Live data from Hacker News

Apple letter about iPhone 4

apple.com

21–30 of 145 posts

Re: Apple letter about iPhone 4

#21
post #4
post #2

" This is true of iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, as well as many Droid[sic], Nokia and RIM phones. " Droid phones?

Does the Droid have an antenna? Edit: I didn't understand your original comment. Rereading it, yeah, that doesn't make much sense. Perhaps the dear leader only cares about the Droid family on Verizon. Well, more likely they just didn't want to acknowledge the existence of Android in a press release where they are delivering a mea culpa.

upvoted you, because I don't know how to downvote...

Re: Apple letter about iPhone 4

#22
This is all kinda bad, but... really... if you're so convinced that your phone is b0rken, why not just stop yapping and go make use of your return policy?

add.: yes, YOU, DOWNVOTER! Solve the problem you're holding in your hand instead of just focusing on pointing your finger at Apple - enough people are already busy doing that 24 hours a day.

Re: Apple letter about iPhone 4

#23

It's great to see Apple taking on the problem head-on. I'd much rather see honesty from a company than have them deny it and sweep it under the rug as if it were never a problem.

"taking on the problem head-on" - my reading of this was just the opposite.

They are attempting to put a different spin on the whole issue , its not that the phone has a faulty antenna or you are "holding it incorrectly" - its that we display incorrect number of signal bars, nonsense.

A correct- taking the problem head-on approach would be - "We apologize for the mistake and are aiming to rectify it in the next software update. Thank You."

Re: Apple letter about iPhone 4

#26

This doesn't seem to jive with AnandTech's testing which ignored the bars completely and installed some software to read the signal strength directly. Their conclusion was that the iPhone 4 had better reception overall than the 3GS for various reasons, (a fact which Apple seem to be clinging to like a life raft) but that the external antennae was still faulty even when held "normally" and if fixed would make a major…

I believe that both Apple's letter and AnandTech's review show us that we shouldn't be measuring signal strength (either numerically or with bars).

AnandTech said "That brings me to the way that signal quality should really be reported - Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR)." [1]

I found a good comment on MeFi that discusses the bars' uselessness for CDMA. [2]

[1] http://www.anandtech.com/show/3794/the-iphone-4-review/2

[2] http://ask.metafilter.com/60227/What-do-cell-phone-reception...

Re: Apple letter about iPhone 4

#27
From paragraph six, "We are also making bars 1, 2 and 3 a bit taller so they will be easier to see."

It's a psychological thing. A few extra pixels do indeed give the illusion of better network reception, albeit the actual level doesn't change.

Similar to designing progress bars, the actual progress is hidden from the user. Instead, the user is presented with the illusion that the process is progressing faster than it actually is.

Re: Apple letter about iPhone 4

#28
To phrase that another way, it's not that covering the antennae gives you poor reception, it's that you've always had poor reception but didn't realize it.

Doesn't seem right to me, as I thought I had hear complaints about calls being dropped upon covering the antenna - not just fewer bars.

Re: Apple letter about iPhone 4

#29
post #9

"As a reminder, if you are not fully satisfied, you can return your undamaged iPhone to any Apple Retail Store or the online Apple Store within 30 days of purchase for a full refund." This is more pragmatic than bitching on the Internet (I concede a difference between investing and reporting these problems and merely bitching) or class action lawsuits[1]. Vote with your wallet, eh? [1] http://news.ycombinator.com/ite…

Would there be issues with an early termination fee or the contract?

Re: Apple letter about iPhone 4

#30
post #23

It's great to see Apple taking on the problem head-on. I'd much rather see honesty from a company than have them deny it and sweep it under the rug as if it were never a problem.

"taking on the problem head-on" - my reading of this was just the opposite. They are attempting to put a different spin on the whole issue , its not that the phone has a faulty antenna or you are "holding it incorrectly" - its that we display incorrect number of signal bars, nonsense. A correct- taking the problem head-on approach would be - "We apologize for the mistake and are aiming to rectify it in the next softw…

I believe that comment was dripping with a heavy dose of sarcasm.
Post reply on HN