The old joke goes like this. Patient says “doctor my arm hurts when I do this”. Doctor says “then don’t do that”. It’s taken all of one day for a similar scenario to play out with the new iPhone 4. It seems a number of users are complaining of dropped calls (or at least a big drop in coverage) when they hold the phone a certain way.
It all deals with how the antenna is configured in the new iPhone 4. And if you grip the phone in the lower left corner, the reception drops. This might not be a big deal for most phones, but since this is the much hyped iPhone 4…where thousands stood in line to get one…and where Apple even pimped the new antenna configuration…it is a big deal for many owners of the new phone.
While Apple has acknowledged the problem, they have been nonchalant about it, issuing a release that states, in part, “Gripping any phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance, with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas. This is a fact of life for every wireless phone…If you ever experience this on your iPhone 4, avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases.”
Steve Jobs himself was even more blunt, responding to a user’s email with “Non issue. Just avoid holding it in that way.”
On one side, you can understand user’s frustration. This is supposed to be the greatest phone in the world but there’s an immediate issue with it (an issue not found in competing phones). But on the other side, you can also understand Apple’s response…as in, it’s not going to kill anyone to move their fingers an inch on the phone.
The question is, what do you think of “technology flaws” like this…and the resulting “user complaints”…in general?
Has no body heard of “If You Can’t Fix It, Feature It”
As in “ We have created for you the most advanced wireless phone in the world
which incorporates the latest design of antenna. This antenna is positioned in the lower left-hand corner of your phone, for absolute optimum performance please do not hold your phone so as to cover this area”
I made that up as I was typing it.
If you want a simple way of fixing other dam stupid problems
Contact me.
Steve
I guess these people are just too clever
Dave I agree with you but this is a lawsuuit waiting to happen. Just picture this someone goes to make a 911 call and the reception is dropped becuase of a design flaw. This might really come back to bite Apple in the rear with some hefty lawsuits.
Plus they are not soo successful that they can just brush off their paying customers openly, shoving them under the rug.
I guess the same people have a problem when they put their finger over the camera lens. Inept users shouldn’t buy products they can’t figure out how to use.