[opendtv] Apple promises software fix for iPhone 4 signal woes
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 6 Jul 2010 12:59:26 -0500
Obviously, a software fix to re3duce the number of bars showing won't fix
reception problems. To me, what this says is that the FCC should re-evaluate
their hype about grabbing 600 MHz spectrum for hand-held devices. These
built-in anetnnas are even less efficient at lower frequencies.
Bert
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http://www.rethink-wireless.com/2010/07/05/apple-promises-software-fix-iphone-4-signal-woes.htm
Apple promises software fix for iPhone 4 signal woes
"Stunning discovery" of software problem raises question over performance
By CAROLINE GABRIEL
Published: 5 July, 2010
Apple's normal response to criticisms of the iPhone is to ignore them, so its
public statements about antenna problems in iPhone 4 shows how seriously these
are perceived. First, customers found that the phone had a very poor signal
unless held in a certain way (difficult for lefthanders in particular). This
was apparently down to the innovative way the antenna was integrated into the
casing, which was one of the new features Apple CEO Steve Jobs praised most
highly at launch. Now it seems the problem may be more wide ranging, but Apple
is claiming a software update should fix the issue.
At first, Apple said that, if customers held the phone around the lower
left-hand corner, they were covering the antenna, and should either hold it
differently, or buy a $29 rubber bumper.
But now, the firm says it had made a "stunning" discovery - that people think
they have a better signal than they really do. In a statement, Apple said it
had made a mistake in the formula that calculates the number of bars that
display signal strength (something that affects all iPhones, not just the new
one). "We were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many
bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong," Apple admitted. "Our
formula, in many instances, mistakenly displays two more bars than it should
for a given signal strength. Users observing a drop of several bars when they
grip their iPhone in a certain way are most likely in an area with very weak
signal strength, but they don't know it."
This was convenient for Apple in some ways - refocusing attention on the
vagaries of AT&T's network rather than its hardware design, and promising a
software fix. But it also raised question marks over design quality across the
iPhone range, and of course, did not promise the handsets would gain better
reception, just that users would be more aware of problem areas.
"If the only thing that Apple is changing in this software fix is how the bars
are calculated, then this is simply a pacifier for people who like to watch
bars," Spencer Webb, president of antenna design firm AntennaSys, told Signal
Strength. This could obscure the real issue - is the iPhone 4 more sensitive to
antenna disruption than other devices?
However the problems are resolved, the dispute has been a rare PR blunder for
Apple, attracting a wave of cynicism and sarcasm over the blogs. The Daring
Fireball blog voiced the views of many, translating Apple's statement as: "We
decided from the outset to set the formula for our bars-of-signal strength
indicator to make the iPhone look good - to make it look as if it gets more
bars. That decision has now bit us on our a**."
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