. Now I got back all my costs, not just the phone with Apple's refund offer.
It's a superior device but with the most interfere prone antenna. I'll buy a temporary Nokia C5 or something similar cheap and be back with the iPhone when Apple gets a decent antenna. (I already sold my old 3GS, too)
The problem effects every 3G network out there, not just AT&T. But it's not the same for everyone, depends how you hold the phone usually, left or right hand, how your body reacts as an antenna, size of your hand, etc. I get full bars (4.0.1) on 3G and data transfer rates over 5 Mbit/s here at home if I don't touch the phone -- if I hold it normally for web browsing, like I hold the 3GS, the phone can drop from 3G down to GSM.
The legal environment in the US probably prevents Apple from to acknowledge there's a problem.
It's a superior device but with the most interfere prone antenna. I'll buy a temporary Nokia C5 or something similar cheap and be back with the iPhone when Apple gets a decent antenna. (I already sold my old 3GS, too)
The problem effects every 3G network out there, not just AT&T. But it's not the same for everyone, depends how you hold the phone usually, left or right hand, how your body reacts as an antenna, size of your hand, etc. I get full bars (4.0.1) on 3G and data transfer rates over 5 Mbit/s here at home if I don't touch the phone -- if I hold it normally for web browsing, like I hold the 3GS, the phone can drop from 3G down to GSM.
The legal environment in the US probably prevents Apple from to acknowledge there's a problem.
Jul 25, 2010 | 2:54 am
#324
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I'm not on AT&T network, not even in the US.
The frequency makes a difference, I had the problem with both 900 Mhz and 2100 Mhz 3G. The person makes a difference, your body, your hand, left vs. right, how you hold the phone, etc. The network quality didn't make a major difference (e.g. 5+ Mbit/s full bars 2100 Mhz 3G and ~2 Mbit/s half bars 900 Mhz 3G, both go down to GSM if I hold the phone for a while).
If I did a phone call, I started with a high quality 3G. When I looked at the phone after a 10 minute call, I was down to GSM. The person at the other end complained that my voice sounds like I have a bad reception, ie. the voice is being compressed heavily.
I'm not blaming the network, never had such a problems, not even with the 3GS. I don't remember when I had a dropped call the last time. I just consider myself the worst possible user for the iPhone 4 antenna design, which I find flawed (like most antenna engineers do), and can perfectly understand that the phone works for some other people.
The frequency makes a difference, I had the problem with both 900 Mhz and 2100 Mhz 3G. The person makes a difference, your body, your hand, left vs. right, how you hold the phone, etc. The network quality didn't make a major difference (e.g. 5+ Mbit/s full bars 2100 Mhz 3G and ~2 Mbit/s half bars 900 Mhz 3G, both go down to GSM if I hold the phone for a while).
If I did a phone call, I started with a high quality 3G. When I looked at the phone after a 10 minute call, I was down to GSM. The person at the other end complained that my voice sounds like I have a bad reception, ie. the voice is being compressed heavily.
I'm not blaming the network, never had such a problems, not even with the 3GS. I don't remember when I had a dropped call the last time. I just consider myself the worst possible user for the iPhone 4 antenna design, which I find flawed (like most antenna engineers do), and can perfectly understand that the phone works for some other people.
Jul 25, 2010 | 3:56 am
#325
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In most Euro countries I am surrounded by both 900 and 1800 MHz and never have had a problem no matter how I hold the iphone 4. I have even tried asking others to hold it left and right and I have yet to see any negative result. It is pretty easy to conclude from that, and from the lab tests linked in this thread, that the network DOES matter.
I'm not saying there isn't an antenna issue. But in all the countries I have been to that antenna issue isn't bad enough to exhibit any problems.
I'm planning to visit the US in a few weeks. I will give it try there to see if results are different.
I'm not saying there isn't an antenna issue. But in all the countries I have been to that antenna issue isn't bad enough to exhibit any problems.
I'm planning to visit the US in a few weeks. I will give it try there to see if results are different.
Jul 25, 2010 | 8:41 am
#326
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http://www.antennasys.com/antennasys...athinator.html
He thinks the free case closes the issue.
Jul 25, 2010 | 8:57 am
#327
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Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPad; U; CPU OS 3_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/531.21.10 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.4 Mobile/7B405 Safari/531.21.10)
Here is one antenna engineer's investigation:
http://www.antennasys.com/antennasys...athinator.html
He thinks the free case closes the issue.
Thanks. That is very interesting. That basically agrees with one of the reports above as well. What is interesting is that even in worst case it is better than the iPhone 3G. I was talking to a colleague while waiting for a delayed Friday about his iPhone 4. He said he definitely could duplicate the effect but that when not holding the phone there it seemed a lot better reception wise than his 3GS. That would be consistent with these observations as well.
Originally Posted by wco81
http://www.antennasys.com/antennasys...athinator.html
He thinks the free case closes the issue.
Jul 26, 2010 | 12:50 pm
#328
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Apple loses Jailbreaking legalality ruling in US
I have always maintained that it is perfectly legal to "jailbreak" or do anything I want with the iphone that I purchased. Now a legal ruling has affirmed this (for the US at least), thanks to the EFF. ^
http://www.gadgetsdna.com/jailbreaki...eral-law/5038/
Ditto for unlocking your phone.
http://www.gadgetsdna.com/jailbreaki...eral-law/5038/
Ditto for unlocking your phone.
Jul 26, 2010 | 3:09 pm
#329
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I have always maintained that it is perfectly legal to "jailbreak" or do anything I want with the iphone that I purchased. Now a legal ruling has affirmed this (for the US at least), thanks to the EFF. ^
http://www.gadgetsdna.com/jailbreaki...eral-law/5038/
Ditto for unlocking your phone.
http://www.gadgetsdna.com/jailbreaki...eral-law/5038/
Ditto for unlocking your phone.
Jul 26, 2010 | 7:58 pm
#330
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I have always maintained that it is perfectly legal to "jailbreak" or do anything I want with the iphone that I purchased. Now a legal ruling has affirmed this (for the US at least), thanks to the EFF. ^
http://www.gadgetsdna.com/jailbreaki...eral-law/5038/
Ditto for unlocking your phone.
http://www.gadgetsdna.com/jailbreaki...eral-law/5038/
Ditto for unlocking your phone.
What the ruling says is that if you can find a way to legally unlock your phone then you can legally put legal software on it, but Apple can still sue the team that developed the software to defeat their protection systems so the victory is part real, part pyrrhic.