Archive for the 'Apple' Category

The reception issues on iPhone 4, and advice on how “to carry it the correct way”, has become the joke of the week around internet.

Almost every competitor with  a grudge against iPhone needed to chime in with their very own version of “you can hold our device anyway you like and it still works” quip.

Looks like Apple is feeling the warmth, and now they decided to deal with  issue head on. Their conclusions?

Reception on iPhone 4 is only fine. Every phone gets weaker reception, when you hold it the certain way  But we had a wrong formula to calculate the variety of bars indicating signal strengths. we actually used this faulty formula for the last 2 years, in iPhone 3G and threeGs too. we are engaged on a brand new formula for a better firmware update. As soon because it’s out, the issues will depart and you’ll have the ability to hold your iPhone anyway you want… If there’s enough signal, that is…

Here’s the relevant a part of the clicking release:

Upon investigation, we were stunned in finding that the formula we use to calculate what number of bars of signal strength to display is completely wrong. Our formula, in lots of instances, mistakenly displays 2 more bars than it’s going to for a given signal strength. as an example, we sometimes display 4 bars once we should be displaying as few as 2 bars. Users observing a drop of several bars once they grip their iPhone in a definite way are obviously in a neighborhood with very weak signal strength, however they don’t understand it because we’re erroneously displaying 4 or 5 bars. Their big drop in bars is because their high bars were never real in the 1st place.

To fix this, we’re adopting AT&T’s recently recommended formula for calculating what number of bars to display for a given signal strength. the genuine signal strength remains a similar, but the iPhone’s bars will report it much more accurately, providing users a miles better indication of the reception they’re going to get in a given area. we are also making bars 1, 2 and 3 a piece taller so that they shall be easier to work out.

It actually correlates quite well with the detailed analysis of iPhone 4 reception issues the AnandTech did.

But it still doesn’t address the the issue of the shortcoming of insulating coating on external antenna, that is the first cause of the difficulty, and why bumper cases fix the problem at the moment.

Let’s hope Apple at least quietly adds a thin insulator layer within the next iPhone 4 production runs.

A lot of folk needs to be tired by now from these kinds of iPhone is coming to Verizon rumors. in spite of everything, Verizon iPhone has been rumored to happen for several years now,  and nothing ever came out of it.

Sorry, can’t assist you to.  CDMA iPhone 4 on Verizon rumors, will only get more loud and frequent within the following couple of months.

And this is, because, IMHO, this time they’re true.

I remember similar rumor fest raging about Apple’s iPad.The darn device was mentioned and predicted for years, but never released. ranging from last summer, and going into the autumn, the crescendo of rumors about iPad’s imminent arrival reached  unbelievable levels. per week brought claim from someone, who talked to someone, who knew something about Apple’s tablet device.

Well, I see something similar playing out now about iPhone 4 for Verizon. With the newest Bloomerg report, citing “2 people familiar with the plans” of iPhone 4 January launch on Verizon, adding to the noise.

And the  signs that AT&T is loosing it’s iPhone exclusivity this year, are pretty clear by now.

First, there are those extremely generous iPhone 4 upgrade subsidy extensions, where AT&T is allowing free upgrades months before current customer  contract runs out. the one cause of AT&T to try this, and lose money within the process, is the desire to fasten-in current iPhone customers into 2 year contracts, before they choose to go in different places.

Then there’s the actual fact that, by now, almost everyone who desired to get iPhone  on AT&T, already got one. to restore the U.S iPhone growth, Apple now must look to other carriers.

The first sign of that was Apple’s Q2 financial results, that showed a transparent slowdown in iPhone U.S. sales growth, Now, after a mega successful iPhone 4 launch, we get analyst estimates, that 77% of iPhone 4s went to upgrades, which confirms that future iPhone growth possibilities on AT&T are extremely limited.

I don’t know when it’s happening exactly, for Holiday season, as some say. Or next January, as Bloomberg reports now, but, IMHO, iPhone on Verizon is imminent within next 6-yr.

T-Mobile USA isn’t the one North American carrier to launch the Galaxy S as Samsung Vibrant: Bell shall be spreading the vibrant Android fun, too – but in Canada, obviously.

It feels like Bell is the exclusive Canadian carrier for the Galaxy S Vibrant. However, this doesn’t mean Rogers or Telus won’t have the ability to release the smartphone – they’re able to just give it another name, like Verizon did within the US.

Bell presents the Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant as having the area’s best mobile screen (4 inches, WVGA Super AMOLED). Sure enough, Apple may beg to vary.

The Vibrant will probably run Android 2.1 at launch. But don’t worry, a Froyo update shall be released sometime later this year.

Bell doesn’t say when exactly its Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant shall be available. The handset’s price also is not known, but Canadian customers should expect to pay not more than $200 for it on contract. which you can check in here to receive more details from Bell.

Via BGR

If you’ve an iPhone 4, got hundreds money, and wish to reveal off, how would you try this?

Now, that Apple has sold 1.7 million of darn things in a single weekend, soon everyone and their grandma shall be carrying iPhone 4 around.

Don’t worry, luxury phone maker Gresso is rushing to the rescue. They  shall be able to customize your iPhone 4 with 200 year old African Blackwood for a case, and 18 karat gold for an Apple logo soon.

Only at $3000-3500 a pop.

Greeso plans to launch two versions in their customized iPhones – both for ladies and men. Female African Blackwood iPhone 4 and 3GS will include “dainty engraving and Swarovski crystals incrustation”, and value $3500, while male versions will be more strict and less expensive by $500.

Gresso iPhone 3GS will start shipping in July, and that they plan to have iPhone 4 ready for market in December.

So Apple has acknowledged that its fresh, revolutionary iPhone 4 has signal reception issues – as a result of the manner the antennas are integrated into the immaculate steel band that’s wrapped across the device.

The company doesn’t say when or if it intends to repair this, however it does provide a couple of solutions.

Engadget has Apple’s official response on the problem:

Gripping any cellular phone will bring about some attenuation of its antenna performance, with certain places being worse than others dependent on the situation of the antennas. this is a fact of life for each wireless phone. if you ever experience this in your iPhone 4, avoid gripping it within the lower left corner in a manner that covers either side of the black strip within the metal band, or just use one of many available cases.

Moreover, a user wrote an email on to Steve Jobs, complaining that “when I put my hand on the steel bands I lose all reception.”

The answer: “Just avoid holding it that way.”

So what Apple is suggesting is that it’s actually users’ fault that their iPhone 4s have reception issues.

I’m curious to understand if Apple knew about this problem before launching the hot iPhone. If it did, it’s not in any respect flattering that it waited until users discovered the difficulty, and only then acknowledged its existence. If it didn’t, well, that also looks bad for the corporate, as this proves that it didn’t test the device thoroughly.

Eldar Murtazin thinks that Apple mainly tested iPhone 4s units with protective cases on, “for security reasons”, and it’s likely that no left-handed person tested the device without a case on.

So, the best strategy to resolve the difficulty is, indeed, the only given by Steve Jobs: don’t hold your iPhone 4 in such way that you simply hand interacts with both antennas (yes, that’s a slightly ridiculous demand, I do know , especially for left-handed people). the other official solution (buying an Apple bumper case for $29) isn’t only expensive, however it also will make your iPhone look less cool. an alternative solution can be: visit a service center and ask in the event that they can apply a skinny isolation layer on the band portion that causes problems.

Perhaps the white iPhone 4 was delayed exactly on account of the reception issue, and perhaps Apple is asking for ways to isolate the antennas on it. It shouldn’t be too hard, I’m hoping.