iPhone4 Hatred

There is a lot of iPhone 4 hatred out there. Apple has recently come under a lot of fire for antenna performance, lack of so called 4G (actually 3.9G LTE). Let's examine the first criticism objectively in this post and I'll address the others in upcoming posts. First a comedic interlude. 

So what is really going on with these antenna issues? Consumer Reports rated the new iPhone 4 as the top smart phone it has ever tested, only to not recommend it due to the antenna issues. I keep saying issues because it can be broken down into two parts. First, the way iOS4 reported signal strength gave people a false sense that signal was stronger then it really was. Anandtec has a great illustration of the difference between what iOS reported in 4.0 to 4.0.1. 
As you can see the middle range was very compressed. The new way will tell people just how crappy we all know the 3G GSM network is that AT&T provides. For those of you Android fans, I suggest you check the link out and see what Droid reports. iOS4 now reports the least compressed bar range out of any smartphone.

The second issue is hand placement. This generated a lot of play in the press and is a real problem for some users. If you place your hand on a certain spot, you can drop your phone performance considerably. Anandtec discusses it in the above article and Apple has posted about their testing. Compared to other phones, Apple made a different design decision -- they opted for good performance in low signal situations. Considering the fact that they are on AT&T's network this is probably a wise choice. A case and better hand placement can reduce the impact of that giant attenuator known as the human body. I usually use my bluetooth anyway (I'm one of those that only seem to call while driving or walking through the city) so I've not been as impacted as others.

Other phone manufactures have responded with weasel words, but have not challenged any of the findings published on Apples website. Apple has offered free cases to iPhone purchasers, Details on how to order a free Bumper or case will be available soon on apple.com.