iPhone 4G?

[billybob476]

As a preliminary (and I assume ineffective) step, Apple released iOS 4.0.1 yesterday. Haven't applied it myself as of yet.

http://lifehacker.com/5588116/iphone-401-update-improves-signal-strength-formula-ipad-321-adds-several-fixes?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+lifehacker/full+(Lifehacker)

[Bryancd]

As a preliminary (and I assume ineffective) step, Apple released iOS 4.0.1 yesterday. Haven't applied it myself as of yet.

http://lifehacker.com/5588116/iphone-401-update-improves-signal-strength-formula-ipad-321-adds-several-fixes?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+lifehacker/full+(Lifehacker)

Yeah, I mentioned yesterday this was coming. According to Apple they have seen an improvement in signal strength but this will not preclude a repair option for the effected phones.

[Feathers]

As a preliminary (and I assume ineffective) step, Apple released iOS 4.0.1 yesterday. Haven't applied it myself as of yet.

http://lifehacker.com/5588116/iphone-401-update-improves-signal-strength-formula-ipad-321-adds-several-fixes?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+lifehacker/full+(Lifehacker)

Just put this on mine. The impact seems to be that instead of a five bar 3G signal upstairs and a one or two bar signal downstairs, I get two bars upstairs and one downstairs. What I'm not clear on is whether they've simply fiddled with the way the bars are drawn or whether the change actually affects the way the device behaves in areas of poor reception (or even whether it will for a '4' but not for mine).

What makes me laugh is that while I have only a single bar now, the bar is much bigger than it used to be. Who said size didn't matter??? ;)

[billybob476]

so is one bigger bar better then two smaller ones? :D

All they did was change the math behind the calculation of how many bars to show. It has no effect on actual connectivity.

[X]

so is one bigger bar better then two smaller ones? :D

All they did was change the math behind the calculation of how many bars to show. It has no effect on actual connectivity.

Right. Now that people are invested in the phone, they can see how crappy the connection actually is now that the illusion is gone.

[Feathers]

so is one bigger bar better then two smaller ones? :D

All they did was change the math behind the calculation of how many bars to show. It has no effect on actual connectivity.

That's what I believe but it's not impossible that some functionality is triggered of the signal strength display. It would be sloppy programming and Apple isn't known for that but it's not impossible.

[Feathers]

so is one bigger bar better then two smaller ones? :D

All they did was change the math behind the calculation of how many bars to show. It has no effect on actual connectivity.

Right. Now that people are invested in the phone, they can see how crappy the connection actually is now that the illusion is gone.

It's funny, my instant reaction to reading this was a bit negative but it's actually exactly what I was thinking an hour ago.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if the 'erroneous calculation' was in place from Day 1 to fool the masses as to the reception and Apple 'found out' when it started to cause more problems than it solved.

[X]

so is one bigger bar better then two smaller ones? :D

All they did was change the math behind the calculation of how many bars to show. It has no effect on actual connectivity.

Right. Now that people are invested in the phone, they can see how crappy the connection actually is now that the illusion is gone.

It's funny, my instant reaction to reading this was a bit negative but it's actually exactly what I was thinking an hour ago.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if the 'erroneous calculation' was in place from Day 1 to fool the masses as to the reception and Apple 'found out' when it started to cause more problems than it solved.

Well, not to surprise you, but Apple did confirm that the erroneous calculation has been around since the beginning. The only question is if they knew then what they know now.

Regardless, people have too much invested in apps and music to drop the phone now. Looks like a win for Apple.

[Bryancd]

The conference has started. Stay tuned.

1:01 Jazz music continues to play in the background... waiting for Steveo Friday July 16, 2010 1:01  

1:03 Running a few minutes late here... Friday July 16, 2010 1:03  

1:05 Apple's having a bit of fun with this, playing the iPhone Antenna song in the background.
1:06 Steve Jobs has arrived...
Friday July 16, 2010 1:06  

1:07 It will be a 15 minute presentation, he says... Friday July 16, 2010 1:07  

1:07 Jobs is conceding that Apple isn't perfect and neither are its cell phones, yet the company is committed to making its customers happy. Friday July 16, 2010 1:07  

1:08 He's going to present some data. To date, Apple has shipped 3 million iPhone 4s.
Friday July 16, 2010 1:08  

1:09 Jobs is talking about media publications that give the iPhone some of the highest ratings, noting that customer satisfaction is also off the charts. Friday July 16, 2010 1:09  

1:09 Still, the company was receiving reports of antenna issues and videos began appearing on websites like Gizmodo. Friday July 16, 2010 1:09  

1:10 For 22 days Apple has been working their 'butts off," Jobs says. Friday July 16, 2010 1:10  

[billybob476]

Oh man, he's talking about how other phones do the same thing. I hope he's not trying to justify it.

[Bryancd]

1:11 Jobs says the company doesnt have its head in the sand, instead they've been focusing on pinpointing the real problem so that they can then form an appropriate sollution. Friday July 16, 2010 1:11 

1:12 Jobs is providing evidence that shows other cellphones, like the BlackBerry bold 9700 also show a signal drop when cupped a certain way: from 5 bars to 1. Friday July 16, 2010 1:12 

1:12 Similarly, the HTC Droid Eris goes from 4 bars to 2. Friday July 16, 2010 1:12 

1:13 Things aren't much different for Samsung Omnia II. Friday July 16, 2010 1:13 

1:15 Jobs maintains that he could go on with the list of rival phones that exhibit the same behavior, adding that smartphones are not perfect, overall. Friday July 16, 2010 1:15 

1:16 Jobs maintains that the separation in the antennas on the bottom left of the new iPhone exploited the issue. Friday July 16, 2010 1:16 

1:17 Since the iOS software was calibrating bars incorrectly, the resulting drop in signal from touching that portion of the phone made the end result look surprising. Friday July 16, 2010 1:17 

1:17 So Apple changed the algorithm yesterday with iOS 4.0.1 Friday July 16, 2010 1:17 

[KingIsaacLinksr]

Oh man, he's talking about how other phones do the same thing. I hope he's not trying to justify it.

he is, the idiot.  

Jason Snell:
0.55% of all iPhone customers have called AppleCare with an antenna issue.

That's because no one can call them through applecare on their iPhone you dunce!!!!!!!!!

King

[Bryancd]

1:18 As such, Apple's invested over $100 million in a state of the art test facility with 17 anechoic chambers, staffed by 18 PhD scientists and engineers. Friday July 16, 2010 1:18  

1:19 The iPhone 4 was tested in the chamber and Apple was aware that gripping the handset on the left hand side would decrease the number of signal bars, but never did they anticipate it causing such a problem for consumers. Friday July 16, 2010 1:19  

1:20 Still, calls to Apple's AppleCare customer support that are routinely logged show just over a half a percent of those calls are from customers with complaints over the iPhone 4's antenna. Friday July 16, 2010 1:20  

1:22 Those numbers don't add up to all the mounting concerns waged by the media, Jobs remarks. He's about to give some info on AT&T and Apple return rates... Friday July 16, 2010 1:22  

1:23 iPhone 3GS, which has been the best selling smartphone in history, saw return rates of 6 percent during the same time period after launch last year. But for the iPhone, Apple's at just 1.7%. Friday July 16, 2010 1:23  

1:23 So that's a little less than a third of the return rate of the iPhone 4's predecessor. Friday July 16, 2010 1:23  

1:24 AT&T three days ago also provided Apple with its call drop rates. Friday July 16, 2010 1:24  

[Bryancd]

Easy boy's let the man finish for heavans sake. You two are worse than the talking heads yammering on TV right now.

[Bryancd]

1:24 Even though Apple believes the iPhone 4 has a superior antenna, the handset is dropping more calls per each 100 calls than the iPhone 3GS. Friday July 16, 2010 1:24 

1:25 Still, that's less than 1 call per 100, Jobs asserts. Friday July 16, 2010 1:25 

1:27 Jobs is now explaining how when the iPhone 3GS came out, people converted their iPhone 3G cases, because both devices were physically identical. Or they were able to purchase one on the market, which was full of the same size and shape case from the previous year's worth of iPhones. But with the iPhone 4, the design is all new and the number of cases and Apple bumpers have been limited. Friday July 16, 2010 1:27 

1:28 Apple can't make bumpers fast enough, Jobs says. Friday July 16, 2010 1:28 

1:28 Jobs claims he's received thousands of emails from users who claim they have no problem with the iPhone 4, but Apple wants all of its customers to be happy, so it's continuing to invest in researching the matter. Friday July 16, 2010 1:28 

1:29 Apple won't stop until every user is happy, he says. Friday July 16, 2010 1:29 

1:30 So this is what Apple's doing. First, it's released iOS 4.0.1 which corrects the formula for the way signal bars are displayed across the iPhone line. Every user should update, Jobs says. Friday July 16, 2010 1:30 

1:30 Also, everyone will get a FREE bumper. Friday July 16, 2010 1:30 

1:30 If you've already purchased a bumper, you'll get a refund. Friday July 16, 2010 1:30 

1:31 For every iPhone that's purchased prior to September 30th, that is. Friday July 16, 2010 1:31